The Green Cove Springs, Florida police department was called to a 56-year-old woman's house in response to a disturbance call in April, 2006. Officers arrived to find the woman, who was mentally ill and wheelchair-bound, agitated and armed with two knives and a hammer, which she was using to threaten her family and then the police once they arrived.
As part of being subdued, the officers TASERED her, and boy, did they ever:
"According to a police report, one of the officers used her Taser gun nine times for a total of 160 seconds (emphasis mine) and the other officer discharged his Taser gun once for a total of no more than five seconds."
The woman, Emily Delafield, later died at a hospital, and the TASERING was listed as a contributing factor by the medical examiner. The family has now announced that they are going to sue the department.
I fully realize that this was a very tense call for the officers, and the presence of weapons and the woman's apparent willingness to use them made it a touchy situation, but the woman was in a wheelchair and not very mobile, after all, and two and a half minutes seems like an awfully long time to TASER anyone, let alone an older disabled lady who is certified schizophrenic. Would simply waiting her out have been an option? Obviously, TASERING is preferable to deadly force, but the amount and length of time of the shocks in this instance seem to be quite excessive.
I don't know how to call this one. Thoughts?
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2 comments:
Perhaps a brief taser dose would have stunned the woman enough for the cops to sieze the weapons. I agree - the use of force seems excessive.
I would sue, too.
They can't disarm a wheelchair bound lady any other way? come on.
Giving Tasers to poorly trained or abusive cops is an accident waiting to happen.
The departments that issue thme should have some sort of mandatory training, and a scheme of accountability, until such time as the u.s. decides to ban them.
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