http://youtu.be/Mb8b5o-K1Ig

“Tallahassee officers were responding to recent complaints from citizens about drug deals in the neighborhood located just a few blocks west of the governor’s mansion,” the AP reports. “Viola Young approached one of the police cars parked on the narrow street to inquire about one of the people — two women and a man — who had been arrested. The officer standing outside the squad car advised the woman to stay back. Officer Terry Mahan approached Young and attempted to take her into custody. In the video, Young appears to be walking away when the officer uses his stun gun, striking her in the back. She falls face-first to the ground. Officers surrounded her and eventually helped her to her feet and walked her to a squad car, the video shows.” The police officer has been suspended pending investigation. Meanwhile, I wonder what life was like before cell phone cameras . . .

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77 COMMENTS

  4. Wha de hell?? I kind of have to sympathize with the cops in general, all that interference from folks who really don’t know what the heck is going on but feel free to just walk up and start messing with them anyway. But man, just raise that arm and shoot the darts while she’s walking away? Somebody’s got some ‘splainin’ to do…Since I’m half the country removed, I feel safe to say that I think he looks kind of silly in those cargo shorts and ankle socks.

    • All that interference? I’ve gone up to officers in my neighborhood and asked them questions about such & such, they have never tried to strongarm or restrain me. A few months ago a guy was stopped and arrested for brandishing a firearm at some kids, they closed down our street and I spoke to them without incident.

      These cops showed up as part of some new policy and started randomly arresting people. Those people in the cars were arrested for “resisting without violence”…. Riiight, sympathize with the cops. While I fully support an officer using force, deadly or not, if necessary, this action was completely unnecessary. Paid vacation for him though, well, until they review & rule that he executed his job accordingly and place him active.

  5. I understand why they tased her: They went to arrest her and she pushed them off and walked away. My question is what grounds did they have even initiate contact with her? Is standing half a football field away from a cop now a crime?

    • She didn’t push him, she pulled away.
      If she had hit him, then maybe the tazer would have been appropriate. But probably not since she’s a 62 year old woman. He should have been able to subdue her without anything more than his hands. But in this case, since she was complying with his request to back away, he should have just let it go.

    • How about walking after her at a little faster pace , getting in front of her, and physically trying to stop/cuff her before resorting to the high voltage? Is that too dangerous to attempt? (Not necessarily a rhetorical question). Looks to me like he was trying to wave her off, anyway.

    • Arrest her for what? Asking why they had put her granddaughter in the police car (for example)? Are cops afraid of EVERYONE? Thugs in Blue.

  6. Oh man RF you’re not 22…you know what life was like before cell phones. Cops got away with way more crap. Especially against minorities. This video doesn’t look good to me…

    • I have trouble believing that, considering they seem to get away with murder even if they are filmed nowadays. Really scary thought, has it always been this way and we just didn’t see it?

      • One of the side-effects that I’ve noticed of the Information Age is that a lot of people see all the reports of the ills of the world that now flood our electronic screens means the world has gotten worse. But, studies show we actually have less war and less violence world wide, despite what headlines would have you believe. It’s just instead of getting your news from the only town paper or water cooler gossip, we can see it in real time anywhere in the world. That was unheard of 30 years ago. We now have nearly the entire world’s collection of knowledge only a google search away.

        So, too, we also notice more about our governing bodies and their actions more quickly and more closely.

        • Very true. Though it does not mean that our world didn’t get worse in some respects – you just need to be careful to distinguish those from just better reporting.

  7. That deserves to go viral national and rightfully deserves a S-storm to come on down.
    And that’s coming from a 50+YO white guy.

  8. Coulda been worse. The woman didn’t take half a magazine of 9mm between the shoulder blades, and besides, the officer got home safe that night. That’s the only thing that really counts. Right?

    • Yup, Ralph, that is all that matters. I wonder if, after he has tucked his kids into bed and kissed their foreheads, he ever wonders how the woman he tazed is doing.
      This is the banality of evil to me, that people can be so kind and warm in one part of their lives and so ruthless in other parts.

  9. * He told her to walk away, even though she was already too far away to interfere with the initial arrest.
    * She didn’t walk away immediately so he grabbed her.
    * She pulled away and started walking away, which was exactly what he wanted in the first place.
    * But he feels the need to taze her and arrest her, because he’s a cop, and all must defer to his power.

    People like that shouldn’t be trusted with any job involving tools more dangerous, or complex, than a mop.

    • They have plenty of legitimate purpose, and legitimate means of effecting same. Just wish they would stick to them.

