Police Taser Great-Grandmother During Traffic Stop

This one was just unbelievable...

In what looks to be a case of police brutality, a 72-year-old Austin, Texas great-grandmother was tasered after apparently refusing to sign a ticket during a traffic stop.

Police insist that they were doing everything by the book, but using a taser on a senior citizen at a traffic stop strikes one as excessive use of force.



The video showed the whole thing, the cop even pushed the lady pretty hard then warned her and then tazered her. Just who wrote this book that the police officer was following?? Ok, the grandmother was being a little stubborn, and wouldn't sign the ticket, The police officer is a much larger person, why did he feel the need to use the tazer? A tazer is a weapon, this an unarmed, albeit unruly, 72 year old woman... what gives?

Thoughts?

Tori's mother lashes out

I was reading my morning Toronto Star and I came across this article I wanted to share

Tara McDonald complains about police who accused her of the crime and says she wants daughter's 'killers dead'

As officers searched for the body of Tori Stafford with the help of her accused abductor, Tori's mother lashed out at police and the people charged in the homicide.

In Woodstock, Tara McDonald said police targeted her and her boyfriend for 42 days.

"The three times I was interviewed by police, they said, 'We know it's you,'" McDonald told the London Free Press yesterday.

She said she could barely bring herself to think about the final hours of her "beautiful little princess."

"To think someone took my daughter and then ... I can't even think about it," she said.

"My daughter's not coming home. I want the killers dead."

Meanwhile, in a barren field south of Fergus, Terri-Lynne McClintic, 18, of Woodstock, huddled on the floor behind a back seat to hide from photographers' cameras. The accused woman was there hoping to lead police to the 8-year-old's remains.

"My understanding is that she is fully cooperating and did so (Wednesday) and (yesterday) with a view toward bringing Tori home as soon as possible," said McClintic's lawyer, Jeanine Leroy.

McDonald said that when police met her Tuesday night to tell her of the arrests, she thought they had good news about Tori. "All I kept thinking, all along, was that she's somewhere; she's fine; someone is taking care of her. They just wanted a beautiful little girl for themselves and they took my beautiful girl."

She has refused to make funeral arrangements until she sees Tori's body.

McDonald said she'd hold police accountable for how they treated her, her son, Daryn, 11, her boyfriend, James Goris, and friends.

"One officer came into my house and said, `You are my prime suspect.' He said, `I have been doing this job as long as you have been alive and I have never seen a mother behave like you.'"

Daryn was questioned without a family member present and subjected to horrible suggestions, McDonald said. "He cried all night when he come home," she said.

Told of McDonald's complaints about police behaviour, Ontario Provincial Police Det. Insp. Bill Renton – heading the investigation – said he could not comment.

Police yesterday searched the same spot officers in the company of a cadaver-sniffing dog went over on Wednesday. This time, they concentrated on the second of two collapsed buildings, now little more than a pile of rubble.

Police idled beside the pile underneath the low-hanging boughs of a tree. After about 15 minutes, the police and McClintic left the scene.

Leroy said her client has not been offered any concessions by authorities for her cooperation.

"I can tell you that's not in her mind right now," said Leroy. "And there have been no conversations between myself and the Crown. It's way too early in the process."

It's not clear if McClintic will be personally involved in the search today. The judge's order that allowed her to accompany OPP officers expired at 10 last night.

After McClintic and her escorts left, a forensics truck arrived at the site. In the early evening, one investigator could be seen gingerly digging at the pile. Another took pictures. But there was no urgency to their work, now two days old and still fruitless.

Alex Gilchrist, a local farmer who lives a few doors away, owns the field.

He and his family were aghast that their property might have become a killer's dumping ground.

"We hope they find that little girl," said Gilchrist.

"Just not here," added his wife.

That captured the attitude throughout Fergus, a picturesque town about 20 kilometres north of Guelph.

"Say if she's here – and I hope she's not – people will say this is the town where they found that poor little girl," said resident Rany O'Halloran.

"It'll just devastate this town," said Denise Seabrook.

Throughout the day, many residents sidled up to the media gathered outside the downtown OPP detachment, anxious for news. Police have said little about the search. That's forced locals to rely on gossip about the accused killers and their relationship with the area.

For now, the ground search has taken centre stage, directly in the middle of the Gilchrist field.

Police also tagged and later removed a dumpster at the side of the road about a kilometre east of the field.

However, if McClintic is wrong or unable to provide the precise location, the focus will once again return to the aerial search. The OPP helicopter was still out yesterday. McClintic was on board for a while.

From the day Tori went missing, volunteers lined up to join the search, plastering storefronts, street lamps and car windshields with flyers describing the petite young girl with golden hair and big blue eyes.

