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View Full Version : 86 Year Old Woman Tasered, Suffocated by Police Called to Help Her



PanzerJaeger
06-26-2010, 06:21
http://www.courthousenews.com/2010/06/24/28330.htm


(CN) - Police Tasered an 86-year-old disabled grandma in her bed and stepped on her oxygen hose until she couldn't breathe, after her grandson called 911 seeking medical assistance, the woman and her grandson claim in Oklahoma City Federal Court. Though the grandson said, "Don't Taze my granny!" an El Reno police officer told another cop to "Taser her!" and wrote in his police report that he did so because the old woman "took a more aggressive posture in her bed," according to the complaint.

Lonnie Tinsley claims that he called 911 after he went to check on his grandmother, whom he found in her bed, "connected to a portable oxygen concentrator with a long hose." She is "in marginal health, [and] takes several prescribed medications daily," and "was unable to tell him exactly when she had taken her meds," so, Tinsley says, he called 911 "to ask for an emergency medical technician to come to her apartment to evaluate her."

In response, "as many as ten El Reno police" officers "pushed their way through the door," according to the complaint.

The grandma, Lona Varner, "told them to get out of her apartment."

The remarkable complaint continues: "Instead, the apparent leader of the police [defendant Thomas Duran] instructed another policeman to 'Taser her!' He stated in his report that the 86 year-old plaintiff 'took a more aggressive posture in her bed,' and that he was fearful for his safety and the safety of others.

"Lonnie Tinsley told them, 'Don't taze my Granny!' to which they responded that they would Taser him; instead, they pulled him out of her apartment, took him down to the floor, handcuffed him and placed him in the back of a police car.

"The police then proceeded to approach Ms. Varner in her bed and stepped on her oxygen hose until she began to suffer oxygen deprivation.

"The police then fired a Taser at her and only one wire struck her, in the left arm; the police then fired a second Taser, striking her to the right and left of the midline of her upper chest and applied high voltage, causing burns to her chest, extreme pain and to pass out.

"The police then grabbed Ms. Varner by her forearms and jerked hands together, causing her soft flesh to tear and bleed on her bed; they then handcuffed her.

"The police freed Lonnie Tinsley from his incarceration in the back of the police car and permitted him to accompany the ambulance with his grandmother."

Tinsley says the cops capped it all off by having his grandmother "placed in the psychiatric ward at the direction of the El Reno police; she was held there for six days and released."

"As a result of the wrongful arrest and detention, the plaintiff Lona M. Varner suffered the unlawful restraint of her freedom, bodily injury, assault, battery, the trashing of her apartment, humiliation, loss of personal dignity, infliction of emotional distress and medical bills."

They seek punitive damages for constitutional violations, from the City of El Reno, Duran, Officers Frank Tinga and Joseph Sandberg, and 10 Officers Does.

They are represented by Brian Dell of Oklahoma City.

Just awful!

I've always taken a less militant view of the police than CR, but I'm starting to move toward his position.

Strike For The South
06-26-2010, 06:24
Grandma had it coming

Tuuvi
06-26-2010, 06:30
I really hope she wins the lawsuit, this kind of behavior should not be tolerated.

Tellos Athenaios
06-26-2010, 06:47
CR was there first in the Police Brutality thread?

Also, threads like that and this one make me inwardly thankful I don't live in the vicinity of USA-style cops. I get the impression that they're all volatile lunatics with an itchy trigger finger.

Tuuvi
06-26-2010, 07:23
CR was there first in the Police Brutality thread?

Also, threads like that and this one make me inwardly thankful I don't live in the vicinity of USA-style cops. I get the impression that they're all volatile lunatics with an itchy trigger finger.

Some are, but I've actually met some cops who were very nice and polite. I think it depends on what part of the US you are in and who you're dealing with. Every cop is different.

To me it seems that police brutality is a vicious cycle. I know from working in retail that when some people don't get what they want or when things don't go their way, they get really pissy and try to blame things on you, even though you're just trying to do your job. I imagine police officers have to put up with this type of attitude all the time, and as a result some get tired of it really quickly and start to treat civilians with less respect than they should. Then some people have bad experiences with these disgruntled police officers, and as a result aren't exactly friendly the next time they get pulled over. Of course egotism and plain abuse of power on the part of some police officers also plays a large role in the cycle.

I think if we as a society would stop stereotyping people based on their profession or position relative to our authority and were more willing to admit our mistakes, we would have a lot easier time singling out those cops who really are just abusive and power-hungry.

miotas
06-26-2010, 07:27
Why on earth did police respond to a call for medical assistance?

Ironside
06-26-2010, 10:39
Why on earth did police respond to a call for medical assistance?

Hospitals can sometimes be a bit tricky when it comes with providing ambulance to non 911 emergency situations, when the family considers that the patient should go to hospital, while the patient refuses. Unless you happen to have several persuasive friends nearby you might need the help of the police. Definatly a bad choise in this case though.

Fragony
06-26-2010, 10:51
So this is why you want your guns. Our police is useless, but at least not evil. I bet the misses got pumped up good when daddy got back from work.

lars573
06-26-2010, 18:11
Why on earth did police respond to a call for medical assistance?
Because most 911 systems are routed to fire, police, and ambulance services simultaneously . More efficient that way. In Halifax the fire department usually shows up first to most 911 calls. Unless it's VERY much a cop thing.

rory_20_uk
06-26-2010, 21:07
People often live up or down to the expectations that society places upon you. If the stereotype is you're a violent thug well, over time that's what you'll get.

Such matters is one area where the state should intervene. Obviously by sacking the individuals in this case, but generally to improve their aspirations.

Other thoughts:

She was on a concentrator and they fired something that can spark. There was a chance her clothes could have caught fire - although a concentrator that is less likely to happen than with an oxygen cylinder - although it generally indicates she required if most hours of the day.

~:smoking: