# Officer tasers woman twice..for driving on a suspended license **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 20, 2006, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/officer-tasers-woman-twice-for-driving-on-a-suspended-license/365399 "2006-07-20T22:23:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2006, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/officer-tasers-woman-twice-for-driving-on-a-suspended-license/365399/41 "2006-07-21T00:28:14Z")
Since this is an old story I searched around for any follow-up articles, but my Google-fu found nothing but links to the story from a thousand blogs. The [palmbeachpost.com](http://palmbeachpost.com) site had a reporter’s version of the story, FWIW the woman placed in the top 100 out of 8,000 contestants in a Jamacian modelling competition. Supposedly she still had marks on her arm 10 months later: > **[Search - palmbeachpost.com](https://www.palmbeachpost.com/search/?q=content)** I agree with GorillaMan, it’s disturbing to see the absolute subserviance many people have to “authority figures.” If they asked you to lick their boots would you do that too? ---
**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2006, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/officer-tasers-woman-twice-for-driving-on-a-suspended-license/365399/42 "2006-07-21T00:28:35Z")
[QUOTE=GorillaMan] [QUOTE=Weirddave] That is resisting arrest, or perhaps a lesser charge that some municipalities have called ignoring instructions from a police officer or **something like that.** _Something like that_ != ‘resisting arrest’ [/QUOTE] “Something like that” was in reference to exactly what term is used in different jurisdictions for the action of failing to comply with the instructions of a police officer. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2006, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/officer-tasers-woman-twice-for-driving-on-a-suspended-license/365399/43 "2006-07-21T00:29:13Z")
I re-read it, and what I see is a denial that she was being arrested, which is not the case. The quoted part of the article explicitly states that she was being arrested. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2006, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/officer-tasers-woman-twice-for-driving-on-a-suspended-license/365399/44 "2006-07-21T00:32:01Z")
[QUOTE=Airman Doors, USAF] I re-read it, and what I see is a denial that she was being arrested, which is not the case. The quoted part of the article explicitly states that she was being arrested. [/QUOTE] Never mind the article, where in the video is it clear that she is being arrested? (It’s perfectly possible that she _was_ arrested, perhaps at a later stage, that’s not the issue) ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2006, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/officer-tasers-woman-twice-for-driving-on-a-suspended-license/365399/45 "2006-07-21T00:34:08Z")
[QUOTE=control-z] Do it or get tasered, sheep. You have 10 seconds to comply. BAAAAAA!!! Hopefully this officer will get what he deserves, which is another jolt with the taser so he remembers what it feels like before he so nonchalantly uses it again. [/QUOTE] **control-z** , you’re a fucking moron, and you’ll probably get yourself shot the next time you’re pulled over. What was he supposed to do, wait in his patrol car until she was done with her smoke and phone call? Harsh language wasn’t doing any good- her time was obviously more important than his duties. It would take a lot more than a phone call for me to resist arrest- she was an idiot. And don’t you DARE compare her to Rosa Parks. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2006, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/officer-tasers-woman-twice-for-driving-on-a-suspended-license/365399/46 "2006-07-21T00:34:40Z")
[QUOTE=Airman Doors, USAF] …what I see is a denial that she was being arrested… [/QUOTE] Oh, on re-watching, I get it…she said “…or he’s gonna arrest me…”, which makes it an attempt to arrest her. Right? What do I win? ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2006, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/officer-tasers-woman-twice-for-driving-on-a-suspended-license/365399/47 "2006-07-21T00:35:11Z")
Do you know what is required to arrest somebody? Step one: get them out of the car. They were getting her out of the car and she refused. That’s the evidence that they were going to arrest her. Are you really trying to dispute that they were trying to arrest her? If so you’re probably going to be the only one. ---
**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2006, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/officer-tasers-woman-twice-for-driving-on-a-suspended-license/365399/48 "2006-07-21T00:37:34Z")
[QUOTE=Weirddave] A police officer does not have the right to order you to suck his dick or dance across the freeway at rush hour or to clean the windows of his cruiser with your tie, so can we just get rid of the inevitable strawmen before they crop up? Please? [/QUOTE] [QUOTE=control-z] I agree with GorillaMan, it’s disturbing to see the absolute subserviance many people have to “authority figures.” If they asked you to lick their boots would you do that too? [/QUOTE] Wow. You held off on the strawman for five whole posts! Commendable restraint! ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2006, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/officer-tasers-woman-twice-for-driving-on-a-suspended-license/365399/49 "2006-07-21T00:45:32Z")
