Well, uh…yeah…you do what the police tell you to do….I’m sorry if that goes against your belief system, but that’s generally how a civilized society works…. And you never answered my question about police profiling. How do you feel about it? Are you for or against police profiling?
legitimate question: is he within his rights to take her keys away from her because she isn't cooperating? Could he possibly be reprimanded for that? Is his only jurisdiction or whatever over the person (i.e. taking her into custody) rather than taking something from her (keys, car, whatever)? That does sound like a better idea. Though my assumption is that she had her keys on her, and probably would not have given them up without a fight?
You know, watching that video again, that old lady bounced back up like a pro. Clearly, the assorted electronics and other possessions on her body (hearing aid, pacemaker, alert bracelet, big gaudy jewelry, the possible addition of thick-soled orthopedic shoes) took the brunt of the blow. She kept on truckin', like Fat Jesus or some sort of RoboGranny.
Seriously? Cops who are clearly in the wrong annoy the crap out of me. I'd love for the ones who go over the line to be reprimanded to hell. We've heard about some cases on this board, and seen some on the news. There are some immoral cops out there who abuse their power and the law. But when they're in a GRAY area (which I believe we are most certainly in here, given the variety of responses and the length of this thread), I personally do give them the benefit of the doubt more often than not. They are the ones who have to make quick decisions, not us. "Do no wrong".. whatever. Come on. There are as many people who say that EVERYthing a cop does is wrong (you seem to be closer to that side of the fence) as those who say they do no wrong. Cops are not beyond question from the public. I think it's discussed nonstop. Now, whether their missteps are looked over by their peers and superiors is another story, and I'm not knowledgable enough to speak on that.
Her car was towed anyway if she went to jail so I would assume that they have that ability Rocket River
Is this the first paragraph you have ever written? Regardless, she had the opportunity to sign the ticket in her car, yet she refused and dared the officer to take her to jail. He told her to get out of the vehicle, which she did, and after the officer tried to arrest her, she say she'll sign the ticket. While it would have been all nice and dandy and the situation wouldn't have ended like it did, you can't dare the officer into taking action and then go "J/K" when the situation becomes real. He called her bluff and did what she told him to do. Citizens don't order police around. It should have been the other way around from the get-go but that old bag didn't want to play nice.
Let her go???? Are you serious? So get pulled over, act an azz and get let go for "your" safety? If you have done something illegial (i.e. speeding) and a cop tells you to stop, you can't be like "No, I'm not gonna stop" or "Move, I'm going back to my car". These are not options, and if you don't follow instructions the cop has the right to detain you. These kind of things happen all the time, and just because you are old doesn't mean the rules change for you. Do what the hell you are told, as long as it isn't something that is degrading you or putting you in danger. Also, I would think it would be dumb for cops to let someone just walk back to their car to potentially pull a weapon and shoot them. This is one of the reasons they sometimes ask you to put your hands out the window, or not move when stopped, etc. How many dangerous criminals do you think would get away if cops just let them go back to their vehicles, even the ones stopped for minor violations that have done serious stuff? Just because you are old and "look innocent" doesn't mean you can't kill someone...as recent news has shown us.
This isn't totally about her. Police make decisions all the time about how much force should be used and whether they should pursue or not. There are bigger issues than whether someone gives police the respect they deserve especially over a situation as minor as this. Evidence that she might have shot him? From the videotape it looks like he does look into the car when he pulls her over. Police are trained to assess threats and its part of their ongoing evaluation is to how well they deal with potential threats. A cop that overreacts is a hazard to himself, civillians and the rest of the force.
It depends how you escalate. You are painting the situation as though the police have no choice but to use violence when someone doesn't cooperate. The police have a conscious choice and a lot of police training is to know when to not use violence and how.
A sound analysis but I would question whether she had to be subdued in the first place. I also disagree with how it was done. To me the cop was too quick to go for the tazer to enforce compliance rather than deal with a threat.
She was a threat by being on the shoulder of a busy highway. Every second of a traffic violation on a highway is dangerous. Vehicles are going over 60 mph and with everyone being busybodies all the time, a driver could have hit them at any moment. She was a threat to the officer, to herself, and to the drivers on the road. The officer did not overreact at all.
He did not overreact. Overreacting is you getting out of the car, and I taze you. Me telling you like 3 times "chill or I will taze you" and you telling me once "I dare you" and trying to go around me another time to get back to your car is you basically saying "I hear your threat but I don't care what you are saying". That is not overreacting. Being old doesn't mean you don't have to follow the cops instructions. He warned her multiple times. For whatever reason, the officer felt that tazing her was the safest way to detain her. You can't show that wrestling with her would not have caused injury (especially since they were near the highway), so all the "he could have easily handled her" posts don't make much sense IMO...especially since he did try to turn her around to arrest her once and she yanked herself away. If a cop gives you clear orders and is basically talking to you (i.e. not putting his hands on you) and you are that disobedient, then I can see why he wouldn't want you walking back to your car in case you had something. I mean honestly, how many people really have the sack to try to go around a cop to get back to their vehicle when they are told not to? That's not rational. I'm not trying to go racial here, but as a black male...I basically know if a cop tells me to do something like get out the car or back up and I don't, then I am screwed. For example, I can't go to Texas Relays, have a cop tell me to move out the street, tell him no, get maced up, and tell my story to anyone and not have them say "well man what did you expect". This is common sense people. If this weren't some old lady this wouldn't be news. Again, not going racial...we would still think a 40 yr old white man got what he deserved if he told the cop to go to hell and that he was going back to his car. Hell, wasn't "Cops" such a popular show because we liked to watch defiant folks get their butts kicked? If I give you orders to comply and tell you multiple times what the penalty is if you don't, then it's not excessive force when I apply said penalty...assuming I'm not like you will get shot or something. That's you basically bluffing me and getting your azz handed to you. You were warned. I told you what was going to happen. You just thought the rules didn't apply to you for some reason.
So all those Cops that say things like . . . COMPLY OR YOU WILL GET A BEATEN . . . . . you say . . well they did warn ole Rodney Rocket River
That's comparing apples to oranges. Cops are not allowed to just beat on people. They are allowed to taser people who don't comply, as a method of detainment. The only difference is this lady is old, as opposed to folks who typically get shocked...who are not. Cops have different options to deal with folks who don't obey the law (speeding) or their instructions after being pulled over (i.e. get out of your car or don't try to go back to our car). Tasering is one of those options. The only way that it becomes cruel punishment is if you feel they should have age limits on doing that, or that they shouldn't do it at all. If it were a super skinny 19 year old, would you still say he posed no real threat, so the cop should have basically let him not comply, get back in his car and drive off? I don't think so. Being old doesn't mean you get to bypass the law.
9 or 99 on that video . . .i did not see a requisit amount of provocation to TAZE SOMEONE Whether is it this old lady . . or a Houston Texan Rocket River
