Diabetic Woman Tased 15 Times

[Bono]

KSN News

Diabetic driver talks about incident

More about Jason Kravarikby Jason Kravarik
KSN News


WICHITA, Kansas, Apr 18, 2005 -- A story we’ve been following continues to get emotional reaction from our viewers. It deals with the way police handled a woman who had been driving erratically. Police didn’t know the woman was having a diabetic reaction.

     Christina Deleon, 30 has a broken arm, her head is swollen and her eyes are blackened. The question now is, how did she get these injuries? From a traffic accident or from what police did after it.

     "I would think from the way that I feel and the way that I look that it was done incorrectly," said Deleon.

     The incident began when a motorist reported an erratic driver, spotting the car in oncoming lanes of traffic. When police moved in, they say the woman was awake but unresponsive.

     "At one point, she looked over at me, put her foot on the gas and took off through the yard," said Officer Brian Hurley, Wichita Police Department.

     When Christina hit a tree, police moved in. The only problem was that she was not responding. Police feared Christina could take off at any moment and decided that she must be removed from the car.

     An officer then broke the window and what happened next is the source of controversy.

     The officer dragged Christina out of the car and pulled her along the pavement. Christina’s family claims the officer continued to use force evidenced, they say, by his lunging arm.

     Christina watched the video the next day on the news.

     "I was devastated because I was being plopped around like a rag doll and I could see them take me out of the car and them undoing my seatbelt and I was just limp," said Deleon.

     At that point, officers did not know Christina was having a diabetic reaction and was not eluding arrest.

     She said she understands police have a dangerous job but doesn’t know how they could react that way without more facts in hand.

     "That hopefully they’ll be more attentive and pay more attention to the clues."

     Christina believes her injuries were caused by police because her car was not severely damaged in the accident. Police say they wish they had more details but feel they made the right call under the circumstances.
Last update: Apr 18, 2005, 8:38am
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[Joe Republic]

What an awkward position for the cops.  But everybody's human, and everybody makes mistakes.  Poor woman.

[A18]

Um, so she has a broken arm? Big deal, it's her fault.

[Smash255]

Um, so she has a broken arm? Big deal, it's her fault.

Her fault??  How?

[J-Mann]

Why did this subject say she was tased 15 times?  It doesn't say that anywhere in the KSN story.

Cops are often rough and pushy in incidences where they don't need to be, but given their positions, it's better to err on the side of their own safety.  It's really too bad that this woman has suffered a little due to "overreaction" to her condition, but honestly, how would the police know "all the facts?"  She was unresponsive and seemed to be resisting arrest.

The police don't have the benefit of hindsight in those situations.  She'll probably sue and she'll probably win some money.  Maybe she's got a right to that, but the police certainly have a right to guard their own safety.

[Joe Republic]

The police don't have the benefit of hindsight in those situations.  She'll probably sue and she'll probably win some money.  Maybe she's got a right to that, but the police certainly have a right to guard their own safety.

And a duty to guard everybody else's safety.  At the time they saw a dangerous driver who didn't seem to respond to their demands to stop, so quite understandably they intervened.  I don't like the overboard way they did it either, but they were just doing their job.  They weren't to know the real story.

[A18]

Um, so she has a broken arm? Big deal, it's her fault.

Her fault??  How?

For not taking care of herself, I guess. The point is, the police are not to blame.

[J-Mann]

Um, so she has a broken arm? Big deal, it's her fault.

Her fault??  How?

For not taking care of herself, I guess. The point is, the police are not to blame.

No, the police are not to blame, but at the same time, you cannot say, "shame on her for having a diabetic attack."  This was a freak incident and an unfortunate one, to boot, but hardly anyone is to blame.

[Fmr. Gov. NickG]

Better than being shot 15 times.