Only in Texas

A policeman in Texas gave a wonderful demonstration today of the lack of self respect that pervades the American psyche. At what should have been a routine traffic stop, an officer felt he needed to subdue a 72 year old great grandmother with a taser gun. The absurdity of the situation was caught by the officer’s dashboard camera. Because the woman was less than fully cooperative, the officer began barking commands at her like a Nazi drill instructor. When the woman had the nerve to stand up to the verbal abuse of an officer who has sworn to serve the public good, she was subdued by the use of a device which disrupts the heart beat of the victim, rendering them temporarily helpless.
The officer’s supervisor was interviewed and stated flatly the officer in question acted properly and that he would have done the same thing. He stated emphatically that you don’t talk back to the police, and that the officer was acting to make sure that the woman didn’t wander into traffic and get herself killed.
There are a couple of things wrong with that statement. First, if a policeman feels he has the authority to treat an elderly woman in such careless fashion, with no consideration for her possible health condition, then that officer needs a little sensitivity training. Second, unless the woman demonstrated signs of dementia, I would assume that there is a very low probability of her willingly wandering into traffic. That renders the supposed reason for tasering the woman utterly invalid.
Granted, the woman in question did not behave like a recent charm school graduate. But that still does not give that officer the right to use such overwhelming force when he is not threatened in any way.
Let me point out something that should be obvious. Lack of self respect cannot be hidden beneath an overinflated ego. If that man was forced to switch places with the woman he so carelessly tasered, he might begin to appreciate the senselessness of his action. I say might, because a man so drunk with power would probably have a hard time assimilating new behaviors.
Just another reason why I never want to go to Texas.