Cop Who Tasered 94 YO Woman Convicted Of Manslaughter

[pErvinalia]

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-11-27/ ... /104607474

She was threatening people with a steak knife while shuffling around on her walker. Not sure what the cop was supposed to do. Should he risk getting slashed or losing an eye? As far as I know the cops don't carry a baton of any sort. That would be the obvious way to deal with it. I guess you could even get creative and throw a chair at her arm. She probably would have dropped the knife.

[Brian Peacock]

Is it too much to expect an able-bodied cop trained in martial arts and methods of restraint to physically disarm an invalid old woman with cutlery?

[pErvinalia]

The risk of a serious injury is too high with a knife. She starts waving it around and next thing you've lost an eye. The answer I think is that they should have those collapsible batons. That would have done the trick.

[Sean Hayden]

Or just wait for her to need a nap.

[pErvinalia]

[Woodbutcher]

Shit! Kick her walker.

[pErvinalia]

Yeah even that. Although might still lead to her falling and hitting her head (that's how she died).

[Brian Peacock]

Distract her with a hot pudding while asking about her grandchildren.

On a serious note, the charge implies the officer used disproportionate force. Police officers do that every day and rarely face any consequences when people are injured, sometimes seriously. Simply not complying is enough to get one a good coppering. This guy was probably just doing what he'd done a hundred times without thinking about it and without complaint, and the justice system now looks like it's throwing him under the bus simply for doing his job.

[pErvinalia]

It would be interesting to hear whether his use of the taser followed official procedure. I'm assuming it didn't, or the police force itself would be liable.

[Brian Peacock]

I'm sure officers can use batons, tasers, or guns to enforce compliance. And the frail old biddy did have potentially lethal cutlery after all - and the walker could easily have bruised a shin or taken an eye out.

[Sean Hayden]

I guess some people just can’t handle interacting with the public at its worst long-term. I wonder if they require regular checkups to see how officers are doing in that regard.