Police Taser an 86-year-old disabled woman in bed.

[GRiM]

I read police-abuse stories daily and have sadly in a way gotten used to them. This story just raised the bar, its so unbelievable that I wonder if its even true. Here is the court-files: http://dockets.justia.com/docket/court-okwdce/case_no-5:2010cv00636/case_id-77323/

I'm at loss of words alot lately.

(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.

 

[NormaRegula]

I'm at a loss for words, too:

 

[aurora]

Psychopathy in the nth power. I am so angry... I thought of my mother who is 80 years old and has asthma. How can such a woman be a threat to those policemen ?? Have they no common sense ?

 

[Nawd]

Wow, even the elderly and sick are not immune to the brutality of evil. :(

I feel so bad for what this family has to deal with mentally in the future.

 

[Buddy]

Interesting comments on reddit about the story. Here's a few snippets:

kleric42
What in the flying f*** did I just read? Our cops are apparently the biggest sissies in the world.

Mr_Zero
There were only ten of them. Of course they had to taze her, what else could they have done?

scrubadub
So they didn't even shoot the dog?

cunne
She's old as **** and on oxygen, she wouldn't have been a threat to grown men if she had hanzo steel
not to mention the fact that a taser could have set off her oxygen tank, killing everyone in the room.

Sanctimonious
Depends on whatever information the article was clearly omitting. I hope there's a special place in hell for people with no journalistic integrity.

hottoddy
I'd like to know what the 911 dispatch recording says, because there's a large difference between calling to ask for an evaluation by medical staff in the case of a potential accidental overdose and calling for police assistance in the case of a suicidal relative.

"I am in control of my life" is not necessarily a suicide threat.

_http://www.reddit.com/r/Bad_Cop_No_Donut/comments/cikqz/dont_taze_my_granny_police_taser_an_86yearold/

This is supposed to be the other side of the story:

POLICE TASER EL RENO WOMAN
REX HOGAN
Edition:Sunday, January 03, 2010

El Reno police said they were forced to taser an 86-year-old El Reno woman last week who was threatening to kill herself and threatened officers with a knife.
The incident occurred Dec. 22 at the Elizabeth Place Apartments, 1955 S. Shephard, said Police Chief Ken Brown.
Brown said the woman's grandson telephoned police asking for help for his grandmother, who he said was threatening to overdose on medication. The chief said when officers arrived, they found the woman lying on a bed. He said when the woman saw the officers she ordered them out of her home and told them that she “wanted to die.”
Brown said the woman pulled a kitchen knife and told officers “she was in control of her life.” Brown said officers then tasered the woman and took the knife.
Brown said the woman was taken to Parkview Hospital where the tasers were removed and she was admitted to a mental health center.
_http://www.elrenotribune.com/CatIndex.aspx?pageType=1&id=4000

HOWEVER, I'm wondering if the case is actionable against the officers both, in their persons AND in their official capacity due to excessive force?

If not, perhaps it should be!

 

[GRiM]

That story is from the P.O.V. of someone who tazed a 86 year old bedridden woman. Twice. How can she be threatening to the police officers who are supposedly trained to handle these kind of situations? I do not see how its justifiable in any way.

The whole situation strikes me as odd,

"The chief said when officers arrived, they found the woman lying on a bed." then the line, "Brown said the woman pulled a kitchen knife". Ok, so we have a woman in bed, so weak she needs oxygen to survive planning an ambush of the police-officers she didn't know was coming, seeing how the call was made by her grandson. She then proceeds to attack the police officers in the room who have to defend themselves by shooting her with a tasers then drag her forcefully out of the bed while still unconscious and put handcuffs on her.
The taser was a replacement for the gun, at least that was the official reason for its introduction if I'm not mistaken, now its a pain compliance device mostly used for threatening and torturing.

The more likely scenario, at least to me, is that she was frightened and with that, loud and stubborn. The police, with a diet of sugar, wheat and lots of coffee got tired of her and punished her for not complying.

