Author Topic: Taser happy police are scared of a bedridden granny on oxygen  (Read 35025 times)

Battle Monkey of Zardoz

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If this had happened to me. I dare not post on here what a choice I would have had to make n

Big bad cops.

     (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. 


I'll post the Link from Drudge later n
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makattak

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Re: Taser happy police are scared of a bedridden granny on oxygen
« Reply #1 on: June 25, 2010, 02:54:53 PM »
Here's a link.

http://www.courthousenews.com/2010/06/24/28330.htm

I'm by no means a police basher, but I'm hard pressed to find anything that might indicate the police were justified here.
I wish the Ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened.

So do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. There are other forces at work in this world, Frodo, besides the will of evil. Bilbo was meant to find the Ring. In which case, you also were meant to have it. And that is an encouraging thought

cassandra and sara's daddy

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Re: Taser happy police are scared of a bedridden granny on oxygen
« Reply #2 on: June 25, 2010, 03:04:34 PM »
why did the cops show up?  what did the young man ask for when he called 911?  i'd love to hear it
It is much more powerful to seek Truth for one's self.  Seeing and hearing that others seem to have found it can be a motivation.  With me, I was drawn because of much error and bad judgment on my part. Confronting one's own errors and bad judgment is a very life altering situation.  Confronting the errors and bad judgment of others is usually hypocrisy.


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AZRedhawk44

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Re: Taser happy police are scared of a bedridden granny on oxygen
« Reply #3 on: June 25, 2010, 03:05:57 PM »
Wow.

I wish I could say I was astonished.  But I'm not.

What appalls me even more than the fact that this happened... is that a total of 12 officers were present and NOT ONE OF THEM acted to bring the mob of wolves under control and behave like Peace Officers rather than Law Enforcement Officers.

Here is evidence that contradicts the often shouted defense that "most/not all cops are bad," and defends the assertion that pitbull-style enforcement is the desired norm in police training academies today.
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AZRedhawk44

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Re: Taser happy police are scared of a bedridden granny on oxygen
« Reply #4 on: June 25, 2010, 03:08:23 PM »
why did the cops show up?  what did the young man ask for when he called 911?  i'd love to hear it

he called 911 "to ask for an emergency medical technician to come to her apartment to evaluate her."

Probably local area SOP to send police as initial 1st aid responders to 911 calls, to make sure it's safe for paramedics and to arrive first and do what they can while paramedics are en-route.
"But whether the Constitution really be one thing, or another, this much is certain - that it has either authorized such a government as we have had, or has been powerless to prevent it. In either case, it is unfit to exist."
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makattak

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Re: Taser happy police are scared of a bedridden granny on oxygen
« Reply #5 on: June 25, 2010, 03:08:45 PM »
why did the cops show up?  what did the young man ask for when he called 911?  i'd love to hear it

According to the article, the grandson requested an EMT to come observe his grandmother because he did not know, nor could she tell him what medicine she had taken.

Even if that is not the case (911 tapes should clear that up), I cannot imagine any circumstances that would vindicate police tasering a unarmed, bed-ridden, 86 year old woman.
I wish the Ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened.

So do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. There are other forces at work in this world, Frodo, besides the will of evil. Bilbo was meant to find the Ring. In which case, you also were meant to have it. And that is an encouraging thought

Seenterman

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Re: Taser happy police are scared of a bedridden granny on oxygen
« Reply #6 on: June 25, 2010, 03:17:11 PM »
Quote
"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.

This is from the Onion right? That would be worthy of many lolz if this was fake.

The commanding officer, the officer who fired the tazer, and the officer who stepped on her oxygen hose should all be fired and charged with assault. Yet how much anyone wants to bet all that happens is these officers get "re-trained" on the use of their tazer. Even though there is no training to teach common sense.

Yet another case of a coward cop who can claim "he was in fear for his life"  ;/
Little girls hiding behind a badge and a gun.

Edit: I suxor at the spellingz
« Last Edit: June 25, 2010, 04:35:08 PM by Seenterman »

HankB

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Re: Taser happy police are scared of a bedridden granny on oxygen
« Reply #7 on: June 25, 2010, 03:19:21 PM »
Quote
. . . The police then proceeded to approach Ms. Varner in her bed and stepped on her oxygen hose until she began to suffer oxygen deprivation . . .
Which section of the Oklahoma Police Manual suggests suffocation as a way of achieving compliance with disabled & bedridden octogenarians?

