[richlevy]

Well, it happened again.

Woman in Taser case gets probation, horn-honking charge dismissed

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A 67-year-old grandmother who was shocked with a Taser stun gun after she honked her car horn at a police cruiser has been given a year's probation for sparking a quarrel with officers.

The incident, which resulted in a change in department policy and the disciplining of two officers, happened in June 2004 as police were responding to a disturbance call across the street from the couple's home. Officers said they approached Louise Jones after she honked her horn, thinking she had reported the disturbance or perhaps was in trouble. A defense witness testified the honk was accidental.

Municipal Judge Marcia K. Walsh told the couple they should fulfill their sentence easily, pointing out that Fred Jones' criminal history was perfect except for a traffic ticket.

"Your record is even better," she told Louise Jones. "You don't even have a ticket."

So the cops respond to a disturbance call, get into an argument with a 67-year-old lady in the street outside which escalates, and end up stunning her.

a) Why not just walk away? She wasn't interfering with their duties.
b) What about the original call? It would be pretty embarrassing if someone was seriously injured or killed while the cops were outside stunning bystanders.

The fact that neither the woman or her husband had any kind of record makes me suspicious of the cops. I don't know enough about the witnesses relationship to the woman or her husband to judge their testimony.

In elementary school we were taught to walk away from rude people. Maybe next time the cops can repeat 'stick and stones' a few times and get over it.