Don't Taze my Granny!
 

(CN) - Police Tasered an 86-year-old disabled grandma in her bed and stepped on her oxygen hose until she couldn't breathe, after her grandson called 911 seeking medical assistance, the woman and her grandson claim in Oklahoma City Federal Court.

http://www.courthousenews.com/2010/06/24/28330.htm

Wow... just wow. I have several cases in Canadian County (where this happened) and have heard some stuff about the police force out there, but it sounds like those guys need to clean house.

They need to purge the police force.

Umm...WHAT? :eek:

SERIOUSLY?
You'd think peer pressure would make them avoid doing this shit. I don't know why every other officer isn't mocking these guys to death for being scared of an 86 year old IN BED.
Go for it.

That is just SICK.

She "took an aggressive posture on her bed"???? Unless she's pointing a gun, wtf kind of aggressive posture can one take on a bed?

Welllllll

Lets just say there probably aren't any that would be done by an 86 year old on oxygen alone in her bed with family present.

But there are others.... ;)

Just checked... no criminal charges pending. No reports of the officers being so much as sternly talked to.

I KNEW, just KNEW, someone would go there... :D

I'm not one who assumes that all cops are thugs or anything, but the one thing that bothers me is that cops frequently get away with their own crimes, even DUIs. I believe that as officers of the law they should be held to a higher standard.

I don't know how to enforce that when they're on the job.

Hey. Someone's gotta do it. Now where did I leave that crop?

this can't be real. wtf?

Drole is going to hell in flammable granny panties

But at least I'll have fun on the way there :cool:

Not sure if I agree with that, but how about an equal standard?

No, quite frankly too many people get off too lightly on DUIs even when they kill someone. Raise that standard first and I might agree.

Are you thinking of the case in Chicago recently? Live-in has a friend who knew the victims... so sad.

No nothing specific, and I don't know the numbers to be honest, but they have "get out of your DUI easy" lawyers in a box around here. I'm not sure they're even lawyers tbh. And around here there are so many country bars on country roads that people think it's safe to drive while drunk.

And there was a recent story of a cop who was the second car heading towards a stop, and was speeding at 80+ and apparently texting at the same time. I'm fuzzy on the details of that one and can't find an article atm though.

Sometimes your average every day citizen gets off for things and I don't think officers should get that lenience (and often more lenience). It looks bad and lowers the trust people have in them. It's not particularly fair.

He should've just punched her.

How is holding anyone to a double standard fair? The law should apply equally to everyone.

That would have been jaw relocation by cop.

The law's just a social construct. If you believe in it you're stupid.

Because I say so.

Okay yorkist.

Another article with more and relevant information omitted in the original (still shouldn't taze the old lady)

Hmmm....

I bet the cops are lying.

Speaking as a Firefighter-EMT, I'm suspicious of the fact that the grandson called 911 asking for a Paramedic and 10 police officers showed up instead. That doesn't make sense to me. I can see one patrol car arriving on account of the report that she may have been suicidal....but 10 officers? And there's no mention of Paramedics having gotten there first? No, something's wrong there.

I have a feeling that the grandson told the dispatcher about granny's knife, or the dispatcher could hear gran screaming about killing in the background, and that's why half the police dept showed up. I mean, dispatchers do get stuff wrong sometimes, but this seems like a case where gran went off the deep end and the police were called for the assist. (For safety, law enforcement needs to clear the scene before firefighters or ambulance crew are allowed to come in).

I doubt that the police intentionally stepped on her oxygen tubing; it was probably an accident given all of the commotion. Though, because they are not likely EMTs, they probably didn't think to be more gentle with her when grabbing at her skin.

I'd be interested to listen to the tape of the 911 call.

.....Kelly :)

newsok.com has the recording. No crazy granny in the background.

El Reno is a special place.

We have specially trained police here who come out with the EMTs for psych calls. Even when coming to one of our agency sites, they don't bring 10 people - so that's beyond weird - and we have suicidal people all the time. But we bring them onsite, and take some of our clients out there to talk to them about our clients' experiences.

Also included in their training is having them take a test, while listening to consistent "voices" over headphones and occasionally having someone yell at them. Welcome to some our paranoid schizophrenic individuals' lives.

Sounds like this police dept. has had trouble before though.

From what I'm hearing, the caller was a known entity.

Still, I think a lot has to happen before the police department's behavior is understandable.

Hey, most of my clients are known entities too :p

But, I agree I just hope that they are forced to fully explain their actions, preferably in front of a judge at this point.

However, while the police can take you to the ER to be evaluated, I don't know of any place in the US where the police can admit someone to a psych ward or hospital and then require someone to stay. Those decisions are made by a doctor and there are standards that have to be met to involuntarily admit someone even just for an observation period.

Unless the cops and docs have some sort of (unethical) deal where they auto-admit anyone the cops bring in, or the cops lied, she probably needed to be in the hospital and grandson should stop whining about that. (Hello, suicidal.)

Yep. This.:)