I guess, since a taser was used, that this is a suitable post for a gadget blog.
But, sarcasm aside, it wasn't a 'Travis County cop', just a deputy constable (they're separate offices and chains of command - just do a little research on it).
From the post: "...you could toss her in a cop car with one arm tied behind your back if you wanted to..." That's pure conjecture, especially since you've never tried to do that to someone hyped up on stubbornness and adrenaline (regardless of age): you have no idea what she was capable of - she might have hurt herself while resisting physical restraint - which could be concluded she would have resisted. Did you notice how she snatched her arm out of the hand of the officer? Besides, she was offended that she, an old lady, was pushed. It's like she choose the alternative for the cop.
Also, what would have been 'horrific' would be if, while the cop spent several minutes trying to get the granny to comply while she was still in the relative safety of her truck, he would have been struck by a passing motorist. Or, if the lady, while still being uncooperative, was struck while trying to get back in her truck.
"The best part-the cop actually expected her to put her arms behind her back after being tased." ...and she did after the being tased a SECOND time.
And finally, Adrian, here's the kicker quote for you: "At the end of the day that officer went home to his kids uninjured and that woman - although she spent a night in the Travis County Jail - she did it uninjured. She didn't have to go to the hospital."
Do you understand how important those two goals are?
@Unspellable: This entire ramble is "pure conjecture".... If you watch the snippet from the begining of what is shown, the officer is in the wrong, he already is yelling at her and pushing her without any sort of retort from her patiently leaning at the end of her truck. A different path could've been taken that could be considered, "by the book". Frankly he many paths and options, and ran himself firmly down this one. I've always been told ignorance is bliss, and I can only assume you are proudly happy with your response.
@Garrett Brooks: When she was out of the car, she was being placed under arrest, as she had just committed a crime(not signing the ticket for speeding through a active construction zone 15mph OVER the limit). As for her "patiently leaning on the truck", this was after five minutes of the cop trying to get her to sign the ticket, according to the time stamp on the dashcam. She also dares him to taze her and was already using abusive language.
@Garrett Brooks: Plus, she had already lied repeatedly to the public and news reporters saying everything shown in the dash cam which was listed on the police report was "a lie". As soon as this video was released, she cancelled all interviews and referred everyone to her attorney.
2) My mother is of a similar age. She is not a jackass like this woman is, but she also can't put her hands behind her back because she's had shoulder surgery. I hear her pretty clearly saying that she's unable to comply, so I question whether he should really be tasing her again at this point.
3) She was clearly belligerant, but he was clearly frustrated (look at how he acts when he pulls out his cuffs), so I'm thinking he's not totally blameless in this one.
@MikeK: If you check the longer videos, five minutes elapse from when he tries getting her to sign the ticket until he pulls her out to arrest her(It's against the law in TX to not sign a ticket, from what I have read). After five minutes, I'd be frustrated too if this lady was saying the same shit she was saying such as daring him to taze her.
Tasering the elderly is probably a bad idea in general, right? I mean, there's a fairly good chance that they have pacemakers, right? It's my understanding that zapping the shit out of old folks with electrically sensitive equipment keeping them alive is probably a bad idea.
Tasering was a bad idea. Cuffin' and stuffin', as Roscoe P. Coltrane would say, would have been a better one.
@TonyRockyHorror: A pacemaker can withstand a defibrillator. A tazer put nowhere NEAR the power out that a defib does. You can hold a person being tazed. You can't hold a person getting defibbed. Which is why they say "CLEAR!!" before doing it.
This cop went by the book. If you actually watch the video you'll see that she makes her way closer to the road numerous times, putting both her and the cop in danger. Also, if he were to force her arms into place to cuff her, he could have broken her bones.
The best thing to do was to immobilize her and cuff her.
Also, she was being an unruly bitch. Never be an unruly bitch to someone with legal power over you in front of a video camera. If she does press charges, she will lose because it was her own damn fault.
And those of you advocating pepper spray, have you been pepper sprayed? It burns like hell. Pepper spray is far more brutal than a TASER.
@eriklindemann: I agree. I have said here MANY times that if you are calm, and the tape is shown in court, then guess who wins? Remember the football player who's Mother In Law died? He was calm throughout and he got an apology. But he also didn't fight with the cop like this lady did. If you watch the video in the comments above, you can see 5 minutes of tape tick by as he tries to get her to sign the ticket before her pulls her out. 5 MINUTES?!?! That's A LOT of slack the cop is cutting you. Then she goes on TV and LIES ABOUT IT! Of course, since the tape was released, she has not spoken. Hmmmmm
The one thing I haven't seen mentioned is that if she would have acted like a sane person, signed her ticket and accepted responsibility for her actions then she would have been home sitting on her porch sipping iced tea that evening. He legitimately pulled her over for going 15 MPH over the limit. I can hear the whiny voices now saying "But what if that was your grandma?" If it were my grandma I would tell her she should have STFU, took her her ticket and she'll know better than to do it next time.