Seriously, if the story is an accurate portrayal of events as they happened, there's one group of cops who should not only be fired, but they should be facing criminal charges.

And if the brass defends them . . . they're bad cops, too.

As is every other cop in the department who allows this crap to go on.  :mad:
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AZRedhawk44

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Re: Taser happy police are scared of a bedridden granny on oxygen
« Reply #8 on: June 25, 2010, 03:24:33 PM »


As is every other cop in the department who allows this crap to go on.  :mad:

12 cops.

12.

12! [barf] :'( :mad:

How is it possible, other than widespread institutional and even inter-institutional intent, for this to be an acceptable behavior?
"But whether the Constitution really be one thing, or another, this much is certain - that it has either authorized such a government as we have had, or has been powerless to prevent it. In either case, it is unfit to exist."
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I reject your authoritah!

cassandra and sara's daddy

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Re: Taser happy police are scared of a bedridden granny on oxygen
« Reply #9 on: June 25, 2010, 03:25:58 PM »
there any other stories about this?
It is much more powerful to seek Truth for one's self.  Seeing and hearing that others seem to have found it can be a motivation.  With me, I was drawn because of much error and bad judgment on my part. Confronting one's own errors and bad judgment is a very life altering situation.  Confronting the errors and bad judgment of others is usually hypocrisy.


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Balog

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Re: Taser happy police are scared of a bedridden granny on oxygen
« Reply #10 on: June 25, 2010, 03:29:12 PM »
If the actual report says the 86 y/o "took a more aggressive posture in bed" then... Wow.
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longeyes

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Re: Taser happy police are scared of a bedridden granny on oxygen
« Reply #11 on: June 25, 2010, 03:32:09 PM »
WTF.

The woman may have had senile dementia in some form.

Inexcusable.
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RevDisk

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Re: Taser happy police are scared of a bedridden granny on oxygen
« Reply #12 on: June 25, 2010, 04:31:36 PM »
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.

Well, rather than jump to conclusions, I think we should wait until we know just how aggressive her posture was.  Maybe she was fashioning her oxygen line into a series of nooses, waiting to sucker the police in so she could garrote the dozen of them because undoubtedly she is a wily character and capable of greater physical agility.

Never underestimate the martial capacities of a bed ridden oxygen-masked 86 year old lady on multiple medications.  Dangerous thugs, the lot of them.  Best to call in the SWAT team or feds for such extractions.

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makattak

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Re: Taser happy police are scared of a bedridden granny on oxygen
« Reply #13 on: June 25, 2010, 04:35:23 PM »
Well, rather than jump to conclusions, I think we should wait until we know just how aggressive her posture was.  Maybe she was fashioning her oxygen line into a series of nooses, waiting to sucker the police in so she could garrote the dozen of them because undoubtedly she is a wily character and capable of greater physical agility.

Never underestimate the martial capacities of a bed ridden oxygen-masked 86 year old lady on multiple medications.  Dangerous thugs, the lot of them.  Best to call in the SWAT team or feds for such extractions.



AH! That's the explanation. Somehow I overlooked the fact she was on multiple medications.

One of them must have been PCP.
I wish the Ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened.

So do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. There are other forces at work in this world, Frodo, besides the will of evil. Bilbo was meant to find the Ring. In which case, you also were meant to have it. And that is an encouraging thought

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MechAg94

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Re: Taser happy police are scared of a bedridden granny on oxygen
« Reply #15 on: June 25, 2010, 05:54:30 PM »
I was just trying to figure out what sort of 911 call would trigger 10 or 12 officers to show up?  Was there some screwed up communication with the 911 dispatcher?  Were they just bored?  I seems strange to me that many officers had nothing better to do even if it was a smaller town.
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Battle Monkey of Zardoz

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Re: Taser happy police are scared of a bedridden granny on oxygen
« Reply #16 on: June 25, 2010, 08:12:17 PM »
And yes, before anyone asks, the cops IN THIS INCIDENT are 100%
wrong
“We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution.”

Abraham Lincoln


With the first link the chain is forged. The first speech censored, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably.

cassandra and sara's daddy

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Re: Taser happy police are scared of a bedridden granny on oxygen
« Reply #17 on: June 25, 2010, 08:31:24 PM »
And yes, before anyone asks, the cops IN THIS INCIDENT are 100%
wrong


presuming the one sides account is accurate 
It is much more powerful to seek Truth for one's self.  Seeing and hearing that others seem to have found it can be a motivation.  With me, I was drawn because of much error and bad judgment on my part. Confronting one's own errors and bad judgment is a very life altering situation.  Confronting the errors and bad judgment of others is usually hypocrisy.


