Texas Cop Tasers Granny

I don’t belive “not signing the ticket” was a crime. From what I understand, it simply meant that she would not be released with what amounted to a notice to appear in court. At this point you might want to read how, upon agreeing by default to be arrested, her subsequent resistance to arrest amounts to a new crime. But these sort of facts get in the way of an good old tantrum (eveyrone needs to cry now and then, huh. crying’s okay), so I won’t bother you with anymore.

From your point of view. From my point of view, the cop - the one with all the authority, mind you - chose to escalate the situation.

Well, sure, granted. I was taught to say yes sir/no sir/have a nice day and scarcely a peep else when I’m pulled over. Because of this, of the 15 or 20 times I’ve been pulled over (I was a real idiot of a driver in my teens and early 20s :o) I’ve gotten exactly 2 real tickets and 1 warning in my life, and never been asked to step out of my vehicle. Some people are just dumb. If being dumb was a tasin’ we’d all be shocked to shit every once in awhile.

Of course in this day and age they could just do that, video the incident well, then tack on an additional serious “wouldnt sign the ticket” charge to the original speeding ticket. I am actually somewhat surprised they dont already do that these days.

This assumes the tag has been run, a general ID has been made, and this car or person isnt of special interest already to law enforcement types.

Then of course some other crabby grandma would refuse to show her liscense or try to drive off early and we would still be back to square one.

Considering the overwhelming evidence that she DID get it (officer’s word, officer’s copy, and video tape of her receiving it with her voice, vehicle, and license plate on it), that’s what’s called an outdated and stupid law. And I have a feeling she would not have gotten away clean if he’d left the ticket with her and went about his business. Courts have a funny way of finding loopholes around these things.

Thank you.

Unless I’m mistaken the Texas State statute concerning NOT signing the ticket has already been cited by MOIDALIZE …but as Gonzomax said, the cop should have let her go.

Right, better he chat her up in oncoming traffic till she has to pee, get’s hungry or Matlock comes on. That, or let her learn the invaluable lesson that old people, along with naked wizards, don’t get traffic tickets if they don’t want them - let that shit get out of the knitting circle and there’ll be a highway full of Crown Vic’s at unmanageable speeds - at least they’ll be off the road by dusk, at which time every Piccadilly will become a den of lawlessness.

Bullshit! Being a granny is no excuse for breaking the law. I guess we should feel sorry for that poor defenseless 88 year old man who went on that shooting rampage.

Gah! Are you being intentionally obtuse? The question isn’t whether she got the ticket, but whether she agreed to appear in Court. Will you at long last process what we’re telling you. Commit a crime —> get arrested. Commit a lessor offense (like a traffic violation) —> get the option to be released upon an agreement to appear in court. She did not agree. She gets arrested. Don’t agree with the law, fine move to Texas and have it changed.

Seriously, don’t mention it.

I knew that robe was throwing off my game somehow :slight_smile:

Well, you missed the good part. Probably just as well for you, as it contained a thoughtful, compelling, well reasoned response to your position, one I would have enjoyed seeing you try to rebut. *Que sera sera.
*

sigh

She didn’t get tased because she was speeding. She was a threat because she was speeding, for one, and, for two, because she failed to comply with the officer’s reasonable and lawful commands. She was tased due to the latter behavior, not the former. Get it now?

Ok, I’ll read it just for you.

Nope, not seeing a thoughtful or well reasoned response. Just ad-hom insults, strawmen, and stuff that’s already been said and I already addressed. Wish I would’ve continued to follow my instincts and not read it.

You’re the one not getting it. For the 3rd (or 4th, or whatever time):

I said she wasn’t a threat that deserved tasing
You said she was a thread because she was speeding
This suggests speeding should be punished by tasing

It’s very, very simple, really. I’m sorry that you made a horrible, irrelevant counterpoint, but at least own up to it, ok?

Honestly, the chances of the cop hurting the woman by wrestling her are a heck of a lot greater than her being hurt by a taser. The cop absolutely did the right thing. As the cop’s immediate superior said, he’d taze his own mother under those circumstances.

If it came down to “his word against hers” the cop would almost certainly be off the force and in jail; septugenarian grannies have a talent for winning cases like this. Thank God for the dash cam.

Cisco,

Could you please read what I wrote in Post 76 and explain what problems you have from there?

Oh well. I guess I was wrong. Your rebuttal wasn’t nearly as entertaining as I had hoped. Somewhat instructive, however.

The threat from speeding is negligible. She was a threat for getting in the officer’s face and continually walking into traffic when directed not to. And if you don’t think a senior citizen poses a physical threat, you’ve never worked in a nursing home.

On the same vein some of the others here have been suggesting:

What exactly was accomplished here by this cop?

The old lady would have had to pay the ticket. If she didn’t, first the fees would have gone up, then her licence would have been suspended. She would have had to pay. why did the officer escalate the situation? There was no need to.

So instead of giving her the ticket and leaving, he tasered and arrested a cantankerous old woman.

Wow! What a hero! I sure feel safer now that he is keeping the sour old ladies at bay.

Huh. I guess I’ll take the bait:
please show me where you address the contention that she was lawfully arrested for her failure to indicate her willingness to appear by signing the ticket;
please show me where you address the contention that she was tased for resiting arrest and not speeding;
please show me where you addressed the contention that because she was tased for resiting arrest and not speeding that your slide down the slope to tasing all speeders is illogical, alternatviely defend your assertion that approving of the tasing of someone for resiting arrest is the equivalent to approving of the tasing of all speeders;
please show me that you understand not just how to spell the word strawman but that you actually know what it means by identifying one strawman in the referenced post.

If the cop drove away without having her sign it then no, she wouldn’t have.