[QUOTE=Lightnin’] **control-z** , you’re a fucking moron, and you’ll probably get yourself shot the next time you’re pulled over. What was he supposed to do, wait in his patrol car until she was done with her smoke and phone call? Harsh language wasn’t doing any good- her time was obviously more important than his duties. It would take a lot more than a phone call for me to resist arrest- she was an idiot. And don’t you DARE compare her to Rosa Parks. [/QUOTE] I know this is the pit and all, but you don’t really need to call me a moron. FWIW, I’ve been pulled over several times over the years, with absolutely no problems at all. This officer didn’t handle the situation well at all. This lady didn’t need to be tasered. He gave her less than 20 seconds to get out of the vehicle. She had already stated she didn’t trust the police, she was distracted and on the phone calling her brother, and she was distraught. Are officers not taught to reason with people? Do they have to resort to potentially deadly physical force so quickly? She was not a danger to anyone, she was just an annoying mouthy person who didn’t trust cops. Maybe it’s nice to fantasize about hurting annoying people but in reality it’s disturbing. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2006, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/officer-tasers-woman-twice-for-driving-on-a-suspended-license/365399/50 "2006-07-21T00:48:53Z")
[QUOTE=Airman Doors, USAF] Do you know what is required to arrest somebody? Step one: get them out of the car. They were getting her out of the car and she refused. That’s the evidence that they were going to arrest her. Are you really trying to dispute that they were trying to arrest her? If so you’re probably going to be the only one. [/QUOTE] So (a) you’re telling me that _any_ request by a police officer to leave a vehicle is part of an arrest? Or that the refusal to leave the car to faciliate the arrest constituted resisting arrest? At what point in the situation we see on the video does it change, in your opinion, from police-civilian interaction to attempted arrest? ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2006, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/officer-tasers-woman-twice-for-driving-on-a-suspended-license/365399/51 "2006-07-21T00:50:07Z")
[QUOTE=GorillaMan] You’ve clearly got a better copy of the video and/or a better psychic understanding of the officer in question than me. [/QUOTE] I was responding to **control-z** ’s suggestion that she was only swatting the officer’s hand away. I was pointing out that doing so would be considered resisting a lawful order and/or arrest (seeing they had a warrant for her driving on a suspended license), and therefore, is NOT something she had a right to do. **control-z** , the article you linked to says this: > [@](#): > > It shows, at 7:50 a.m. on Aug. 6, Goodwin’s silver Isuzu Rodeo pass by, McNevin following and eventually pulling her over. > > As McNevin approaches the Rodeo, Goodwin opens her door and launches into a stream of criticism and questions. She tells him he pulled her over for no reason, says Boynton Beach officers are “the worst” and, according to the officer’s report, calls him racist. He tells her that in addition to speeding, she has a broken windshield, a broken tail light and isn’t wearing a seat belt. > > At 7:54 a.m., a dispatcher adds one more offense to the list: Goodwin’s license is suspended. McNevin tells Goodwin she is under arrest. He directs her to put out her cigarette, get off her cellphone and step out of the car. She says, “No, I’m calling somebody.” He repeats his order and tries to grab her wrist, but she pulls away and says, “Stop. Don’t touch me.” > > McNevin draws his Taser and points it into the car. A second officer opens Goodwin’s passenger door and tries to grab her cellphone. > > It’s impossible to see on the video what is happening inside the car. In his report, McNevin wrote that “it appeared that Goodwin attempted to slap Officer Reynolds.” She says she never did that. Broken tail light, speeding, broken WINDSHIELD, no seat belt-all are violations of the law. Therefore, the cop had every right to stop her. When he found out she was driving on a SUSPENDED LICENSE, he informed her that she was under arrest (multiple violations) She refused. Thus, she resisted arrest, and slapped him. But yeah, sure, she’s the next Rosa Parks. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2006, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/officer-tasers-woman-twice-for-driving-on-a-suspended-license/365399/52 "2006-07-21T00:58:58Z")
