Police Taser Bedridden Grandmother

[BillCA]

Someone has to explain this one to me.
Further comments below.

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

Police Taser 86-year-old bedridden 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. Though the grandson said, "Don't Taze my granny!" an El Reno (Oklahoma) police officer told another cop to "Taser her!" and wrote in his police report that he did so because the old woman "took a more aggressive posture in her bed," according to the complaint.

Lonnie Tinsley claims that he called 911 after he went to check on his grandmother, whom he found in her bed, "connected to a portable oxygen concentrator with a long hose." She is "in marginal health, [and] takes several prescribed medications daily," and "was unable to tell him exactly when she had taken her meds," so, Tinsley says, he called 911 "to ask for an emergency medical technician to come to her apartment to evaluate her."

In response, "as many as ten El Reno police" officers "pushed their way through the door," according to the complaint.

The grandma, Lona Varner, "told them to get out of her apartment."

The remarkable complaint continues: "Instead, the apparent leader of the police [defendant Thomas Duran] instructed another policeman to 'Taser her!' He stated in his report that the 86 year-old plaintiff 'took a more aggressive posture in her bed,' and that he was fearful for his safety and the safety of others.

"Lonnie Tinsley told them, 'Don't taze my Granny!' to which they responded that they would Taser him; instead, they pulled him out of her apartment, took him down to the floor, handcuffed him and placed him in the back of a police car.

"The police then proceeded to approach Ms. Varner in her bed and stepped on her oxygen hose until she began to suffer oxygen deprivation.

"The police then fired a Taser at her and only one wire struck her, in the left arm; the police then fired a second Taser, striking her to the right and left of the midline of her upper chest and applied high voltage, causing burns to her chest, extreme pain and to pass out.

"The police then grabbed Ms. Varner by her forearms and jerked hands together, causing her soft flesh to tear and bleed on her bed; they then handcuffed her.

"The police freed Lonnie Tinsley from his incarceration in the back of the police car and permitted him to accompany the ambulance with his grandmother."

Tinsley says the cops capped it all off by having his grandmother "placed in the psychiatric ward at the direction of the El Reno police; she was held there for six days and released."

"As a result of the wrongful arrest and detention, the plaintiff Lona M. Varner suffered the unlawful restraint of her freedom, bodily injury, assault, battery, the trashing of her apartment, humiliation, loss of personal dignity, infliction of emotional distress and medical bills."

They seek punitive damages for constitutional violations, from the City of El Reno, Duran, Officers Frank Tinga and Joseph Sandberg, and 10 Officers Does.

Let's not turn this into a general cop-bashing thread, please.

I'd like to hear the officer articulate how he could "fear for his safety" because a frail, bedridden 86-year-old woman 'took a more aggressive posture in her bed'. And that posture would be what, exactly?

There were reportedly ten (10) officers present and they were worried about their safety from an 86-year-old on oxygen? Do these officers have no cajones? No courage or fortitude? What would they have done to, say a teenager bedridden from a kidney transplant? Shoot him?

It's times like this that it's hard to support the police. And after numerous stories about the misuse of tasers, I'm ready to lobby my local department to heavily restrict their issuance and use. Cops have been documented as using tasers on unruly 7-year-old girls for heaven's sake. The lawsuit against this agency and it's officers ought to be in the tens of millions of dollars for an outrageously excessive use of force.

[Slamfire]

A bedridden old person on oxygen is not going to be physically vigorous and does not have strong recuperative powers. An old lady on oxygen does not have good cardiovascular. Might have stopped her heart, her breathing, might have suffocated her when they took the oxygen away.

Those cops are very fortunate not to have killed her.

[Microgunner]

I think a monetary settlement and termination is getting off too easy for these criminals. They need to serve some jail time.

[pnac]

Hopefully it will result in a lawsuit against El Reno PD plus a civil suit and criminal charges against each of the officers involved. This is waaay over the top.

This is the way enemies are made and reflects badly on every police officer. It's not simply a case of one or two rogue cops, which would be bad enough, but ten rogue cops!

[vranasaurus]

My first question is why were the police there in the first place?

My second question is how do these guys not face criminal charges for assault and civil rights violations?

[zxcvbob]

My second question is how do these guys not face criminal charges for assault and civil rights violations?

Professional courtesy. (you can lock the thread now)

[heyjoe]

this is a copy of the police report of the incident

http://www.scribd.com/doc/33557136/D...on-Lona-Varner

[scorpion_tyr]

Always two sides to every story. Crazy old lady threatens cop with kitchen knife so he calls for backup and then tazes her to protect himself and her... or... cops bust in unwanted and taze poor granny for no reason as they step on her o2 hose so she can't breath.

If the officer didn't have a taser this could have been suicide by cop.

[Pbearperry]

Trust me when I tell you this folks.Truth and fact is not the basis of most newspaper stories.Cops don't talk to the press after an incident,just the morons involved.Most of these stories are one sided and attempts to make money.Most scum bags have nothing to lose,so why let the truth get in the way?

[Mike Irwin]

This isn't going anywhere useful at all.

If all you have to "contribute" in the future is a sentence or two describing your personal method of creative punishment....

Keep it to yourself.