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KD5NRH

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Re: Taser happy police are scared of a bedridden granny on oxygen
« Reply #18 on: June 25, 2010, 08:46:23 PM »
I was just trying to figure out what sort of 911 call would trigger 10 or 12 officers to show up?  Was there some screwed up communication with the 911 dispatcher?  Were they just bored?  I seems strange to me that many officers had nothing better to do even if it was a smaller town.

Population 16,212 in 2,000.  Barely larger than my town, and yet they'd have to pull in county, DPS, and the university police to get 12 patrol officers without waking anybody up.  Having that many readily available sounds like a speed trap town.


sanman

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Re: Taser happy police are scared of a bedridden granny on oxygen
« Reply #19 on: June 25, 2010, 09:24:17 PM »
why did the cops show up?  what did the young man ask for when he called 911?  i'd love to hear it

http://newsok.com/oklahoma-granny-gets-shocked-by-taser-sues-el-reno-police/article/3471297?custom_click=masthead_topten

There's a link to the 911 call there. The grandson seems to indicate that his grandmother had said her life was over and had taken drugs. He wanted someone out even though she had a dnr order. Would make someone think, especially heard second hand, that she was attempting suicide. Might warrant a trip to the happy house but not what they claim happened. There seems to be only one side to this out there.

Edit: Actually, there are police statements in the article on that link, from last December. Unsure that the oxygen line was intentially stepped on and just one excerpt..

Quote
Police have admitted using a Taser to incapacitate the suicidal woman Dec. 22. Officer Duran wrote in a police report she pulled a kitchen knife from under her pillow and threatened to kill him. "I tried talking to Varner and calm her down but nothing would work," he reported.

The officer reported she took "a more aggressive posture on the bed" when other officers arrived. He reported she raised the knife above her head and said, "If you come any closer, you're getting the knife." He reported he feared she would injure someone.

Attempted suicide by cop?

« Last Edit: June 25, 2010, 09:31:51 PM by sanman »

cassandra and sara's daddy

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Re: Taser happy police are scared of a bedridden granny on oxygen
« Reply #20 on: June 25, 2010, 09:38:20 PM »
oh wait  how come no one mentioned a knife?  grandson and lawyer forgot?

and suicide? pills? 
It is much more powerful to seek Truth for one's self.  Seeing and hearing that others seem to have found it can be a motivation.  With me, I was drawn because of much error and bad judgment on my part. Confronting one's own errors and bad judgment is a very life altering situation.  Confronting the errors and bad judgment of others is usually hypocrisy.


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grampster

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Re: Taser happy police are scared of a bedridden granny on oxygen
« Reply #21 on: June 25, 2010, 10:02:19 PM »
The sad thing about this affair is that when I was in LE, over 40 years ago, I would have handled the situation by myself.  If she had a knife, I would have taken it away from her.  After that we'd have had a cup of tea while we waited for the paramedics.

I just can't believe how the police departments have turned into a bunch of wimps and scaredy cats.
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RileyCA

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Re: Taser happy police are scared of a bedridden granny on oxygen
« Reply #22 on: June 25, 2010, 10:04:04 PM »
Clearly, cops are out of control everywhere.  They're being fueled by a never ending avalanche of laws criminalizing EVERYTHING.

cassandra and sara's daddy

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Re: Taser happy police are scared of a bedridden granny on oxygen
« Reply #23 on: June 25, 2010, 10:08:13 PM »
generally in my experience whenever someone starts a statement with "clearly" its anything but.  in much the same way a person who starts a statement with "to tell you the truth" is letting you know that many times he isn't so he has to qualify when he is
It is much more powerful to seek Truth for one's self.  Seeing and hearing that others seem to have found it can be a motivation.  With me, I was drawn because of much error and bad judgment on my part. Confronting one's own errors and bad judgment is a very life altering situation.  Confronting the errors and bad judgment of others is usually hypocrisy.


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RileyCA

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Re: Taser happy police are scared of a bedridden granny on oxygen
« Reply #24 on: June 25, 2010, 10:13:32 PM »
generally in my experience anyone who addresses the construction of a statement and ignores the content is devoid of ideas.