Discrepancy: there’s four minutes between she was stopped and the suspension coming to light from the dispatcher. Certainly longer than it took for the taser to get used. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2006, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/officer-tasers-woman-twice-for-driving-on-a-suspended-license/365399/53 "2006-07-21T01:14:53Z")
Forgive me, but the video is lacking what I consider to be a crucial element. What could that be, Oakie? hehehehe… It desparately needs a little… **MUSIC**! Well, what song is it you wanna hear? No, not _Free Bird_. This video **must** be accompanied by a ditty from 1965, By Bobby Fuller… Breaking rocks in the hot sun I fought the law and the law won I fought the law and the law won ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2006, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/officer-tasers-woman-twice-for-driving-on-a-suspended-license/365399/54 "2006-07-21T01:16:54Z")
What are you talking about? He was told that she was driving on a suspended license immediately prior to when he went up to the car and told her to get out, which she refused to do. He gave her every opportunity to get out, and she was openly resistant and hostile throughout because she was nailed. There is no discrepancy. That’s perfectly evident from the timestamps. ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2006, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/officer-tasers-woman-twice-for-driving-on-a-suspended-license/365399/55 "2006-07-21T01:26:33Z")
[QUOTE=control-z] This officer didn’t handle the situation well at all. This lady didn’t need to be tasered. He gave her less than 20 seconds to get out of the vehicle. She had already stated she didn’t trust the police, she was distracted and on the phone calling her brother, and she was distraught. Are officers not taught to reason with people? Do they have to resort to potentially deadly physical force so quickly? She was not a danger to anyone, she was just an annoying mouthy person who didn’t trust cops. Maybe it’s nice to fantasize about hurting annoying people but in reality it’s disturbing. [/QUOTE] Read the old thread…this was all covered in detail. Something else to note, she has prior experience with the police, IIRC her warrants/suspension was due to failures to appear on previous tickets. Dangerous, probably not, angel, not even close. Like people who try running from the cops, she knew she was in trouble and proceeded to be an even bigger dumbass. This isn’t any kind of tragedy, this is the kind of thing we need to remember, resisting arrest is futile and generally results in immense pain and embarrasment. Also the fact that you are cute and female does not mean you have some magic shield that protects you from being touched by an officer trying to arrest you. There is another thread on women resisting arrest elsewhere. Would it have made a difference in your opinion if the driver was larger and male with the same history? ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2006, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/officer-tasers-woman-twice-for-driving-on-a-suspended-license/365399/56 "2006-07-21T01:29:12Z")
[QUOTE=control-z] This officer didn’t handle the situation well at all. This lady didn’t need to be tasered. He gave her less than 20 seconds to get out of the vehicle. She had already stated she didn’t trust the police, she was distracted and on the phone calling her brother, and she was distraught. [/quote] So what? If I were being arrested, I’d be pretty distraught, too. Yes, he gave her less than 20 seconds. Again, so what? Do you really expect the cops to stand there while you take your own sweet time? And, possibly, grab the gun beneath your seat? > [@](#): > > Are officers not taught to reason with people? Are you fucking _kidding_? Cops aren’t paid to stand around and argue with people and listen to them try to wheedle their way out of being charged. They’re there to make an arrest and transport the suspect to booking. If you feel the charges are bogus, you’ll have plenty of time to explain that in court. If you feel the officer was being rude, you have every right to report that later. But when a cop tells you to get out of your car, _you get out of your goddam car._ > [@](#): > > Do they have to resort to potentially deadly physical force so quickly? Yes. She was non-compliant. He warned her and she refused to cooperate. For all he knew she would get violent if he gave her more time, potentially hurting herself or others. He had no obligation to stand around and wait until she _felt_ like obeying his commands. > [@](#): > > She was not a danger to anyone, she was just an annoying mouthy person who didn’t trust cops. Let me get this straight: you’re asking a cop to somehow be able to deduce that this woman, who is verbally abusive and non-compliant is no danger? And how are they to know this? It’s absolutely _amazing_ how you were able to tell she was as gentle as a fly, unarmed, not on any sort of drugs that would make her irrational just from a few moments of fuzzy video! Wow! You really need to share this incredible ability with law enforcement officers around the country who walk into a potentially deadly situation at every traffic stop, every bust and every confronation. > [@](#): > > Maybe it’s nice to fantasize about hurting annoying people but in reality it’s disturbing. I don’t like it when people get hurt. It would have been so much better if she had just complied quietly and addressed her concerns in the appropriate place, (i.e a courtroom) wouldn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2006, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/officer-tasers-woman-twice-for-driving-on-a-suspended-license/365399/57 "2006-07-21T01:29:28Z")
