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ROCK HILL - The Rock Hill Police Department is investigating whether an officer acted appropriately when she used a taser to stun a 75-year-old woman who was allegedly trespassing when she went to an assisted living facility to visit a friend.
Hattie Macon, a police officer for about 14 months, was trying to get Margaret Kimbrell of Rock Hill to leave the Eden Gardens assisted living facility when the incident occurred about 5 p.m. Friday.
A taser is a device that shoots small probes into a person's body, sending 50,000 volts of electricity into the person for five seconds, causing temporary paralysis. The person loses all ability to control his or her muscles, giving the officer time to gain control of the suspect.
The Rock Hill Police Department has no policy banning the use of tasers on the elderly. Chief John Gregory said the department's policy is in line with, if not better than, policies at other police departments.
According to a police report, Macon asked Kimbrell several times to leave because facility staff said she wasn't wanted there. When Macon, 35, tried to physically remove Kimbrell, the older woman snatched her arm away and said, "I'm not going anywhere and you can't make me leave," the report said.
Kimbrell denies that account. She said she winced and pulled away from the officer because she has arthritis and the officer's grasp hurt her shoulder.
The report said Kimbrell eventually began leaving the facility, but stopped to talk to someone else. The report said when the officer again asked Kimbrell to leave, Kimbrell tried to hit Macon in the face.
Kimbrell said she never swung at the officer and was surprised at the allegation.
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/news/9963425.htm?1c
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