Police Officer Shoots 72-Year-Old Texas Woman With Taser During Traffic Stop

[CAL]

This is a bit old but I just saw the video. Here's my take - if you comply with police officer instructions you won't get tased. Sorry grandma, you should have listened.

YouTube- Raw: Texas cop Tasers 72 year old, great-grandmother


AUSTIN, Texas — She dared a deputy constable to shock her with a Taser.
So, he did.
Video released by a Travis County Constable's Office shows Deputy Chris Bieze confronting 72-year-old Kathryn Winkfein after stopping her for speeding on May 11 just outside Austin.
Video from a camera mounted in the deputy's car shows Winkfein cursing and challenging the deputy and even daring him to use the Taser on her.
"You're going to shove me? You're going to shove a 72-year-old woman?" she yelled.
Winkfein told KTBC-TV in Austin that she did nothing to provoke the use of the Taser.
But Precinct 3 Sgt. Maj. Gary Griffin said Bieze used the Taser only after Winkfein became combative.
There was no immediate comment from Winkfein on Wednesday. A call to her home was answered by a fax machine.
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[CAL]

And the follow up:

Link (http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6654389.html)


AUSTIN — A 72-year-old central Texas woman whose Tasering by a deputy constable was shown on video nationwide has accepted Travis County’s $40,000 settlement offer.

Kathryn Winkfein was Tasered after she dared the deputy to do so during a May traffic stop. At one point, she sought more than $135,000 for pain and suffering, medical expenses and humiliation. County commissioners countered Sept. 29 with a $40,000 as their “firm” counteroffer.

The incident is being reviewed by the district attorney’s office, Precinct 3 Constable Richard McCain said a resisting-arrest charge is pending against Winkfein. McCain said an internal investigation found no violations by the deputy constable.

McCain called the settlement “a miscarriage of justice,” but Travis County Judge Sam Biscoe said defending a lawsuit would have cost more than $40,000.

[DD78]

Based on the video evidence I'm calling bullshit. It would take some kind of other factor for me to get on board with this. Something along the lines of her having the handle of a machete sticking out of her pants...

There was absolutely no need for her to be tasered barring some extraneous factor such as that. If you can't go hands on with her to effect the arrest, hand up the cuffs. Just because it's "within policy" doesn't make it right and doesn't make it smart.

Weak.