    • Since the courts have decreed the police are under no obligation to protect or serve, I can only see two remaining responsibilities:
      1) Control the population, so they don’t rise up against government power.
      2) Provide the semblance of doing “something” so the people will tolerate their existence enough to allow them to continue doing 1).

  12. Well, there’s a late life lesson: don’t talk to the cops unless you absolutely have to. Nothing positive can possibly occur from speaking to the police.

  14. Hard to tell what exactly happened there, but appeared unnecessary. Again don’t have all the facts. Regardless though, I don’t really care. And sick of all the cop posts. Might as well rename your blog ‘the truth about cops’. I’m out. Later ttag’ers. Or should I say ttac’ers.

    • THIS makes you stay away? I generally don’t bash cops but this punk is a thug. It’s a pretty graphic image too. I am very close to this womans age and if a cop did this to me unwarranted I would make it my mission in life to ruin his. Have fun at the cop forums forge…

      • FWW – No, we’re pretty much in agreement. Appears completely unwarranted. As disturbing to watch for me as it is for you. I guess it’s just that I liked this blog for gun stuff. If I wanted to watch police brutality, I’d just turn on the tv and watch ‘Cops’, which they run on TBS almost non stop. Sick of watching cops stomp heads, smash people’s faces in the ground, do hard takedowns when they could easily avoid that, etc. So maybe it’s just the opposite. It disgusts me too. And that’s not why I came here. I came here because I’m a firearm enthusiast/collector, and because of you guys, who always have good experiences I can learn from. But TTAG has changed over the years and now it’s all about cops, not guns. Be good my friend. Maybe I’ll come back some day if the site goes back to being TTAG, not TTAC.

        • I see the police posts as a comparison to what CWP holders are held to in a DGU. If officers can get away with their abusive and immoral actions, and a CC citizen is put under a microscope after a DGU, it shows a glaring problem in application of the law. They (in a lot of cases) are not held to the same standard as we are.

          Qualified immunity is what keeps them safe. The same can be said for the prosecutors, judges, and legislators. Their actions in office cannot be prosecuted when people lose their property, freedom, or lives if it is within “common established practices” or according to laws they pass.

          The people are not represented by those they elect anymore. We do not have a say in what becomes law. We have no redress when a bad law is passed and it needs to be repealed. The ultimate minority (an individual) is no longer protected by the plain language of the constitution and the bill of rights. This includes the second amendment, of which everyone on this site has a particular interest.

          So, this has a lot to do with guns, application of force, and the standards in which we and the police are held.

        • Fair enough forge. I DON’T come to TTAG for gun reviews. I originally discovered TTAG when my evil state of Illinois attempted to destroy my gun rights. My interest is not guns or gear, hunting or competition. I can get that at myriad other sites. I want to know what’s going on in our (budding?) police state. I doubt anyone will miss my comments if I leave. I apologize if you thought I was critical of you. Don’t be gone too long…

        • I for one am glad that TTAG continues to shine bright sunlight into the corrosive dark slime of militaristic cops. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out!

    • And they wonder why a lot of American communities don’t trust the police.

      fixed it fer ya…

  16. He went way beyond Escalation of Force guidelines , he was supposed to use hands on before resorting to using the taser , but with a lot of departments in this day and time he will probably end up being cleared of any wrongdoing , but I can’t wait to see how much she wins in civil court . Be prepared and ready . Keep your powder dry .

    • No. I’m not saying what was done there was justified (because as usual I can’t watch the video where I am) but I feel a need to respond to yet another armchair cop who doesn’t know caselaw or modern departmental policies. There is NO requirement or guideline that someone should use one weapon before or after another. The only question is: “Is the use of force objectively reasonable to gain compliance?”

      That may not be the case here but don’t think that police need to engage in a wrestling match before they use a taser.

      • It was not reasonable for compliance because she was already in the process of complying with his previous order. Also this incident contributes to people fearing and distrusting the police and affects the ability to get tips from the public since the members of the public see and hear these incidents and may fear similar fates for the crime of talking to the police.

      • “Is the use of force objectively reasonable to gain compliance”

        “YOU WILL COMPLY!”

        Compliance is not the end goal. Upholding the rule of law and defending the innocent is. Free people are not obliged to comply with a police officer solely on his say-so.

        In the video the old lady had done nothing wrong. The officer had precisely zero justification to attempt any form of arrest or detention, he did so, and the lady attempted to extract herself from the situation, at which point the officer escalated force in order to ensure “compliance”. Whether or not the force was “excessive” is irrelevant. It’s application was unjustified from the start.

  17. And in 3…2…1…

    “An internal investigation concluded that the officer acted reasonably.”

