Woman Calls Police, Gets Tasered

Story

Quote :

Janice Wells called the Richland Police Department when she feared a prowler was outside her clapboard house in the rural west Georgia town.

The third-grade teacher had phoned for help. But within minutes of an officer coming to her backdoor, she was screaming in pain and begging not to be shocked again with a Taser. With each scream and cry, the officer threatened her with more shocks.

I just...yeah, this is surreal.

Quote :

The details of the altercation between Wells and the officers have been fodder discussions in the two towns, which are only 10 miles apart. Some have speculated there was a racial component to the altercation between Wells and the policemen; Wells is black and the officers are white.

Stewart County Sheriff Larry Jones, who came to the house seconds after the last electric shock was administered, suspects the outcome would have been different if the woman had been white and the officers black.

“I don’t think they would have done a white female like that,” said Jones, who is black. “If they had, it wouldn’t have been any doubt about whether they need to be terminated.”

Lest you think it's just he-said/she-said, there is some lovely video caught by the officer's dash-cam.

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Wells, hidden from camera view by the open door of the Richland patrol car, can be heard pleading, “Don’t do that! Don’t do that!”

“Get in the car. Get in the car. You’re going to get it again,” Smith answered.

Almost immediately there is another clicking as the Taser is discharged again and Wells screams.

"Don't do it! Don't do it!" Wells pleads again.

According to the official reports, Officer Smith discharged his Taser 3 to 4 times. 1 time he accidentally shocked himself, the other times into Ms. Wells. At one point, he threatened to increase the strength of the charge if she did not start cooperating.

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Smith, who quit eight days after the incident, remains unrepentant.

"I did what I had to do to take control of the situation," Smith told the AJC about his decision to repeatedly discharge his Taser.

Yet his former boss, Lumpkin Police Chief Steven Ogle, was shocked when he saw the video.

"I couldn’t believe it,” Ogle said. “You don’t use it [a Taser] for punitive reasons, to prod someone. It was evident it was an improper use of force. He was an excellent officer other than that incident."

Yeah, excellent until he decided to taser a woman lying on the ground.

Officer Dumbfuck wrote:

"I did what I had to do to take control of the situation,"

WHAT SITUATION??? Honest to God, nothing apparently happened? This looks like a MadTv skit or some sh!t. It's so incredibly mind boggingly retarded it just looks like a parody. Of course it's not, but my point still stands.

Why was she lying on the floor though?

Jesus. wrote:

Why was she lying on the floor though?

Apparently she thought there was a prowler outside, so she called the cops, then called a neighbor to come wait with her until the cops showed up. When the first officer (a county Sheriff's Deputy) showed, he assumed it was a domestic disturbance call. After the neighbor left he demanded that she tell him the neighbor's name. After she refused, he tried to slap handcuffs on her for obstruction. She ran, he chased her, and then he pepper sprayed her.

Oh, that officer? He's now out of a job. The one who tasered her? He resigned from the force, but he was going to do that anyway because he was going to work for another county's sheriff.

Jesus. wrote:

Why was she lying on the floor though?

I would assume she fell to the floor after the first time being tasered? Unless she was on the floor to begin with then I have no clue.

I have no words for this situation, it's just ridiculous, baffling, enraging and dozens of other things.

Spotts1701 wrote:

Jesus. wrote:

Why was she lying on the floor though?

Apparently she thought there was a prowler outside, so she called the cops, then called a neighbor to come wait with her until the cops showed up. When the first officer (a county Sheriff's Deputy) showed, he assumed it was a domestic disturbance call. After the neighbor left he demanded that she tell him the neighbor's name. After she refused, he tried to slap handcuffs on her for obstruction. She ran, he chased her, and then he pepper sprayed her.

Oh, that officer? He's now out of a job. The one who tasered her? He resigned from the force, but he was going to do that anyway because he was going to work for another county's sheriff.

I got nothin'

Cops should not be allowed the use of tasers.

Psy-4 wrote:

Cops should not be allowed the use of tasers.

You'd rather they "control the situation" with firearms?

Actually, I'm rather shocked she was able to form any coherent words after being pepper sprayed. I had the extreme displeasure of watching someone get pepper sprayed once and all he could do was basically wail. I didn't blame him for that. I was standing 15' away and it made my eyes water painfully. Also, the cops around here get a rundown on what's going on before they arrive at a call--doesn't it work like that for all police?

Shocking behaviour.

Maximilia wrote:

You'd rather they "control the situation" with firearms?

Yes.

Psy-4 wrote:

Cops should not be allowed the use of tasers.

Better tasers than firearms. Tasers are much less likely to be fatal.

The problem is not with the weapon itself, but because some people are asswipes and abuse them.

Lady Anne wrote:

Psy-4 wrote:

Cops should not be allowed the use of tasers.

Better tasers than firearms. Tasers are much less likely to be fatal.

The problem is not with the weapon itself, but because some people are asswipes and abuse them.

What she said.

Knorg wrote:

Shocking behaviour.

Well honestly, what did she think was going to happen, calling the police while being black?

Lady Anne wrote:

Better tasers than firearms. Tasers are much less likely to be fatal.