@thebigbad: And what if your grandma hit a worker inthe CONSTRUCTION zone and made him paralyzed? Does she get off b/c she's 72 years old? Or does she curse off the paralyzed guy like she did the cop?
@thebigbad: I was referencing your point that she was doing 15 over the limit in a construction zone. So she had done wrong, and wondering what all the people whining would say to a worker she hit.
uck that cop... motha ucka... what if she had a pace maker and he short-circuited it and killed her. i would sue the pants off of the local government for excessive force.
Gee. I'm pretty middle of the road usually, but WTF? Is this the same Gawker crowd? I mean... you people sure do love Texas Law enforcement all of a sudden. It seemed to me she was just acting like ANY 72 year old would. Perhaps a punch to the throat before Tasing her would've been a nice addition. So she wouldn't sign her ticket...BFD! So we live in a world where people scream about their rights but Tasing an unarmed, quietly noncooperative 72 y/o is "OK"? Fuck ALL of you dicks!
Not trying to offend anyone in general, but its the ONLY place you would see something like this.
A 72 year-old woman has a high risk of dying when tazed. What with a weak heart and overall body. And he starts to yell at her, too. What a disrespectful, heartless, piece of shit. This could have been done in a way more peaceful manner. Great Grandparents are really easy to talk to if its done calmly. The coldest part of it is, he continues being violently aggressive towards her, as she clearly claims multiple times that she indeed, cannot put her hands behind her back. Fire that heartless shit. Taze him for unnessesary violence, and throw in a charge for attempted murder why don't you, as it seems that all he was thinking of was using his brand new toy, showing off to the camera.
@denisnossevitch: Yes, I guess the ol' British beat em with a Billy Club is better on the old folks w/the weak skin and brittle bones? Also, you fail to note that she DARES him to taze her 6 seconds into the clip.
haha!! couldn't 've said it better m'self Mark.. Thats how its done here in Texas people just in case you decide to pay us a visit ahaha. Never EVER EVER disrespect the law. She was out of line and he followed procedure..
@izzaboo: UMMMM in Texas once you refuse to sign you got to JAIL. Aint no damn take backs and change your mind. SHE WAS UNDER ARREST! I would have cooked her ass too. And obviously she was trying to bait him and play the age card. Listen to how many times she mentions her age. Her ass deserved it.
@Cordfucious of Tech Clan: Did you READ the story? SEVENTY TWO YEARS OLD. A tazer could have KILLED her. So, why waste a tazer cartridge? Why not JUST SHOOT HER!
Have ya seen the one about the State Trooper that pulled over the ambulance that was on the way to the hospital, and then he beat up one of the medics inside the ambulance?
She got exactly what she deserved. She resisted arrest and TOLD the officer she was getting back in her vehicle. She also tried to walk back into the driving lane while traffic was driving by.
@mikemacman: @markterry: She also dared the cop to taze her 6 seconds into the tape. I mean, she DOES pay his salary, so he HAD to obey her commands. :)
Texas cops have the worst track record and these people need to be fired and/or reorganized because clearly they aren't mentally capable of having any amount of power over another human life...
I would never trust my life to this cop or the one who held the football player from seeing his dying mother or the other one who pulled over a speeding ambulance, patient in tow, to ticket the driver for not pulling to the side so he himself could pass.
Just pathetic...I have 3 uncles, who are all great police officers, so I don't have any disrespect for what police officers do but some of the people they hand a gun and a badge scare me...
I disagree, I totally back up the cop for doing this. Obviously he could over power her, but he would be WAY more likely to seriously injure her by physically accosting her than by tasing her.
@unibrow4o9: exactly. try to force her hands behind her back and break a brittle old shoulder or wrist, or tase her avoid serious injury with a moment of discomfort.
@heisthejordan: Really? How about when she FALLS TO THE GROUND WHEN HE TASES HER?? How many old bitches break a hip by falling down? Hint: all of them. I'm sure that's not nearly as bad as a bear hug...
I hope they get a Walking Cane shoved up their butts by the local DA when they get fired. And again when the go to Court. And again one last time when they get the verdict.
And on top of that, get a taser to the tits.
That was just wrong what they did to that poor old woman.
@nightwheel: UMMMM in Texas once you refuse to sign you got to JAIL. Aint no damn take backs and change your mind. SHE WAS UNDER ARREST! I would have cooked her ass too. And obviously she was trying to bait him and play the age card. Listen to how many times she mentions her age. Her ass deserved it.
I'm sorry but that statement u just made "Let's see you try to do a cop's job" is the lamest I have heard in these boards. It only takes an idiot to become a cop and even a bigger idiot to tase a 72 YR OLD GRANDMA MULTIPLE TIMES. When I see shite like that, makes me want to go out and buy a taser just so I can tase a cop for using excessive force. That would be more just then that BIG FAT COP tasing grandmother for not wanting to sign a ticket (which might have been undeserving to begin with).