McDonald began holding daily news conferences to keep the story in the media spotlight and, on a number of occasions, vigorously denied rumours swirling in the community, including one that her daughter was kidnapped over a drug debt.

At one point McDonald was confronted with the allegation that she looked like the woman in a composite sketch released by police – a suggestion she called laughable.

Police remained tight-lipped about the investigation, but McDonald's daily briefings revealed a number of strange twists in the case. McDonald accepted a ride in a limousine to meet a mysterious benefactor in a Toronto hotel who offered to pay any ransom demand. The family also sought the help of a psychic.

Family members also spoke openly about having taken lie-detector tests.

The media spotlight also put McDonald's personal struggles on display, including her addiction to the narcotic OxyContin, which she said she's receiving treatment for.

McDonald also denied reports that she and Goris bought the OxyContin painkillers from McClintic's mother, Carol.

She said she met McClintic's mother at most three times and McClintic was in the apartment once, but she didn't talk to her.

Thoughts?

N.L. police chief sorry for wrongful 8-hour jailing of autistic teenager

The chief of a Newfoundland police force apologized Thursday to a teenager and his mother after the youth was arrested and detained for eight hours because officers mistook symptoms of his autism for signs of intoxication.

Chief Joe Browne of the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary met with Diane Spurrell and her son Dane at their home and apologized for actions he called "incorrect."

"We deeply regret that Dane was exposed to this and I regret as well that his mom had to endure the discomfort caused by not knowing where her son was for quite some period of time," Browne told a news conference hours after he spoke with the Spurrell family.

"I wish I could turn back time, but we can't, so the best thing we can do now is to apologize sincerely and figure out where we go from here to make things better."

Just after midnight Sunday, a police officer noticed a car swerve around Dane while he was walking along a street in Mount Pearl, a suburb west of St. John's. The 18-year-old was on his way home after going to a nearby video game store.

The officer asked Dane if he was OK and told him he should not be walking on the road, but the teenager said that was impossible because there was no sidewalk in the area.

During her conversation with him, the officer suspected he may have been under the influence of alcohol or drugs. She and another officer handcuffed him after "a very minor altercation," believing it would be in the best interests of his safety, Browne said.

He was taken to a jail in downtown St. John's. His mother was not aware of his whereabouts until she called 911 to report him missing five hours after his arrest.

The police did not allow Dane an opportunity to call his mother. He was returned home after they realized the mistake eight hours after he was stopped.

By law, the police are only required to allow a phone call to a lawyer, though they can exercise some flexibility in such situations, Browne said.

"It would've been absolutely no issue to provide access to a telephone or at least place a call on Dane's behalf (to his mother)," Browne said.

"I sincerely wish that had occurred. In fact, if it had ... I think it would've been resolved immediately."

Diane Spurrell welcomed Browne's apology and said she was confident he would handle the matter appropriately.

"They were deeply sorry for what happened and I believe that they're sincere," she said.

The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary will begin training next month to increase awareness for its officers of autism, Browne said.

"If any good can come of this, we can look towards Dane as really influencing police training in this province," he said.

"It's a mild comfort, but at least he'll have an impact beyond this event."

Dane will likely harbour a lifelong mistrust of the police because of the wrongful arrest, his mother said.

"I don't think he's ever going to trust law enforcement ever again," she said. "But that being said, the benefit to all this is that I hope at least that law enforcement agencies will be better informed."

The police have launched an internal and criminal investigation into the conduct of the officers.

Browne also expressed disappointment with one of the officers involved in the arrest who defended his actions in an online response to CBC's story about the incident.

"I challenge all you armchair quarterbacks to spend a week in my job," the officer wrote.

"I have 15 years on patrol, and can spot a person who needs help. This person was a danger to himself and needed intervention."

Browne confirmed the comments were those of one of the officers under investigation.

"He had spent, in my view, too much time reading the blog postings, and some of them were just vile and offensive, others were instructive and added to the debate," Browne said.

"He felt obliged or compelled, I guess is the word, to respond and he told me that the minute he hit send, he wanted to try to figure out how to pull it back. But it was just a raw, emotional thing."

Murder victim predicted own death

Edmonton Alberta's fifth homicide victim of the year predicted his own death just prior to leaving his north Saskatchewan reserve, says his aunt.

On Tuesday night, Landis Tyson Stick, 24, told his mother Connie, " 'If I go to Edmonton, I'll be coming back in a box,' " said aunt Janet Stick, who is speaking for the distraught family. "To me, it's a self-fulfilling prophecy."

PROPHETIC WORDS

Although his family thought he was going to Saskatoon and despite his now-prophetic words, Stick left the Onion Lake reserve Wednesday evening for Edmonton.

Around 1:30 a.m. Thursday, Stick was fatally stabbed outside a downtown apartment block at 10720 104 St.

The killing remains unsolved.

