Granny Tazed

[HVC]

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/31202935/?GT1=43001

By Mike Celizic
TODAYShow.com contributor
updated 2 hours, 34 minutes ago
First there was the college student who gave the language the immortal phrase "Don't Tase me, bro!" before being zapped by police. Now, there's the 72-year-old great-grandmother who told a cop, "Go ahead. Tase me" — and got what she asked for.

Kathryn Winkfein was stopped for doing 60 mph in a 45 zone in her pickup truck on a highway near Austin, Texas. After Deputy Chris Bieze finished writing the ticket, he gave it to her and asked her to sign it.

Winkfein refused. Bieze insisted, saying he would have to arrest her if she didn't sign the ticket. When she wouldn't sign, he opened the door to the truck and told her to get out.

Differing accounts
This all happened around 2 p.m. on May 11. But it didn't become news until Winkfein told a local television station that she had been mistreated. The Travis County Constable's Office alleged that she had been argumentative and profane. She denied the charge, telling a local Fox News reporter, "I was not argumentative. I was not combative. Every bit of this is a lie."

In response, the constable's office released the dashboard video of the arrest, which shows Winkfein using vulgar language and daring Bieze to use his Taser. According to the time stamp on the dashboard video, it was at least seven minutes from when Bieze told the elderly woman to get out of her truck until he finally hit her with 50,000 volts of low-amperage electricity and she fell screaming to the ground.

Winkfein has not commented since the video was released. According to the local Fox station, she has hired an attorney.

When Bieze tells her to get out of her truck, Winkfein says, "Take me to jail. Go on and take me to jail."

"Step on out," the officer commands.

The woman gets out of the truck and walks along the side of the road, close to the fog line separating the shoulder from the traffic lane.

"Give me the [expletive] thing and I'll sign it," she tells Bieze, but the officer has already told her she is being arrested. When Winkfein strays close to the traffic lane, the officer pushes her onto the shoulder.

"You're gonna shove a 72-year-old woman?" Winkfein yells at him.

"If you don't step back, you're gonna be Tased," Bieze says.

That's when Winkfein said, "Go ahead. Tase me."

'I dare you'
Even then, Bieze did not use the Taser he had out and ready. He attempted to grab her, but Winkfein twisted away.

"Step back or you're gonna be Tased, ma'am," Bieze says again.

"I dare you," she said.

Winkfein then decided she was leaving and tried to walk back to her truck.

"I'm getting back in my car," she said.

"You're gonna be Tased," Bieze said, blocking her path.

"I'm getting back in my car," she insists.

"No, ma'am," he says.


That's when he finally fired the Taser and Winkfein went down screaming.

"Now put your hands behind your back!" Bieze orders the woman, who has fallen out of the picture. "Put your hands behind your back, or you're gonna be Tased again!"

Bieze finally took Winkfein into custody and charged her with resisting arrest.

Sgt. Maj. Gary Griffin of the Travis County, Texas, Constable's Office told NBC News that Bieze acted appropriately.

"He mitigated this event safely, effectively and efficiently. Nobody sustained any injury," Griffin said.

I haven't read the article yet, but the thought of it makes me laugh... i'm a bad person.

[Syt]

This could be Monkeybutt's mom.

[Neil]

Bitch got what she deserved.

Listen to the officer, people.

[Grallon]

As trigger happy with this as they are with guns.  When will the constitutonal right to carry tasers be amended into the Constitution?




G.

[grumbler]

Bitch got what she deserved.

Listen to the officer, people.

There may, indeed, be a time to dispute the officer's actions, but this was not it.

Some people need to have a tazemaker permanently installed, and this lady sounds like one of them.

[garbon]

As trigger happy with this as they are with guns.  When will the constitutonal right to carry tasers be amended into the Constitution?

G.

Yeah he seemed in a rush to tase her...

[BuddhaRhubarb]

Dude should be ashamed of himself. Why would you need to tase a granny. He should have been nicer to her to start with. and if she got uppity, he could have outmuscled her I'd imagine. Or at least I hope that a police officer would be trained in dealing with cranky people of all ages. Cops should have patience... as much as she should have been more co-operative about something as lame as a speeding ticket (for going 45).

[garbon]

Dude should be ashamed of himself. Why would you need to tase a granny. He should have been nicer to her to start with. and if she got uppity, he could have outmuscled her I'd imagine. Or at least I hope that a police officer would be trained in dealing with cranky people of all ages. Cops should have patience... as much as she should have been more co-operative about something as lame as a speeding ticket (for going 45).

Is this for real?

[grumbler]

Dude should be ashamed of himself. Why would you need to tase a granny. He should have been nicer to her to start with. and if she got uppity, he could have outmuscled her I'd imagine. Or at least I hope that a police officer would be trained in dealing with cranky people of all ages. Cops should have patience... as much as she should have been more co-operative about something as lame as a speeding ticket (for going 45).

She was going 60, and uncooperative.  He could have roughed her up by forcing her to comply, let her go, or shot her with a tazer.  Of those options, clearly the third was the best.  At her gae, using physical force is likely to break something.

[HVC]

Dude should be ashamed of himself. Why would you need to tase a granny. He should have been nicer to her to start with. and if she got uppity, he could have outmuscled her I'd imagine. Or at least I hope that a police officer would be trained in dealing with cranky people of all ages. Cops should have patience... as much as she should have been more co-operative about something as lame as a speeding ticket (for going 45).

If he tried to subdue her and ended up breaking the cranky womans wrist on hip he'd be shit out of luck.

[Neil]

As trigger happy with this as they are with guns.

Actually, it seems that he was in no hurry to use his weapon.  Surely someone like you must know that disobediance to the law can never be tolerated.  Force must be used.

There may, indeed, be a time to dispute the officer's actions, but this was not it.

Indeed.  If you feel the ticket was unjust, and you've failed to talk your way out of it, go to your court date.  Hell, you can usually get the ticket overturned or reduced just for showing up and making an argument.

The idea that she should have free reign to ignore the law just because she's old is nonsense.  And given that the alternative was beating her, and even then the officer showed a great deal of restraint, I think this couldn't have been handled better.  We also know, thanks to the videotape, that the woman is a liar.

[garbon]

The idea that she should have free reign to ignore the law just because she's old is nonsense.  And given that the alternative was beating her, and even then the officer showed a great deal of restraint, I think this couldn't have been handled better.  We also know, thanks to the videotape, that the woman is a liar.

It pains me greatly but I gotta side with the cop.

[BuddhaRhubarb]

yeah nothing could happen by tazering an old lady with however many thousands of volts either.

Tell that to Poles scared to emigrate to Canada now. Maybe she was just a cranky old bag who deserved what she got. maybe buddy cop was an asshole also. There are no winners in this situation except the imaginary people the old lady didn't run over because she got pulled over.

Now there will be a big stink about tazers yet again.

[Grey Fox]

Dude should have shot her in the leg.

Stupid Tazers.

[BuddhaRhubarb]

I think we need to teach cops the vulcan grip thing. Then they can just pinch granny's nerve and have her take a nap.