72 year old woman tasered in Austin. Justified?? (Kyle, Burnet: military, farm)

[smilinpretty]

I see a woman get out of her car, she tells him she will sign the ticket, he tells her to step back, she doesn't so he pushes her, and she yells out that he pushes a 72 year old woman and he warns her he will taze her and he does..not only once but twice. This brut of a man.

He should have given her a ticket, if she refused to sign it, oh..well..she would have been called into court.

I think the whole thing was dealt with unfairly. She is not the only person that reacted negatively. This cop is a weinie..he wasn't trained to take this woman down, without pushing her and tasing her? Give me a break.

[love roses]

Originally Posted by mimimomx3

I guess it's just a matter of time that for the children we get rid of the first amendment, anyway.

???

[love roses]

Originally Posted by smilinpretty

I see a woman get out of her car, she tells him she will sign the ticket, he tells her to step back, she doesn't so he pushes her, and she yells out that he pushes a 72 year old woman and he warns her he will taze her and he does..not only once but twice. This brut of a man.

He should have given her a ticket, if she refused to sign it, oh..well..she would have been called into court.

I think the whole thing was dealt with unfairly. She is not the only person that reacted negatively. This cop is a weinie..he wasn't trained to take this woman down, without pushing her and tasing her? Give me a break.

She refused to sign the ticket and in Austin, that is an arrestable offense, effective immediately.

[BentBow]

Originally Posted by smilinpretty

I see a woman get out of her car, she tells him she will sign the ticket, he tells her to step back, she doesn't so he pushes her, and she yells out that he pushes a 72 year old woman and he warns her he will taze her and he does..not only once but twice. This brut of a man.

He should have given her a ticket, if she refused to sign it, oh..well..she would have been called into court.

I think the whole thing was dealt with unfairly. She is not the only person that reacted negatively. This cop is a weinie..he wasn't trained to take this woman down, without pushing her and tasing her? Give me a break.

So if your 72 and female, your above the laws made and enforced on the rest of the population??

That is stupid and it is clear, you didn't see the entire tape from start to when she was placed in the back seat.

[austin-steve]

Fact: That stretch of Hwy 71 is very dangerous. Many deaths have occurred along there.
Fact: It's so dangerous, a plan is in place to straighten out some of the curves and add a center median and/or turn lane in spots.
Fact: The old lady was speeding 60mph through a 45mph construction zone, thus endangering workers as well as other drivers. ( I believe fines are double for speeding in a construction zone because it's such an egregious and reckless offense).
Fact: She failed to obey instructions from the officer, further endangering herself and the officer.
Fact: She lied in the interview with Fox7, claiming that she wasn't argumentative or combative. She clearly was. This, for me, destroys any benefit of doubt I may have given her. She's a lying troublemaker, nothing more.
Fact: She created her own circumstance by 1) speeding and 2) failing to obey a peace officer.

My Opinion: She left the officer with limited options and put him in a no win situation. Though the tasing is bad PR, it's probably the least violent option available to him as he didin't have to lay a hand on her, possibly breaking her wrist or something if she had fought him or resisted.

And it sure provided the attitude adjustment she needed didn't it? I didn't hear her talking smack as she rolled around on the ground squealing like a stuck pig. And I didn't see her trying to run out in the road or get back into her vehicle. He did her a favor I think, and he warned her repeatedly.

I give the officer a C+, but I don't think an A or B is possible in that situation. If she'd have run out in the road and been killed, he'd be criticized for not tasing her. Choke holds aren't allowed anymore, and that would look worse on camera. Yeah, I think the taser was the least worse option for him.

Steve

[smilinpretty]

Originally Posted by love roses

She refused to sign the ticket and in Austin, that is an arrestable offense, effective immediately.

Perhaps it is. However; this woman is pulled over for speeding and won't sign the ticket, she is angry ( I am guilty..been there myself). He tells her he will take her to jail if she doesn't sign ticket. She yells out, "take me to jail". Officer tells her to come out of the car. She gets out of her car. Next thing, the lady tells the cop, "give me the *uckin thing, I will sign it. Then he SHOUTS, "GET OVER THERE NOW, Points in the direction she should go, and shoves her back. She is now angry he shoves her back and she is on the defensive side, and she says, "you gonna shove me? You gonna shove a 72 year old woman? Officer tells her if she doesn't step back, he is going to tase her. The elderly lady responds , "go ahead and tase me, I am going back to my car. Then he starts shouting, NO MAME..NO MAME, and he tasers her. I think at that point he should have called in the swat team or national guard. At no point was she a threat to this so called officer. I think if he handled the situation with more diplomacy, her reaction would have been different.

