Posted on 06/25/2010 5:52:09 PM PDT by autumnraine
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.
Certainly, they have a totalitarian and barbarously ignorant MO; which seems almost to hail the worst visions of 'brave new world'.
Imagine this child; imagine this Grandmother surviving this grievious assault and insult. (And for how long; imagine this could well, cut her 'time'). . .
(Can only wonder, what else have the men done; in the name of protecting the citizens of this community. . .)
What could justify this. . .and old woman on oxygen - in her bed; has her skin ripped off and is rendered unconscious - after more than one strike with taser! Meantime, her grand-son is threatened and hand-cuffed and thrown in car.
Nowhere do police deny any of what transpired - only explain; that they were endangered and so compelled to use taser! NO WAY. . .no matter 'what' Granny may have shouted at them. . .
Ok, I concede to those who wanted the other side...
Police claim she had a knife and that she actually cut her own arm when they were trying to take the knife from her (after the tazing which is a little strange since they said they got the knife AFTER the tazing and how on earth could an 86 year old woman be still able to physically fight them getting the knife after being tazed?)
Regardless, here is the officer’s version of events. I imagine the knife will be shown in court for evidence. Interesting either way.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/33557136/Dallas-Org-El-Reno-Police-Report-on-Lona-Varner
Well, they claim she said she was going to kill them like ‘she killed the japs in WWII’. I didn’t realize we had women in combat in WW2, although she probably has dementia.
I realize that she had a knife and threatened to kill them if they came near, but she is IMMOBILIZED in her BED! Couldn’t they have called EMS and had them tranqulize her or something? Barney Fife overreaction at best.
I’m just saying I want to hear BOTH SIDES of the story.
All righty, then. Let’s dispense with the need for this civil suit and just order the city to cough up $100 million to this lady and her grandson, seeing as you already know who’s being truthful and who’s not. Maybe you can hire yourself out as a roving judge, jury and executioner. It must be nice to be so omniscient. I’m not so I want to hear both sides of the story and have a neutral judge and jury establish the reliability of the proof.
El “Reno 911”
Part ofr the problem is a society conditioned to call 911 rather than tackle any problem.Just call the Magic Number 911,and we will send men with guns to take charge.
The cops could just back off and leave her room.People a lot younger than her have died after being tazed.
The cops could just back off and leave her room.People a lot younger than her have died after being tazed.
Can think of NO excuse for tazing an debilitated, oxygen-dependent, old women in her bed! No matter what!
A damning judgment IMHO; for the entire response team.
(On 'granny' it is ok. . .on unruly children; it is OK. . .a noisy student; a woman getting a speeding ticket - on our citizens, it is OKAY (!); but have they EVER used a tazer at Gitmo?) Bet not. . .
“Can think of NO excuse for tazing an debilitated, oxygen-dependent, old women in her bed! No matter what!”
Let me posit one. Not saying it was the case but I think it could be in the realm of possibility: Suppose, as has been alleged by the cops, this call was to prevent a suicide. The lady is obviously debilitated and threatening to kill anyone who comes near her. If you believe she might have already put her plans for suicide in effect by overdosing herself, and you have only a limited time to get her to a hospital for a stomach pump session, then it might, MIGHT, figure into why the taser would be used to disarm her and get her help. Could they have backed off and waited for EMT’s? Maybe butr again, if you think time is of the essence, they might have wondered if it would be too late. And if this lady died because cops didn’t intervene as requested, there’s a lawsuit also.
Again, not saying that’s what happened, but that’s why we need to hear both sides.
These guys are extremely lucky that they didn’t start a fire by shooting a taser at someone in bed with oxygen. That was incredibly stupid.
Naw, shooting dogs is a cop specialty.
It was a balanced report. The cops’ side is that she assumed an aggressive posture in bed. That’s plenty of reason to taser her.
What else do you need to know?
Re: Sad so many freepers....
Well, I’m a great gramma and I haven’t recently encountered any in law enforcement that weren’t totally distrustful. Sorry, that’s the way is it hereabouts.
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