Video: Oklahoma Police Officer Uses Taser on Handcuffed Woman

Look, the bottom line here is, the Police are supposed to be trained proffessionals in dealing with situations like this, and the correct response to her spitting at him, as has already been posted, is to put her to the floor and put an anti spit mask on her.

Its not about defending the womans actions, which are totally wrong, but Policemen must be able to be relied upon to respond to every situation with a cool head and by the book.

The public put their trust in the police to behave correctly, and to enforce the law without emotion. I understand they have an incredibly difficult, dangerous job to do in this day and age, but to respond in this manner means the officer lost his composure and overstepped the line. I dont know whether this is the first time he has behaved like this (in which case his superiors would take that into account) or he's got a history of losing it (in which case, he is a danger to his colleagues and shouldnt be an officer of the law).

Im sure the 90% of decent cops look at this footage and groan. It does nothing for public relations and enforces negative views of law enforcement. I hope the officer involved is regretting his behaviour and is given a second chance if its a one off. She on the other hand should be answering for her actions, but unfortunatley, the fact that the cop snapped and tazed her puts the chances of that in doubt.

Oh, and, you cant get AID's from saliva, unless it has blood in it, and it gets into an open wound.

Originally posted by LadyGreenEyes

Originally posted by SmikeS
Evidently the tazer barbs are to be removed by an RN

I didn't see any barbs.

From the OP's link;

Ms Williams doesn't fall to the ground during the attack but her lawyer claims the real damage was done when officers removed the taser's barbs, out of the view of CCTV.
'They sat her down on a bench and yanked them out... they were embedded in her upper-left breast, if you can imagine,' Jeremy Beaver said.

I think she might still have a case, especially if they left a scares on her breast.

reply to post by Manhater


You can't give aids to someone through saliva.

reply to post by Corruption Exposed
I have read through the thread.What a lot of people have forgotten is.That in the 80's when Tasers were interdouced.The police told us they were to be used in lnstead of deadly force.Well folks when the got them.they changed the guidelines.They are now used as cattle prods.They are a tool of compliance,to be used on people from 12 to 70 or out of anger.The old policy needs to be reinstated they have been shown to contribute to deaths.They should be used in lieu of deadly force only.Not be used as cattle prods.

Originally posted by Thunda
Oh, and, you cant get AID's from saliva, unless it has blood in it, and it gets into an open wound.

edit on 30-11-2012 by Thunda because: (no reason given)

Originally posted by XLR8R
You can't give aids to someone through saliva.

Okay.. Chronic Hepatitus B, Cold sores (aka Herpes), Molluscum contagiosum.. take your pick.

Point is that spitting at someone in an area that can pass on unwanted infections (for life none the less) is NOT ok.. and deserves whatever action deemed necessary.

When you're a police officer, your chances of contracting anything is amplified because of the rigorous actions caused by non-compliant perps.

It is a shame that there are cops out there that abuse power that so many of you forget that some of these reactions are protocol and for the safety of a human being. Just try to remember that some of these videos have been made by others that are just as pissed off as you are and are blind to the normality of LEO protocols.

I'd like to hear from those who think this is so inhumane explain exactly how they would handle a spitting drunkard that may be infected with something they don't want.

reply to post by Jerk_Idiot


Why should a police officer have no recourse against someone who is spitting at them?

I did not say he should break her arm or anything like that. Nice way to jump to conclusions.

What should he have done? Perhaps given her a hug?

reply to post by Corruption Exposed


Truth be told any one, be it man or woman who is willing to spit on me, would get bitch slapped. Don't turn it into a sexual debate.

reply to post by RobertF


Then you would be in jail next to that girl.I would like to see your post about the way you were treated.After all you would have,just been defending yourself.Like what the "officer" did.He hasn't gone to jail ,so with the same actions applied you shouldn't go to jail either.

reply to post by 31Bravo

I'd like to hear from those who think this is so inhumane explain exactly how they would handle a spitting drunkard that may be infected with something they don't want.

you'd have to ask your cop buddies cause most citizens wouldn't react in such a manner.
actually, citizens who did would be arrested themselves and most know it.

truthfully, you should ask Hadriana (previous poster) ... she and others in her profession deal with it daily and to my knowledge they don't carry tazers or guns ... they use other resources.

and i totally agree with her last comment --> this cop and others like him are COWARDS

Originally posted by Honor93
you'd have to ask your cop buddies cause most citizens wouldn't react in such a manner.
actually, citizens who did would be arrested themselves and most know it.