That's the point. Tasers are more likely to be used indiscriminately. Why do you think they were issuing them like hotcakes? Also, tasers are still dangerous, it's just not as immediately apparent as guns.

Lady Anne wrote:

The problem is not with the weapon itself, but because some people are asswipes and abuse them.

It is, actually. Unless I am remembering it wrong and they routinely shot people to subdue them.

Psy-4 wrote:

Lady Anne wrote:

Better tasers than firearms. Tasers are much less likely to be fatal.

That's the point. Tasers are more likely to be used indiscriminately. Why do you think they were issuing them like hotcakes? Also, tasers are still dangerous, it's just not as immediately apparent as guns.

Lady Anne wrote:

The problem is not with the weapon itself, but because some people are asswipes and abuse them.

It is, actually. Unless I am remembering it wrong and they routinely shot people to subdue them.

Well, nightsticks are less likely to be fatal too, and still quite dangerous, yet I never hear of... OWAIT. There HAVE been vicious beatings in the name of "subduing" a target. Some quite famous ones too. They quite routinely do it as well. HMMMM... could it be the schmuck holding the weapon and not the weapon itself?

Maximilia wrote:

Well, nightsticks are less likely to be fatal too, and still quite dangerous, yet I never hear of... OWAIT. There HAVE been vicious beatings in the name of "subduing" a target. Some quite famous ones too. They quite routinely do it as well. HMMMM... could it be the schmuck holding the weapon and not the weapon itself?

Wow, okay, I'm guess this is the arguing over minor details. Your proof that weapon is not a factor is another less than lethal weapon? Weren't we talking about guns?

Maximilia wrote:

You'd rather they "control the situation" with firearms?

Actually, this arguing is pointless as the police will hesitate to use lethal weaponry and abuse non-lethal ones.

So, I'm right that firearms are better than tasers, and you're right that the problem lies with the shmuck that abuses (whatever he is told is non-lethal).

Lady Anne wrote:

Psy-4 wrote:

Cops should not be allowed the use of tasers.

Better tasers than firearms. Tasers are much less likely to be fatal.

The problem is not with the weapon itself, but because some people are asswipes and abuse them.

Better firearms than Tasers. Firearms are much less likely to be used.

Or, if you are going to have Tasers, make using them into such a pain in the ass that an officer is only going to pull one if has damn good cause to think it necessary. I think having to take every single person you Tase to the emergency room and having to wait there with him or her until a doctor has checked out that everything's OK, and then having to file a long, detailed incident report would cool some of these thug's ardor.

rachel wrote:

Lady Anne wrote:

Psy-4 wrote:

Cops should not be allowed the use of tasers.

Better tasers than firearms. Tasers are much less likely to be fatal.

The problem is not with the weapon itself, but because some people are asswipes and abuse them.

Better firearms than Tasers. Firearms are much less likely to be used.

Or, if you are going to have Tasers, make using them into such a pain in the ass that an officer is only going to pull one if has damn good cause to think it necessary. I think having to take every single person you Tase to the emergency room and having to wait there with him or her until a doctor has checked out that everything's OK, and then having to file a long, detailed incident report would cool some of these thug's ardor.

So cops should A) Use lethal force or B) be so restricted in their use of non-lethal force that they might as well have used lethal force. What could possibly go wrong?

What's wrong with pepper spray? Isn't it a much better alternative to the taser?

Bad boys bad boys
Whatcha gonna do
Whatcha gonna do when they come for you

Psy-4 wrote:

What's wrong with pepper spray? Isn't it a much better alternative to the taser?

Not really - there are very few people who can take a shot from a taser and remain a threat to officers. But there are more people who can withstand a shot of pepper spray and stay standing.

The problem is that because a taser is classified as a "non-lethal" weapon, officers feel more at liberty to use them because there is a lessened risk of permanent harm to the suspect/victim.

Better training, more rigorous psychological testing for new recruits, and clearer use/don't use protocols are a better solution than outright banning them.

True.

What I've been saying so far.

Yes, sounds like a much better solution.

Lookit Spotts' logic all up in this gun wank

gaijinguy wrote:

rachel wrote:

Lady Anne wrote:

Psy-4 wrote:

Cops should not be allowed the use of tasers.

Better tasers than firearms. Tasers are much less likely to be fatal.

The problem is not with the weapon itself, but because some people are asswipes and abuse them.

Better firearms than Tasers. Firearms are much less likely to be used.

Or, if you are going to have Tasers, make using them into such a pain in the ass that an officer is only going to pull one if has damn good cause to think it necessary. I think having to take every single person you Tase to the emergency room and having to wait there with him or her until a doctor has checked out that everything's OK, and then having to file a long, detailed incident report would cool some of these thug's ardor.

So cops should A) Use lethal force or B) be so restricted in their use of non-lethal force that they might as well have used lethal force. What could possibly go wrong?

The mistake you're making is in thinking that officers are using Tasers are an alternative to lethal force when instead they're using Tasers as an alternative to common sense. Do you really think the assholes who Tased this woman were thinking: "Oh thank God we don't have to shoot her; we can just zap her instead"?