Janet said her nephew was widely known as a gang member and she worried that he would run into trouble living his high-risk lifestyle.

"I personally wasn't shocked when it happened, with his involvement in gangs," she said from Onion Lake, about 50 km north of Lloydminster.

"I had tried talking to him."

"I always thought something like this would happen if he didn't quit. Maybe he offended somebody? Who knows why gangs kill people."

Stick spent most of his time in Edmonton and Saskatoon.

"He told his mom he wouldn't be back for a very long time," said Janet.

Stick borrowed $60 for a bus ticket in the days before his death, and said he was heading to Saskatoon for a court appearance, said Janet.

Police told her they found a court order in the victim's pocket, she said.

Stick recently showed his aunt a freshly written resume and told her he was looking for a job. "He told his mom he wanted to go straight, to get out of gangs and stuff," said Janet.

The family heard about Stick's death through the news media. They had been under the assumption he was in Saskatoon, said Janet. She's not sure why he would have headed for Edmonton instead.

"This is a small community. Rumours were already going around, and we didn't know," she said.

It wasn't until noon Friday that police told her officially that Stick had been killed.

She volunteered to tell her sister Connie - Stick's mother - about the death.

A MOTHER'S ANGUISH

"How do you think a mother feels when she's told her oldest son is dead? She was crying ..." said Janet.

The victim had five younger siblings, age 10 and older.

He had two children of his own who live with an ex-girlfriend. "(His ex was asking) what happened. I couldn't answer her questions because I had my own questions that needed answering."

Police continue to investigate. They had not released notice of any charges by press time last night.

Man Clings To Life Following Overnight New Years Shooting

What a way to bring in The New Year, Bullets rang out on Danforth Ave during an argument outside a New Year's party at the Paradise Sports Bar and Billiards Club at 940 Danforth Ave at about 3:30am Thursday. The gunfire sent two men to hospital, one with life-threatening injuries.

"It's very critical, I'll put it that way. We don't know if he's going to make it or not. He's being watched closely by the doctors at this point," explained Det. Gerald Ball of Toronto Police.

Paramedics found the gravely hurt victim on the sidewalk, shot in the head. He's listed in critical condition in hospital.

The other individual was shot in the leg, but was still able to run for his life. Officers picked him up a short distance from the club.

The shooter fled with a group of friends.

Investigators would like to speak to anyone who brought in the New Year at the Danforth and Jones Ave. area bar.

"When we got here, they were almost all gone. There was no one here except for about eight people. So if there's anybody that can offer any information, we would like to speak to them," noted Det. Ball.

You can call Toronto Police 54 Division at 416-808-5400 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477).

Another person was shot in the leg not far away from where this incident took place, in the area of Dawson Ave. and Earl Grey Rd. There's no word on whether that incident, which occurred at about 5am, is related to the shooting earlier in the night.

Meanwhile, police in the west end are also looking into the circumstances of a shooting near Dixon Rd. in the west end. The victim in this shooting suffered a gunshot wound to one of his legs. He was taken to Etobicoke General Hospital to be treated but his injuries weren't considered life threatening.

Anyone with information in any of the overnight incidents can call Crime Stoppers at 416-222-TIPS (8477), Again, you can do so anonymously if you prefer

Ottawa police officer shoots 2 people with 1 bullet

Ontario's police watchdog is looking into an incident in Ottawa in which a police officer shot two people Monday with one bullet.

Two officers were called to a 12th floor apartment to check out reports of a distraught woman and were confronted by a woman with a knife. The Special Investigations Unit says during an incident that followed, 25-year-old Samantha Soderlind was shot in the chest by one of the officers.

The bullet then passed through her body, went through a bedroom wall and struck a 27-year-old man in the face.

The SIU says Steven Lindsey had gone to the unit to assist the woman and was told to wait in the bedroom as police tried to control the situation.

The injuries to both Soderlind and Lindsey were not life-threatening.

The SIU investigates all cases of serious injuries and deaths involving the police and the public.

Chinese Internet porn sensation detained by police

A Shanghai woman who became an online sensation after posting a homemade pornographic film of herself on the Internet has been detained in Shanghai, according to state media.

The 12-minute-video showed the woman, surnamed Huang, performing "sex acts," the official China Daily said in its weekend edition, without elaborating further.

"It soon became one of the most popular downloads on the mainland, with thousands of people downloading it last month," the report cited the local police as saying in a statement.

The woman set up a blog, hoping to profit from her notoriety and sell interviews with herself for up to 30,000 yuan (approximately $4,383) a time, the newspaper said.

Despite the police's best efforts, the video is still available online, it added, without saying what penalty the woman may have to pay.

Pornography is illegal in China, although it is widely available on pirated DVDs throughout the country, as well as on the Internet.

Anyone know where this video is located? I sure couldn't find it!