Chicago Police Taser 82-Year-Old Woman

[JODO 2]

Chicago Police Taser 82-Year-Old Woman

Wednesday November 7, 2007 4:16 AM

By DON BABWIN

Associated Press Writer

CHICAGO (AP) - Chicago's Police Department is investigating an officer's use of a Taser last month on an 82-year-old woman who police say was swinging a hammer when they arrived.

Lillian Fletcher was rushed to the hospital after being jolted by the Taser last week but has been released, police said Tuesday.

Officials with the city's Department on Aging went to her home Oct. 29 to make a welfare check and called police when they saw Fletcher in a window swinging a hammer, police spokeswoman Monique Bond said Tuesday.

Officers arrived and in an attempt to subdue Fletcher, one of them used a Taser, Bond said. The department is trying to determine whether the officer violated department policy on the use of stun guns.

Fletcher said Tuesday that officers pushed their way into her home. ``They shocked me,'' she said.

Fletcher at times sounded confused during the telephone interview. Her granddaughter Traci Taylor told the Chicago Sun-Times that her grandmother has schizophrenia and dementia.

``My grandmother is easily confused,'' Taylor told the newspaper, adding that the woman can be belligerent but is about 5 feet 1 and weighs no more than 160 pounds.

``I just don't think they should be Tasing 82-year-old women. That's ridiculous,'' Taylor said. Tasers use compressed nitrogen to fire two barbed darts that can penetrate clothing to deliver a 50,000-volt shock to immobilize people.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/stor...7056313,00.html

[Otto 83]

Simply shocking..

[Jasman0717 8]

I'm getting rid of my hammers

[Ban Hammer 12,845]

CHICAGO (AP) - Chicago's Police Department is investigating an officer's use of a Taser last month on an 82-year-old woman who police say was swinging a hammer when they arrived.

i guess they nailed her.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Considering how fragile people at that age can be - its surprising that they went down that route to deal with her...

[joelunchbox 0]

Nobody is going to say it??

DON'T TAZE ME BRO!!!!

[Ban Hammer 12,845]

Nobody is going to say it??

DON'T TAZE ME BRO!!!!

in her case it was don't taze me sonny!

[SteveLaura 0]

Chicago should have a Crisis Intervention Team. In fact, all cities/states should. Tazing an 82 yr old woman with mental illness is completely unacceptable.

[Drew and Tik 0]

If it wasn't for the hammer I would say that the tazer was unnecessary, but she did have a deadly weapon. Don't know the whole situation, like if she actually made an attempt to attack an officer or what. Anyway, pepper spray probably would have been a better option if it was available to the officers, less chance of heart failure in someone that old. Five feet tall and 160 lbs isn't that small though, she weighs 10 lbs less than me and I'm 6'1.

[trailmix 77]

If it wasn't for the hammer I would say that the tazer was unnecessary, but she did have a deadly weapon. Don't know the whole situation, like if she actually made an attempt to attack an officer or what. Anyway, pepper spray probably would have been a better option if it was available to the officers, less chance of heart failure in someone that old. Five feet tall and 160 lbs isn't that small though, she weighs 10 lbs less than me and I'm 6'1.

She's 82 years old and some young gun tazered her - I'm just shaking my head.

Not trying to be confrontational, but what does her weight have to do with it anyway. She weighs 10 lbs less than you but you are 6' 1 and what 25 years old?

Edit: If you are a police officer and can't handle an 82 year old without using a tazer - you need a new job.

Edited November 7, 2007 by trailmix

[almaty 19]

Chicago should have a Crisis Intervention Team. In fact, all cities/states should. Tazing an 82 yr old woman with mental illness is completely unacceptable.

i agree..Chicago cops are always the most biggest chopf##ks in law enforcement...

[Drew and Tik 0]

Maybe, but the fact remains she had a weapon. Proper tactics call for using some sort of non-lethal weapon in many situations where the perp or emotionally disturbed person has a weapon. She's 82 years old, but maybe she could still injure someone if she hit them in the head with a hammer. I think if they went hand to hand with her both she and the officers would possibly receive injuries, with the tazer it seems like everything worked out fine. She's not hurt and neither are they, what's the problem?

And the weight thing was brought up because they made it sound like she was completely incapable of hurting the officers. There are very few situations where there is no risk of injury or even death in confrontations with emotionally disturbed persons, especially with weapons.

[Nessa 23]

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Well what the rulebook says is all well and good, but it has to be tempered with a bit of common-sense.

[trailmix 77]

Well what the rulebook says is all well and good, but it has to be tempered with a bit of common-sense.