  18. I suspect members of the public will be wary of talking to police after seeing how they treated her for doing the same.

  19. What does our resident LEO expert think about this judicious use of overwhelming electricity?

  20. It looks like he just didn’t feel like physically restraining her and used the taser as a shortcut. That kind of arrogance is why we have the Second Amendment.

  21. He could have used an ASP or placed her in a lateral vascular neck restraint but she would certainly have suffered more. After you tase someone it’s like no harm no foul, we’re all friends again. Besides, some folks just need a good tase once and a while to keep them in line. It’s called policing.

    But what does it have to do with guns? Should this not be on a police procedures site?

    • Are you SERIOUS?

      You do realize that at that woman’s age a simple fall can result in serious and potentially life threatening injury right? What if the shock had caused a heart attack? What had she done that was so “out of line” that it necessitated electrocuting someone who was walking away?

      I don’t know about you, but I would not be getting buddy buddy with someone who endangered my life to that extent, or put me through that sort of pain.

  22. She was told “if you walk up and get involved, you’re going into the back of the car…” She was not seen in the video at that point but you can hear the locals tell her to “back up” because even they knew she was pushing the nerve of the cops. She got too close, they were going to arrest her for disobeying them and then she walks away as to say “you’re not going to arrest me.” She got zapped.
    Now in the last few days I have seen video of police in action that should get them fired at least and maybe on the defendant side of a courtroom but I really don’t have a problem with this one.

    • I grade your boot licking a solid 6.
      If you had put your armband on I would have given you an 8.

      If you’re a cop and can’t take some lip from a 62YO grandma you’re in the wrong Fing business.

  26. While I’ve got little sympathy or compassion for the trash in the video, tasing a woman simply walking away from you is not justified by the circumstances present in the video.

    If there aren’t extenuating circumstances, the cop should be terminated and charged criminally with battery. Give him a felony conviction so he won’t be acting badge-heavy ever again.

    I’m guessing the tasee will do well financially as well.

    John

    • Yeah, the way I see it one of the distinctions between a good officer and a bad one is being able to separate the “should I” from the “can I.”

      There seems to be officers out there that just watch and wait for an “opportunity” to arrest someone. Forget whether it actually does anything to further their core mission of public safety, and whether it is just wasting resources.

      Whether or not he was within his rights to use force, I think is rather irrelevant, as what purpose could arresting her possibly have served at that point? If she was upset, she should be cut some slack as long as she is not actually cause a real tangible threat or problem.

  27. Cops are a bunch of steroid taking wimps. Everyday I lose more and more respect for them. I don’t know about the rest of you but I put a lot of thought in to “do I really need police officer’s” and my conclusion was absolutely not. Other then having them fill out an accident reports, detective work or something similar they are of no use to me. When you have to many cops it’s inevitable that they will get board and “look for crime” where it doesn’t exist. That way they can justify their existence.

  28. The officer who shot that 61 year old woman in the back, needs to find another job, preferably one that doesn’t involve a position of authority, and contact with the public.
    First, she’s not a threat. Not enough to be tazed IN THE BACK! Second, and this is where the cop completely violates this woman. An elderly woman (that he) just rendered unconscious, with possible life threatening injuries, is not to be moved, pulled, dragged, or manipulated until COMPETENT PEOPLE (EMT’s) have secured the scene, and the injured. WTF? Is this cop going to pretend that he didn’t know this woman would fall flat on her face when he tazed her as she was walking? The degree of unprofessional and irresponsible behavior by this cop is stunning. IT LOOK’s like he used his Tazer as a punitive, disciplinary weapon. As some have already said, she could have died from the impact with the pavement. This incident is far worse than the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson MO. This was a totally uncalled for use of force. Thanks to cell phone video, this cop will be immortalized as the cop who shot(with a Tazer) an unarmed woman in the back. “Hey, d’ya shoot any grandmothers in the back today?”

    Nobody has a Constitutional right to be a police officer.

  30. The real crime is that this country offers free mandatory education and this neighborhood is full of people who can’t properly speak English. “I is gettin’ all them on video!”

  31. If only there was a way to take video where the subject was framed in a wide, horizontal field as opposed to a vertical one…

  32. “Are you a U.S. citizen? Have any I.D.? Where have you been today? Huh? Where you headed to? Where you going? Step back into your vehicle!” Many or most of us have been asked all of this yet we forget that it is OUR innocence being called into question. FL statutes DO authorize use of deadly force against forcible felony. This is a government sanctioned gang attack. These “witnesses” would be right under FL law to use deadly force. I can site FL statute.

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