Don't tase my granny!

In a scene reminiscent of the infamous "Don't tase me, bro" incident, certain members of American law enforcement have now been accused of excessive force in tasering an 86 year old granny.

In brief, some old bed-ridden granny wasn't taking her medication so her grandson called emergency services. However, instead of a medical technician, over a dozen cops showed up and, after a couple of exchanges with the "aggressive" grandmother, decided to step on her oxygen hose until she began to suffer oxygen deprivation before tasering her twice (hence the line "Don't tase my granny!").

Hmmm.

Generally, I'm hesitant to post about incidents of police brutality because it can be hard to determine what really happened from just reading news reports. Very often, things come down to a "he said, she said" kind of situation where the "victim" is painting a picture of police brutality while the cops version of events justifies their actions. The reality is that both are probably exaggerating events to support themselves and, without a video as evidence, its impossible to determine exactly what happened (particularly if all you have are news reports).

However, in this particular case, a couple of facts seem to justify the claims of police brutality. From the article, the officer stepping on the oxygen hose and the tasering of the granny are in the police report so the fact that these happened isn't in contention.

Which leads me to question what an 86 year old bed-ridden granny could do that would justify that kind of response? I don't see anything in the news report which indicates that she physically assaulted the police officers. All it says is that she adopted an "aggressive posture" which I guess means that she verbally assaulted the police while looking angry? Maybe?

And even if she did physically attack, unless she was armed with a weapon, I find it hard to believe that a group of trained police officers would fear for their safety. Also, do you really need a taser to subdue an 86 year-old granny who is suffering from oxygen deprivation? Bear in mind that the taser is effectively sending bolts of electricity through her system which doesn't sound like a good idea for an 86 year old granny. Granted, the taser is classified as a non-lethal weapon but there is enough controvery surrounding this that you would think the cops would be more careful about its use.