06-16-2012, 10:08 AM
Truthfully, the problem with cases like these is that no matter what goes down the police face public scrutiny and armchair quarterbacking from people who were't there. I work with DD adults; people who have the emotional capacity and temper ranging from teenagers to toddlers, with the bodies and strength of grown men and women. I get constant training on how to physically restrain people hopefully without hurting themselves or me, and I can say it's damn near impossible to do. ESPECIALLY with someone in a confused mental state. Cops who come to our assistance often have no idea how to proceed, and defer to our guidance when a situation is developing.
But police are trained to quickly react and defuse a situation with the least necessary level of force. They don't stop to ask for age or medical status or how it might look later; they don't have the luxury of hindsight. In truth, if that woman was in active dementia, she could have been a danger to herself or others and needed to be safely contained. The taser was probably the best available option to get her into a position to receive help without hurting her or the officers, the lesser of two evils so to speak.
It's important when we read these cases that we remember not to inject our own grandmother into the picture or assume frailty. People with mental confusion often get an adrenaline fueled strength because they're generally terrified and confused, and they also don't recognize physical pain in that state so they don't "pull punches". I've seen coworkers sent to the hospital by a girl so small you could practically fit her in your pocket. You'd never think she could throw down by looking at her. She's so frail that she gets 24 hour nursing, and we can't even use our regular safe methods of restraint on her for fear of hurting her badly, but when her temper goes she's a stick of dynamite. She's legendary in our agency to the point where it's tough to keep staffing in her house.
But police are trained to quickly react and defuse a situation with the least necessary level of force. They don't stop to ask for age or medical status or how it might look later; they don't have the luxury of hindsight. In truth, if that woman was in active dementia, she could have been a danger to herself or others and needed to be safely contained. The taser was probably the best available option to get her into a position to receive help without hurting her or the officers, the lesser of two evils so to speak.
It's important when we read these cases that we remember not to inject our own grandmother into the picture or assume frailty. People with mental confusion often get an adrenaline fueled strength because they're generally terrified and confused, and they also don't recognize physical pain in that state so they don't "pull punches". I've seen coworkers sent to the hospital by a girl so small you could practically fit her in your pocket. You'd never think she could throw down by looking at her. She's so frail that she gets 24 hour nursing, and we can't even use our regular safe methods of restraint on her for fear of hurting her badly, but when her temper goes she's a stick of dynamite. She's legendary in our agency to the point where it's tough to keep staffing in her house.