Crazy Act of Bravery by Police Officer

Crazy Act of Bravery by Police Officer
June 22nd, 2009 · 10 Comments

Here is a strange little story about bravery in the line of duty? Real brave officers tasers a 72 year old woman?

A 72-year-old woman who refused to sign her speeding ticket got out of her truck and dared a deputy to shock her with a Taser. So he did. Video released by a Travis County Constable’s Office shows Kathryn Winkfein hitting the ground and moaning while the shocks jolted through her body after the May 11 confrontation with Travis County Sheriff’s Deputy Chris Bieze.

Winkfein was stopped for driving 60 mph (96 kilometre) in a 45-mph (72-kilometre) zone just west of Austin. A dashboard camera in the deputy’s car shows the 4-foot-11 (1.5 metres) Winkfein refusing to sign her speeding ticket, getting out of her white pickup truck and cursing at the deputy constable.

Bieze then pushes her to get her away from traffic. “If you don’t step back, you’re going to get Tased,” Bieze says. “Go ahead, Tase me,” Winkfein says. “I dare you.”

The video shows Bieze using the Taser and Winkfein hitting the ground and moaning in pain. “Put your hands behind your back or you’re going to be Tased again,” Bieze yells, and then hits her with another jolt. Travis County Sheriff Greg Hamilton, whose office does not oversee the constables, issued a statement Wednesday saying:

“I do not personally agree with the actions of the deputy constable as they are shown in the video. When I look at the video I am in awe of what happened.” Winkfein was eventually charged with resisting arrest, a misdemeanour punishable by up to a year in jail and fines up to $4,000.

A telephone message left with Constable Sgt. Maj. Gary Griffin of the constable’s office was not immediately returned Wednesday. Telephone calls to a number listed for Kathryn Winkfein in Marble Falls, about 50 miles (80 kilometres) west of Austin, went unanswered.

Griffin has defended Bieze’s actions and said that Winkfein was belligerent and difficult to handle. Winkfein previously told Austin television station KTBC that she didn’t believe she deserved to be shocked. “I wasn’t argumentative, I was not combative. This is a lie,” she told the station. This cop should definitely receive a medal for this act of bravery, I am sure his fellow officers will not let him live this one down.

Tags: Of the Weird · Offbeat Stuff · Might Be True · Odd Accomplisments

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