[QUOTE=drachillix] There is another thread on women resisting arrest elsewhere. [/QUOTE] [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=198238&highlight=arrest](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=198238&highlight=arrest) ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2006, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/officer-tasers-woman-twice-for-driving-on-a-suspended-license/365399/58 "2006-07-21T01:31:00Z")
[QUOTE=GorillaMan] So (a) you’re telling me that _any_ request by a police officer to leave a vehicle is part of an arrest? Or that the refusal to leave the car to faciliate the arrest constituted resisting arrest? At what point in the situation we see on the video does it change, in your opinion, from police-civilian interaction to attempted arrest? [/QUOTE] As a knowledgeable observer of police procedure (I watch a lot of “Cops”), it is standard to order people facing arrest out of their vehicles and get them under physical control before the formalities of “You are under arrest, you have the right…”. This likely has to do in part with people’s sometimes violent reactions\* to being told they are under arrest, and to place them in a controlled situation, unlike in a vehicle where they could grab for a hidden weapon, try to suddenly start their car and speed away etc. The woman in this case _knew_ or strongly suspected she was being arrested\*\*, and continued to resist commands and (allegedly) struck at an officer. I don’t know whether local police procedure was followed acceptably in this case, but it hardly looks like a glaring civil rights violation.\*\*\* \*I’m sure that in England the typical reaction to being arrested is something like “Oh my goodness - but I’ll cooperate gladly even if the cup of tea down at the station house is a bit stale.” \*\*Either she had experience or watches a lot of “Cops” too. \*\*\*Wonder how this bust would have gone down if Cynthia McKinney had been driving. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2006, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/officer-tasers-woman-twice-for-driving-on-a-suspended-license/365399/59 "2006-07-21T01:36:09Z")
[QUOTE=Lissa] Are you fucking _kidding_? Cops aren’t paid to stand around and argue with people and listen to them try to wheedle their way out of being charged. They’re there to make an arrest and transport the suspect to booking. If you feel the charges are bogus, you’ll have plenty of time to explain that in court. If you feel the officer was being rude, you have every right to report that later. But when a cop tells you to get out of your car, _you get out of your goddam car._ [/quote] So the police are employed to arrest people, no matter what? Please expand on this. > [@](#): > > Let me get this straight: you’re asking a cop to somehow be able to deduce that this woman, who is verbally abusive and non-compliant is no danger? And how are they to know this? … > [@](#): > > It’s absolutely _amazing_ how you were able to tell she was as gentle as a fly, unarmed, not on any sort of drugs that would make her irrational just from a few moments of fuzzy video! Wow! Wow to you too, for knowing that she was such a clear and immediate danger as to justify such extreme measures. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2006, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/officer-tasers-woman-twice-for-driving-on-a-suspended-license/365399/60 "2006-07-21T01:39:28Z")
[QUOTE=Jackmannii] The woman in this case _knew_ or strongly suspected she was being arrested\*\*, and continued to resist commands and (allegedly) struck at an officer. I don’t know whether local police procedure was followed acceptably in this case, but it hardly looks like a glaring civil rights violation.\*\*\* [/quote] Brilliant. “She was being arrested” becomes “she probably knew she was going to be arrested”, without any question. > [@](#): > > \*I’m sure that in England the typical reaction to being arrested is something like “Oh my goodness - but I’ll cooperate gladly even if the cup of tea down at the station house is a bit stale.” As I indicated earlier, even we have more rights than many of us realise. And if someone (a) refuses to leave a vehicle and (b) is considered dangerous (note that A does not necessarily mean B), it’s much safer for all involved to just close the road and deal with the situation properly. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/officer-tasers-woman-twice-for-driving-on-a-suspended-license/365399.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/officer-tasers-woman-twice-for-driving-on-a-suspended-license/365399.md?page=4)