Lady cop uses stun gun on woman in nursing home

"(AP) Rock Hill, S.C. officials have refused a newspaper's request to release the disciplinary records of a police officer who used a stun gun on a 75-year-old woman in a retirement home.

City Manager Carey Smith told The (Rock Hill) Herald on Tuesday disclosing the records would invade Officer Hattie Macon's privacy. The newspaper had requested the records under the state's Freedom of Information Act.

The Herald asked for the records after Macon used a stun gun to subdue Margaret Kimbrell during an incident at a Rock Hill retirement home. An internal Rock Hill police investigation found Macon should have used a different restraint method first, but did not discipline her any further.

An internal investigation provides eyewitness accounts of what led Officer Macon to use the Taser on Kimbrell at EdenGardens Assisted Living Home."

www.mediainfo.com...

If this COP can't control a 75 year old woman in a nursing home without using a "stun" gun then she doesn't belong in ANY police force.


[edit on 1-2-2005 by John bull 1]

Im sure it was nessesary, she was probably talking back. cant have that.
America really is a giant police state, id swear it!

Surprisingly enough I agree with you Horacid,
I mean really she could have killed the poor woman, she probably would have only gotten a slap on the wrist if the woman had died.
(Like the taser causing a heartattack)

[edit on 2/1/2005 by iori_komei]

more to the story :

Kimbrell had refused to leave the nursing home after trying to visit a sick friend on October 15th. A report says Kimbrell jerked away from Macon as she tried to grab her and later swung her arm at Macon's face. Kimbrell was charged with trespassing and resisting arrest.

Rock Hill Police use Tasers to control people who are punching, kicking or biting, or for suspects who are fleeing or refusing to be handcuffed. Chief Gregory says he recently began discouraging officers from using the devices on fleeing suspects who aren't considered dangerous.

Police say Tasers cut back on injuries to officers and suspects because they reduce the need for physical struggles. But, civil libertarians question whether the devices are safe and have called for their use to be limited.


and this was said also :

Last month Rock Hill Police Chief John Gregory said Macon, who joined the department about a year-and-a-half ago, should have tried a less intense method. He says an internal investigation concluded Macon should have tried to hold Kimbrell's arms and wrists before using the Taser.


Now, it would appear that I'm taking sides with the officer on this... well I'm not completly, I just wanted to see the rest of the story... and thought that not everyone here would jump over to the link and read it...

Thankyou Elevatedone, I did read the link though, and Im still disgusted at mindless officially sanctioned violence. It seems American police can do anything they like to the general public and get away with it. Stun old ladys, stun little children, nothing is over the line in America, land of freedom and liberty! Pffft!

Cop should have contained the situation, called for backup and ambulance, and then proceeded to calmly take care of it with med personell and other officers.

Why stun gun someone who can hardly be considered a threat in that situation?

I smell a lawsuit.

X

cheers to the police officer...this old lady had it coming to her...i've been to nursing homes and those people are very violent..they throw urine and feces around and if i knew i wouldn't be arrested i would love to stun or taser them...just because they are old does not mean they are incapable of killing or seriously harming someone younger

This is a case of excessive use of force. In any real P.D./S.O. worth a damn, this lady would be on leave(with/without pay), if this was a third infraction, she'd be fired.

If I'd have ever done something like this, my Sgt./Lt. would be warranted in firing my A$$(Where I hold my TCLEOSE L-1 to this day).

You have a duty to protect and serve, and while I agree anyone at anytime can pose a lethal threat, and you should be prepared for that, you also have a duty to grade your own use of force.

If you're in a closed environment with a elderly offender and feel that they require any amount of force over basic physical restraints, then you had best get your Sgt. there, get E.M.S. there, get a backup unit. Or all of the above.

The lade posed no immediate threat(lethal or non-lethal) to anyone. If the officer truly felt threatened by the lady, she should have already radioed for a backup unit and then kept orderlies present as witnesses, and began at the bottom of the use of force ladder, with physical restraints.

I've seen it first hand, there is a set of steps you should always take when applying any force. Each of your actions must be the result of a qualifying action from the suspect. That's just the way it goes, you are a reactionary device in 99% of your work. If you're not constantly analyzing situations looking for your legal remedies, then you are like this person, and you leave yourself and your department exposed to legal action.

This does not only go for little old ladies/men. This goes for anyone that you must interact with. You have to guage your situation, I mean every second that you're working. Things can always change swiftly, but if you're qualifying your actions, you're prepared.

Human nature is largely linear, you can use this to your advantage, as a cop or not. You can prepare for your next step in any action, well before you need to take that action.

That's what good cops do.

Is there a bit of risk to you because you carry yourself in a way that protects the public as well as yourself? Sure. Is it less risk that being some "gung-ho" ball of fury? Everytime.

X[edited for misspelled abbreviation.]

[edit on 1-2-2005 by Xatnys]

Originally posted by instar
Thankyou Elevatedone, I did read the link though, and Im still disgusted at mindless officially sanctioned violence. It seems American police can do anything they like to the general public and get away with it. Stun old ladys, stun little children, nothing is over the line in America, land of freedom and liberty! Pffft!

You know nothing. Your opinion is nothing but your speculation. I cant tell you in polite company what my buds from Perth used to do. But I dont go around making statements about all of Australia based on thier stories. But you see some news every now and then and start saying things like that about the US. You have no clue whatsoever. There must be 100,000+ police officers in the USA, and maybe a fraction, of a fraction of one percent ever make the news in a negative light, but thats enough for you to make those silly remarks.

If thats your opinion I feel sorry for you. Somebody who is so easily influenced and closed minded cannot live much of an enriched life...

Can I note one thing, since american police are armed I think I can see why she used the stun.
I mean is it worth haveing an attacker get a hold of a firearm?

nothing worse than a police officer who thinks they are above the law... unfortunately, that "god" complex seems to come with the badge

Originally posted by devilwasp
Can I note one thing, since american police are armed I think I can see why she used the stun.
I mean is it worth haveing an attacker get a hold of a firearm?

lmao she was going to grab the cops gun now? get real.

i think ALL police are armed nowdays anyway.

she wasnt "attacking" anyone, she just wanted to visit her freind.

[edit on 112828p://090211 by instar]