 

[Buddy]

The more likely scenario, at least to me, is that she was frightened and with that, loud and stubborn. The police, with a diet of sugar, wheat and lots of coffee got tired of her and punished her for not complying.

My point exactly. Excessive force!

 

[1984]

Not sure why the actual account of this story can't be located online in any local Oklahoma newspapers. I can only find it on blogs.

 

[clerck de bonk]

...or is the story just a means to get sane people venting, going berserk(in their minds) or some such...

I mean:
"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,"

It just can't be for real... I sincerely hope!

 

[theos]

This is supposed to be the other side of the story:


Quote
POLICE TASER EL RENO WOMAN
REX HOGAN
Edition:Sunday, January 03, 2010

El Reno police said they were forced to taser an 86-year-old El Reno woman last week who was threatening to kill herself and threatened officers with a knife.
The incident occurred Dec. 22 at the Elizabeth Place Apartments, 1955 S. Shephard, said Police Chief Ken Brown.
Brown said the woman's grandson telephoned police asking for help for his grandmother, who he said was threatening to overdose on medication. The chief said when officers arrived, they found the woman lying on a bed. He said when the woman saw the officers she ordered them out of her home and told them that she “wanted to die.”
Brown said the woman pulled a kitchen knife and told officers “she was in control of her life.” Brown said officers then tasered the woman and took the knife.
Brown said the woman was taken to Parkview Hospital where the tasers were removed and she was admitted to a mental health center.
_http://www.elrenotribune.com/CatIndex.aspx?pageType=1&id=4000

This still doesn't excuse the behavior. Most normal people, when they see an old lady think "grandma", or think about their grandma in particular. You just don't taser grandma! You don't taser an 86 y.o. bedbound woman! It's not normal. These people obviously have no clue about talking with someone to try to diffuse a situation. Call in a counselor if you have to. You may have to physically get the knife out of her hand if she is trying to stab herself but don't taser grandma for god's sake!!!

This is just too sick.

 

[RedFox]

:O

 

[Breton]

wait a minute....

she was in bed. kitchen knives are usually in the kitchen.
something does not compute there.

but it is lame anyway:
normal grown men dont tase old ladies even if they have a kitchen knife.

 

[GAIA]

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."

It took 6 days for them to realese that something was not right with this story. The poor woman, the family must be soooo angry

 

[GRiM]

New facts in “taser granny” case

Last week, I reported on Lona Varner, the 86-year-old disabled grandmother from Oklahoma who was tasered and abused by police in her own home. If you haven’t read the article yet, HERE IT IS — I’ll wait. Just hurry up because I don’t have all day.

A few readers mentioned that the article was terribly skewed because it didn’t include any perspective from the police officers that responded to her grandson’s 911 call.

Varner’s story has gained massive popularity recently and surprising new information has emerged regarding the incident that happened in her apartment.

NEW “FACTS”

I originally stated that Varner’s grandson called 911 because his grandmother couldn’t remember if she had taken her daily medication or not. What actually happened is Varner told her grandson that she was depressed and contemplating overdosing on her medication. Unsure if she was serious, he called 911 and they sent 10 cops over.

Despite the initial claim that Varner was tasered simply for “taking an aggressive posture” in her bed, the police now claim that she had a knife and made death threats at officers.

Officer Thomas Duran reported that Varner was holding a knife when they entered her bedroom. She allegedly said to him, “If you try and get the knife I will stab you and kill you. I killed four Japs in World War II, and I would not bat an eye killing you.”

Officer Duran also wrote that Varner said “she was going to kill every officer that was in her apartment when she got out… she told me she was going to snap my neck like a twig just like she did during World War II.” As you can imagine, the officers were terrified.

Since the incident has become a national outrage, you’d think Lona Varner would be speaking out against the city of El Reno every chance she could get, but she isn’t. To the contrary, Varner has been nothing but rude to anyone who tries to interview her. It’s starting to look like this little old lady might just be an old grumpy bitch.