This reminds me when I was in high school my girlfriend and I jaywalked across a busy street. Next thing we know..here is a motorcycle cop in front of us, I ran back across the busy street and I turned around and came back, he was getting ready to take off after me. This police officer, had us all laughing hysterically and pointed out how stupid I was to try outrun a motorcycle, and even if I used poor judgment, I had the brains to figure out, I was in the wrong and came back. He did not taser me..when I started to bolt. He did not yell loudly..at me. He was a nice man, who reprimaded me in a kind and gentle manner and placed light on the fact, that I was wrong to run. He explained to me gently, the rules of the highway, and the crosswalk was 500 ft and next time I should use a sidewalk. Did I learn from it? You bet I did. I remember he telling me that I seemed like a nice young woman and he would hate for me to be killed by a passing vehicle, and be the one to report it to my parents.

I guess, it all depends on the person and how well trained the person is to handle the situation. This elderly woman was in the wrong but he certainly didn't make it right, by his actions. She should serve community time and he should get FIRED, for handling the situation unprofessional.

[love roses]

I don't think he should lose his job over this.

[loves2read]

a police officer who can't think more clearly than this one did does not deserve to have a gun and be in a car--he is a danger...

[statefan]

Originally Posted by smilinpretty

Perhaps it is. However; this woman is pulled over for speeding and won't sign the ticket, she is angry ( I am guilty..been there myself). He tells her he will take her to jail if she doesn't sign ticket. She yells out, "take me to jail". Officer tells her to come out of the car. She gets out of her car. Next thing, the lady tells the cop, "give me the *uckin thing, I will sign it. Then he SHOUTS, "GET OVER THERE NOW, Points in the direction she should go, and shoves her back. She is now angry he shoves her back and she is on the defensive side, and she says, "you gonna shove me? You gonna shove a 72 year old woman? Officer tells her if she doesn't step back, he is going to tase her. The elderly lady responds , "go ahead and tase me, I am going back to my car. Then he starts shouting, NO MAME..NO MAME, and he tasers her. I think at that point he should have called in the swat team or national guard. At no point was she a threat to this so called officer. I think if he handled the situation with more diplomacy, her reaction would have been different.

This reminds me when I was in high school my girlfriend and I jaywalked across a busy street. Next thing we know..here is a motorcycle cop in front of us, I ran back across the busy street and I turned around and came back, he was getting ready to take off after me. This police officer, had us all laughing hysterically and pointed out how stupid I was to try outrun a motorcycle, and even if I used poor judgment, I had the brains to figure out, I was in the wrong and came back. He did not taser me..when I started to bolt. He did not yell loudly..at me. He was a nice man, who reprimaded me in a kind and gentle manner and placed light on the fact, that I was wrong to run. He explained to me gently, the rules of the highway, and the crosswalk was 500 ft and next time I should use a sidewalk. Did I learn from it? You bet I did. I remember he telling me that I seemed like a nice young woman and he would hate for me to be killed by a passing vehicle, and be the one to report it to my parents.

I guess, it all depends on the person and how well trained the person is to handle the situation. This elderly woman was in the wrong but he certainly didn't make it right, by his actions. She should serve community time and he should get FIRED, for handling the situation unprofessional.

He tells her 5 to 6 times to "Get back or you are going to be tased", then she dares him. That is at least 5 times she had to comply with his commands. Then he tells her 2 times to place her hands behind her back and has a hold of one hand when she jerks away and says she is going back to her car. That makes 7 times now that she could have stepped back and got out of the situation. He then tells her again step back or you are going to be tased, making a total of at least 8 times she disobeyed the officer and could have stopped the encounter, 8 times.

[cls88]

If this were a 20 yo male or even female, we probably wouldn't have this discussion right now. The question is whether the officers have to treat each individual differently when they perform their job/enforce the law. Do we want them to treat older people one way, males another, females another, and different race differently too?

It looks like she was trying to run him closer to the traffic by refusing standing back. What if another car crashed and ran over the officer - would we still say that the old lady were harmless?

I agree the officer gets a C+ for his performance and the old lady should be embarrassed for her behaviors instead of starting a lawsuit.