Look at the video...that BIG FAT COP (who spent too many days sitting in donut shop) gets pissed and throws his clipper and had all intention to hurt the old lady.
I understand in some circumstances that cops have to becareful and use good judgement in AMERICA because stupidity the laws allow hang guns to just about all idiots including police. But that doesn't give them the right to be excessive when handling an old grandma who is obviously not a threat to harm that BIG FAT COP.
@warmsoju: Oh, and about that undeserved ticket? It was for doing 60 in a 45 construction zone. You know, where people are working on the road. There's a reason you go slow so you don't kill someone. Reckless disregard for human life is ok b/c she's 72?
06/17/09
I guess, since a taser was used, that this is a suitable post for a gadget blog.
But, sarcasm aside, it wasn't a 'Travis County cop', just a deputy constable (they're separate offices and chains of command - just do a little research on it).
From the post: "...you could toss her in a cop car with one arm tied behind your back if you wanted to..." That's pure conjecture, especially since you've never tried to do that to someone hyped up on stubbornness and adrenaline (regardless of age): you have no idea what she was capable of - she might have hurt herself while resisting physical restraint - which could be concluded she would have resisted. Did you notice how she snatched her arm out of the hand of the officer? Besides, she was offended that she, an old lady, was pushed. It's like she choose the alternative for the cop.
Also, what would have been 'horrific' would be if, while the cop spent several minutes trying to get the granny to comply while she was still in the relative safety of her truck, he would have been struck by a passing motorist. Or, if the lady, while still being uncooperative, was struck while trying to get back in her truck.
"The best part-the cop actually expected her to put her arms behind her back after being tased." ...and she did after the being tased a SECOND time.
And finally, Adrian, here's the kicker quote for you: "At the end of the day that officer went home to his kids uninjured and that woman - although she spent a night in the Travis County Jail - she did it uninjured. She didn't have to go to the hospital."
Do you understand how important those two goals are?
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2) My mother is of a similar age. She is not a jackass like this woman is, but she also can't put her hands behind her back because she's had shoulder surgery. I hear her pretty clearly saying that she's unable to comply, so I question whether he should really be tasing her again at this point.
3) She was clearly belligerant, but he was clearly frustrated (look at how he acts when he pulls out his cuffs), so I'm thinking he's not totally blameless in this one.
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Tasering was a bad idea. Cuffin' and stuffin', as Roscoe P. Coltrane would say, would have been a better one.
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06/16/09
The best thing to do was to immobilize her and cuff her.
Also, she was being an unruly bitch. Never be an unruly bitch to someone with legal power over you in front of a video camera. If she does press charges, she will lose because it was her own damn fault.
And those of you advocating pepper spray, have you been pepper sprayed? It burns like hell. Pepper spray is far more brutal than a TASER.
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Not trying to offend anyone in general, but its the ONLY place you would see something like this.
A 72 year-old woman has a high risk of dying when tazed. What with a weak heart and overall body. And he starts to yell at her, too. What a disrespectful, heartless, piece of shit. This could have been done in a way more peaceful manner. Great Grandparents are really easy to talk to if its done calmly. The coldest part of it is, he continues being violently aggressive towards her, as she clearly claims multiple times that she indeed, cannot put her hands behind her back. Fire that heartless shit. Taze him for unnessesary violence, and throw in a charge for attempted murder why don't you, as it seems that all he was thinking of was using his brand new toy, showing off to the camera.
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Procedure? Law? Hell.
I vote we give Texas back to Mexico and be done with it.
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[www.beststungun.com]
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Texas cops have the worst track record and these people need to be fired and/or reorganized because clearly they aren't mentally capable of having any amount of power over another human life...
I would never trust my life to this cop or the one who held the football player from seeing his dying mother or the other one who pulled over a speeding ambulance, patient in tow, to ticket the driver for not pulling to the side so he himself could pass.
Just pathetic...I have 3 uncles, who are all great police officers, so I don't have any disrespect for what police officers do but some of the people they hand a gun and a badge scare me...
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And on top of that, get a taser to the tits.
That was just wrong what they did to that poor old woman.
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I'm sorry but that statement u just made "Let's see you try to do a cop's job" is the lamest I have heard in these boards. It only takes an idiot to become a cop and even a bigger idiot to tase a 72 YR OLD GRANDMA MULTIPLE TIMES. When I see shite like that, makes me want to go out and buy a taser just so I can tase a cop for using excessive force. That would be more just then that BIG FAT COP tasing grandmother for not wanting to sign a ticket (which might have been undeserving to begin with).
Look at the video...that BIG FAT COP (who spent too many days sitting in donut shop) gets pissed and throws his clipper and had all intention to hurt the old lady.
I understand in some circumstances that cops have to becareful and use good judgement in AMERICA because stupidity the laws allow hang guns to just about all idiots including police. But that doesn't give them the right to be excessive when handling an old grandma who is obviously not a threat to harm that BIG FAT COP.
06/17/09
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