A feisty 72-year-old great- grandmother was tasered after a police officer pulled her over for speeding.
Video released by a Travis County Constable’s Office shows Deputy Chris Bieze confronting 72-year-old Kathryn Winkfein after stopping her for speeding on May 11 just outside Austin.
At first, the great-grandmother did refuse to sign her speeding ticket, but she then agreed to do it. The deputy did not allow her to do so, instead pushing her and warning her that he would use the taser if she did not move in the direction he wanted her to move in.
Mrs. Winkfein was going 60 m.p.h. in a 45 m.p.h. zone. Why couldn’t the deputy simply have given her to the paper to sign when she agreed to sign it? Alternatively, why couldn’t he have sent the ticket to her house like a standard bill?
At this blog, I have previously called for a taser ban. Tasers have become weapons of choice for law enforcement officers in essentially any situation they feel the need to use the taser. The arbitrary use of the taser would stop if tasers were banned entirely.
Below is the video of Kathryn Winkfein being tasered, in my view, unnecessarily:
On June 10th, 2009 at 12:30 pm
You can’t be serious. The officer used less-than-lethal force to subdue a suspect that was verbally abusive, threatening to flee the scene, and came very close to forcing the officer (or herself) into a lane of traffic. She ignored an attempt to be handcuffed and refused to follow his verbal directions. The officer has several choices to make and using the taser was one of the least controversial.
Let’s not forget that the suspect was already resisting arrest by the time she agreed to sign the ticket. Allowing her to leave at that point was not legally warranted.
On June 10th, 2009 at 3:31 pm
In Texas refusing to sign a traffic citation is an automatic arrest. When she initially refused, she was subject to arrest…go directly to jail…do not pass go, do not collect $200. When she stepped out of her vehicle, the game was over…there are no “do over’s”. Let the nice police man put handcuffs on and drive yo ass to jail, or get tased and then get hand cuffs on and go to jail. Those are the only two options left at that point. When she refused to let him put the handcuffs on and follow his instructions it was automatically a resisting arrest charge..the fact that she said she’s sign the ticket for her traffic violation after she had already broken the law again is irrelevant. Great…sign the ticket…get the fine…still go to jail for resisting arrest. He warned her…he even brandished the thing for 7 minutes trying to reason with her before he pulled the trigger. She’s the one who got in his face and “dared” him to do it. Cops have some personal flexibility, but seriously, you get in my face and act like a complete retard do you really think I’m gonna bend the rules for you? Hell no. Maybe if she’d actually acted like a civil human being she wouldn’t have been tasered, wouldn’t have been arrested..hell, maybe she wouldn’t have even gotten a ticket…let off with a warning and a “have a nice day, ma’am”. I don’t care how old she is…she’s a stupid lying bitch (as evidenced by the fact that she lied her ass off in her interview about the incident) who got exactly what she asked for…and I do mean literally asked for.
On June 10th, 2009 at 6:50 pm
Gimmie a break 72 years old and you tase her,and then you come out saying it’s well within the law.
People are gonna be some upset over this and rightfully so.If she had a pacemaker this would be a very different story,she’s 72 fricking years old wheres the officers restraint,whats she going to do gum him to death.
On June 26th, 2009 at 3:30 pm
Yeah, but at the same time, there comes a time where a line has to be drawn and when people are not compliant with the law, they must face the consequences. I don’t necessarily agree that the taser was needed, but something needed to be done about her being uncooperative.