The 72-year-old woman who was hit with a Taser by a deputy constable during a May traffic stop wants $135,000 from Travis County, but commissioners on Tuesday unanimously approved $40,000 as their "firm" counteroffer.

Details.

Perhaps the officer should look at a counter suit for all of the humiliation he suffered as a result of her actions.

She practically forced his hand...

I would go with the nothing also...or maybe a deductible for a medical checkup to make sure she's okay and that's about it. Although I'm sure 40G is nothing compared to what the county would pay in attorney's fees even if they won down the road, so maybe that's what they are looking at. I would definitely say the deputy constable has had more trouble than she has--hers was over after the zap unless it somehow caused her some physical damage, which I doubt.

I didn�t know there was a requisite age bracket for getting Tazed. Does the Officer on the side of the road have a responsibility to check a person�s age before zapping that person? What happens if the person is over age? �I�m sorry mam, you don�t qualify to be Tazed�so I have no other recourse but to deal with your life threatening belligerent behavior in the traditional way, by shooting you with this 40 caliber Glock�sorry those are the rules�have a nice day.� People just need to realize that there may be a little discomfort that results from breaking bad with the POlice�even in Austin.

The way I read Texas Penal Code 9.51(c), an officer's use of deadly force is justified to arrest a person when the officer has a reasonable belief the person used or attempted to use deadly force OR has a reasonable belief the person is about to cause serious bodily injury to another if the arrest is delayed.


I think shooting her with his "40 caliber Glock" would probably have been murder and cost the city more than $40K

I read Fred's response to be tongue-in-cheek. Maybe I misunderstood.

Whoops well thats embarrassing.
Sorry y'all.

Fred's probably old school like me. When I started in 1981 it was verbal, hands on, stick and then gun.

Nowadays cops have all of the fancy take down holds and pressure points (commonly called defensive tactics). They also have pepper spray and fancy Star Wars expandable batons.

So many options. What is a good cop to do

You may well be right technically, but your missing my point (maybe badly made)We ask police officers to perform certain duties and give them the tools and training to accomplish those duties. Too often when they do what they are asked to do, the way they are asked to do it, the rules get changed and they are told that in retrospect, you were wrong in the way you handled the matter and you are going to be held responsible for the "error." Of course corrections have to be made, sure new SOPs have to be developed. But out on the side of road, in the heat of confrontation, is not the place to do it. It is an unrealistic expectation. We train officers to use good judgment and when they do so, they are penalized. A seventy-two year old grandmother is not per se a harmless person...even in Austin. I do remember something about "one tough Grandma."

Maybe they should issue extra "boots" so that officers can simply immobilize the cars of obstreperous folks like this until they sign the tickets. But I guess then there would be a hue and cry about leaving grandma stranded on the side of the road. Is there any good solution that allows proper respect for the law and proper respect for elders?

If you "boot" the car then Grandma will have undue stress and will sue for her emotional distress, the emotional distress her kittie suffers because Grandma did not make it home on time, the scratch on her prized wheel rim, etc. There are people out there who, once you tick them off, will hound you relentlessly no matter how reasonable your original actions were.

I do not want to research it, but does a speeding citation have to be signed?

Could the officer have indicated defendant's refusal to sign and left a copy in her vehicle? Or, are there other problems that I am missing?

the signature on a ticket is your promise to appear. no sign no promise to appear. i guess the officer could have filed on her at large and sent notice by mail or got an arrest warrant for her. the same result - problems getting her to court.

I believe that if you refuse to sign a speeding ticket, you can be arrested on the spot. Speeding is a no-arrest offense only if the defendant signs a promise to appear.

"when they train officers to use good judgment and they do so..."

Have you seen the video?

"A seventy-two year old grandmother is not per se a harmless person...even in Austin. I do remember something about "one tough Grandma.""

I remember something about a seventy-two year old central Texas rancher - Marvin Edison Hale and a twenty-eight year old State Trooper - Randall Vetter.

Yes, and the reason Trooper Vetter was killed? The old man didn't want to wear a seat belt. He had been stopped several times for the seat belt violation and felt the cops were harassing him.

There is no such thing as a "routine traffic stop".

Rest in Peace my Brother.