Then how could this post, or any other for that matter, possibly be valid? I was under the impression these posts were to expose the corrupt and give constructive alternatives to a much better way to make non-compliant subjects much docile with milk and cookies.

EDIT: ***Disclaimer*** CorruptionExposed, I like most of your posts and as much as I know how words on ATS can be misconstrued as rude, I want to make it clear that I am not trying to sharpshoot you or bash your intelligence.

truthfully, you should ask Hadriana (previous poster) ... she and others in her profession deal with it daily and to my knowledge they don't carry tazers or guns ... they use other resources.

I appreciate you directing me to her comment, however, I have also had the opportunity to work in an E.R. and O.R. (when I thought I was going for nursing but that is a different story) and I can tell you that they have LEO's on standby just in case. Also, LEO's don't have safety measures like a nurse does on hand. A nurse can easily put on a face shield, wash her face and hands with microbial soap foam, and change her scrubs in a matter of minutes.. an LEO's safety measures are whatever they have on hand, and the authority a police officer is given the day he graduates the academy.

You calling an officer a coward for doing what he thinks is best for him and others in the station is like calling a doctor a killer for letting a patient die in an operating room due to a decision he has made during his operation.. are you a doctor? No, and neither am I.. so who am I to judge him?

reply to post by Corruption Exposed


Talk about buff for nothing.

He couldn't handle a snooki sized female with all his training?


WTF is he doing being a cop?

The point is that if we can`t go around tazering people who spit on us then the cops can`t either, these gestapo thugs think that they can live by a different set of laws than we the people live by.The tax payers spend a lot of money to train and equip the police to be professionals, any thug on the street can tazer someone who spits on them, the tax payers deserve better from the police.
maybe this clown should look into a different line of work because he obviously isn`t cut out to be a cop.

ETA: now we the tax payers get to pay out millions in a lawsuit because this guy doesn`t know how to do his job.

Originally posted by Corruption Exposed
reply to post by MessOnTheFED!

 

You raise some good points and most of them I agree with. The one point I do not agree with is that I believe she should be allowed to sue, as she should also be charged with assaulting the police officer. She was no danger to him while in handcuffs and as disgusting of an act it is to spit on someone, it does not deserve to be met with excessive force.

If she wasn't handcuffed and resisting restraint, then perhaps the use of a taser would be justified. Personally I am against the use of tasers because they have been proven to be lethal on many occasions so I do not think a disrespectful act such as spitting should be countered with potentially lethal force.

But yes, they both over reacted...but as I said to the other poster the officer is held to higher standards than a drunken civilian.

I believed her being tazed was the right thing to do. She spit on the cop and who knows what diseases she has and needed to be subdued and had a spit mask put on. However the cops didn't act like that was their plan, seems weird after she spit on them they never put a mask on her and the cop stands back in front of her. She should have been taken to the ground so she couldn't spit and had a mask put on her and charger her with spitting on a cop and continue business. Have the medic clean the cop up if spit got on any skin.

my opinion

Originally posted by Tardacus
The point is that if we can`t go around tazering people who spit on us then the cops can`t either

On the contrary.. if someone spits in your face that is called assault. You have three options 1.) You can try and 'talk' it out and make the offender apologize.. good luck with that. 2.) Beat the living piss out of him and be just fine calling self defense. 3.) If you can articulate that his/her size deserved your use of force of a civilian tazer for defense that would be fine too.

A police officer can't punch you in the face (legally anyway) and 'talking' it out with the subject went out the window when he/she broke the law in the first place.. so he did exactly what he allowed to do as an LEO.

The point is, no matter how in the right the officer is, anyone who hates LEO will say he is a thug, coward or any other possible name in the book.

Just so you know, if someone spit in my face I would definitely beat them into the ground.. if I had a tazer I would probably do that too. Spit in the face is no joke because there are some nasty germs out there and I damn sure don't want any of that.

Originally posted by 31Bravo

Originally posted by Honor93
you'd have to ask your cop buddies cause most citizens wouldn't react in such a manner.
actually, citizens who did would be arrested themselves and most know it.

Then how could this post, or any other for that matter, possibly be valid? I was under the impression these posts were to expose the corrupt and give constructive alternatives to a much better way to make non-compliant subjects much docile with milk and cookies.

?? you posed the question ... why bother asking if you already knew the answer?
besides, what you suggest is what training is for, remember ?

non-compliant individuals aren't necessarily combative so why treat them as if they were ?
so, are you suggesting this poor excuse for an officer should be arrested for assault or not ?