Varner and her grandson both completely deny the allegations that she threatened the officers, but I don’t believe that. In fact, I’d be willing to bet money that Lona Varner shouted a bunch of crazy -shite- at them because she’s most likely senile as -flick-.

BOTTOM LINE

Regardless of whether or not Lona Varner had a knife or threatened to snap necks like twigs, that doesn’t change the fact that she is a helpless, withered bag of bones confined to a bed. My suggestion is the officers involved learn to tell the difference between a dangerous person and an Alzheimer’s patient.

I used to take care of my great-grandmother — she had Alzheimer’s disease. She threatened to stab, choke, or shoot me almost every day. She also thought she was half zebra and said she had George Washington’s penis in a box in the attic.

My point is, when there are ten police officers against one disabled grandma with a knife in bed, all you have to do is wait until she falls asleep and take it from her.

JUST KIDDING

A police officer should never have to use DISCRETION when using force on a civilian. Those cops had countless reasons to protect themselves from Lona Varner. Look at all the possible weapons and other threats that she possesses at her bedside:

Actual photo of Lona Varner.

 

[Pierre]

New facts in “taser granny” case

Last week, I reported on Lona Varner, the 86-year-old disabled grandmother from Oklahoma who was tasered and abused by police in her own home. If you haven’t read the article yet, HERE IT IS — I’ll wait. Just hurry up because I don’t have all day.

A few readers mentioned that the article was terribly skewed because it didn’t include any perspective from the police officers that responded to her grandson’s 911 call.

Varner’s story has gained massive popularity recently and surprising new information has emerged regarding the incident that happened in her apartment.

NEW “FACTS”

I originally stated that Varner’s grandson called 911 because his grandmother couldn’t remember if she had taken her daily medication or not. What actually happened is Varner told her grandson that she was depressed and contemplating overdosing on her medication. Unsure if she was serious, he called 911 and they sent 10 cops over.

Despite the initial claim that Varner was tasered simply for “taking an aggressive posture” in her bed, the police now claim that she had a knife and made death threats at officers.

Officer Thomas Duran reported that Varner was holding a knife when they entered her bedroom. She allegedly said to him, “If you try and get the knife I will stab you and kill you. I killed four Japs in World War II, and I would not bat an eye killing you.”

Officer Duran also wrote that Varner said “she was going to kill every officer that was in her apartment when she got out… she told me she was going to snap my neck like a twig just like she did during World War II.” As you can imagine, the officers were terrified.

Since the incident has become a national outrage, you’d think Lona Varner would be speaking out against the city of El Reno every chance she could get, but she isn’t. To the contrary, Varner has been nothing but rude to anyone who tries to interview her. It’s starting to look like this little old lady might just be an old grumpy bitch.

Varner and her grandson both completely deny the allegations that she threatened the officers, but I don’t believe that. In fact, I’d be willing to bet money that Lona Varner shouted a bunch of crazy -shite- at them because she’s most likely senile as -flick-.

BOTTOM LINE

Regardless of whether or not Lona Varner had a knife or threatened to snap necks like twigs, that doesn’t change the fact that she is a helpless, withered bag of bones confined to a bed. My suggestion is the officers involved learn to tell the difference between a dangerous person and an Alzheimer’s patient.

I used to take care of my great-grandmother — she had Alzheimer’s disease. She threatened to stab, choke, or shoot me almost every day. She also thought she was half zebra and said she had George Washington’s penis in a box in the attic.

My point is, when there are ten police officers against one disabled grandma with a knife in bed, all you have to do is wait until she falls asleep and take it from her.

JUST KIDDING

A police officer should never have to use DISCRETION when using force on a civilian. Those cops had countless reasons to protect themselves from Lona Varner. Look at all the possible weapons and other threats that she possesses at her bedside:

Actual photo of Lona Varner.

A terrorist