I appreciate you directing me to her comment, however, I have also had the opportunity to work in an E.R. and O.R. (when I thought I was going for nursing but that is a different story) and I can tell you that they have LEO's on standby just in case.

certainly not to force compliance, of this i'm sure.
LEOs are on standby for purposes of combative behavior, theft, assault and a variety of issues that ER personnel are exposed to every day.
non-compliance isn't one of them.

Also, LEO's don't have safety measures like a nurse does on hand.

ummm, yes, they do.
i've seen inside those trunks, have you ?

A nurse can easily put on a face shield, wash her face and hands with microbial soap foam, and change her scrubs in a matter of minutes.. an LEO's safety measures are whatever they have on hand, and the authority a police officer is given the day he graduates the academy.

lame, lame and could this response be any more lame ?
they were inside the station ... not roadside.
she was already cuffed and surrounded
what more convenience is necessary for them to use PROPER protocols and restraints ?

You calling an officer a coward for doing what he thinks is best for him and others in the station is like calling a doctor a killer for letting a patient die in an operating room due to a decision he has made during his operation.. are you a doctor? No, and neither am I.. so who am I to judge him?

edit on 30-11-2012 by 31Bravo because: (no reason given)

who is judging anyone ?
i am not a judge but i certainly recognize bad behavior, don't you ?
btw, doctors who make errors, get sued for their mishaps ... their insurance covers it.
when cops get sued for their bad behavior ... WE PAY for it ... every dang penny's worth and this has to stop.

reply to post by 31Bravo

3.) If you can articulate that his/her size deserved your use of force of a civilian tazer for defense that would be fine too

guess that depends on location.
here, you can't carry a tazer on your person without a license.

no license, my only other option would be to shoot, you ok with that?
[yes, i can open carry w/o license in specific circumstances]

yeah ok, i'm sticking with Coward in this case cause it fits.

It's simple. Just do what the COPS say and don't spit on them or anything. Don't try to resist in any way. You probably won't get tased or hurt any worse.

Who knows what that officer was saying and why she reacted like the way she did, from experience I can say that cops can be nasty pieces of work, I have even talked to a cop off duty who was bragging about the things he does total abuse of power. It would seem in this situation though there is too many witnesses for the cop to be "nasty" so it was her that most likely escalated this situation by spitting

That being said the way the cop whipped his taser out and shot her it seems to me like he was waiting for a moment like this and there is far too much of this attitude by the police, are they trying to proovr something? or are they just sick?
Either way to taser a unarmed person who just happens to be handcuffed is an excessive use of power to say the least.Officers like this should be struck off and never be allowed to hold power of authority of any kind, It's sick and disgusting.

The US law enforcement has different ways of policing than here in the UK, slowly but truely we are getting as bad as it is across the pond and like all things it's a two way thing action reaction scenarios between public and police, too much anger on both sides and too much power these days, I also believe the younger ones are to blame especially when it comes to the police, the officers who do these things always seem to be young....Roid rage maybe? I have seen cops taking a rage and I know a lot of cops on roids, younger ones

This is a double edged sword for me.

I agree that being spit on is just foul, its a seriously vile act from people who frankly you would rather not touch let alone be covered in their personal fluid. I don't know one person of decent standing who would resort to balling spittle in order to launch it on or at another human being. Its absolutely filthy.

However, there are so many ways of handling this situation without flooding someone with a highly dangerous flow of electric shocks. And LEO's (or whatever you like to call Police Officers) must be trained to manage these types of situations by any OTHER means before the use of a tazer becomes even a possible plan of action.

This has now become a chicken and egg issue for me though ultimately.

If people had more respect for the job these Police Officers have to do then they would (you would hope) not feel the need or desire to spit on them in the first place. BUT the only people who can help change the opinion of Joe Public about Police Officers is the Police themselves by showing restraint and taking actions that highlight their interest in Public Safety and Fair Play in regards to the law all round.

While Police Officers continue to show no regard for the public or seem able and willing to circumnavigate moral and ethical laws that come attached to administrative law, the more likely that the unsavoury factions of the public are going to be hostile to begin with.

And, don't get me started on how much easier this whole thing would be if alcohol was discontinued as the accepted social drug. Next to coc aine (the use of which displays heightened arrogance as opposed to actual aggression anyhow), alcohol is easily the most violence-inducing within the typical drug pallet. Someone who had been relaxing all night with a bong would likely not dream about spitting on a person of temporary authority.

Just my two cents. Tired of this crap now.