Wheelchair bound old woman dies after being tased

**Virginian** · 04-25-06, 01:18 PM

Wheelchair bound old woman dies after being tased

Ummm... not like she was innocent. I could deal without the obvious slant of the author, but thought I'd share.

Wheelchair-bound old lady tasered to death
A crazed woman armed to the teeth is not to be taken lightly. If, however, she's 56 years old and in a wheelchair, you'd like to think the cops could find a better solution than shocking her to death.

Around 5 p.m. Monday, cops in Green Cove Springs, Florida got a call that an old woman had gone crazy. When they arrived at the scene, police found wheelchair-bound Emily Delafield brandishing two knives and a hammer at family members.

The cops tried to calm her down, but Delafield wouldn't listen to reason. Feeling as though they were out of options, one of the cops pulled out his taser and launched 50,000 volts of juice into the four-wheeled maniac. She immediately lost consciousness.

Delafield was rushed to the hospital, but to no avail, she was soon dead.

The two officers involved are on paid administrative leave pending the results of an investigation, including Delafield's autopsy.

**Curt581** · 04-25-06, 01:24 PM

If, however, she's 56 years old and in a wheelchair, you'd like to think the cops could find a better solution than shocking her to death.

Nice to see journalists declaring themselves to be instant forensic pathologists. I'd like to know how they determined a cause of death before the autopsy.

FishTail · 04-25-06, 02:32 PM

So, did the journalist suggest an alternative course of action? Since s/he is an expert on use-of-force matters.

**Ducky** · 04-25-06, 02:33 PM

I can imagine.. "Throw a net over her!"

**Retdetsgt** · 04-25-06, 02:34 PM

Here's a less slanted version:

Fla. Woman Dies After Taser Gun Shock
Apr 25 11:48 AM US/Eastern
Email this story

GREEN COVE SPRINGS, Fla.

A woman in a wheelchair who swung knives and a hammer at relatives and police died after being shocked by a stun gun, officials said.

Police tried to talk Emily Marie Delafield, 56, into dropping the weapons before they used the Taser to subdue her Monday, Police Chief Robert Musco said. Delafield lost consciousness after the electric jolt and later died at Orange Park Medical Center.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating and an autopsy will be conducted to determine a cause of death.

The two officers involved have been put on paid administrative leave during the investigation, which is standard procedure.

Tasers deliver a 50,000-volt jolt through two barbed darts that can penetrate clothing. About 7,000 of the nation's 18,000 police agencies had them last year, and they were used by police more than 70,000 times.

Amnesty International counted 61 U.S. deaths following Taser use last year. Taser International officials disputed that count, saying it linked some deaths to Taser use when there had been no such official conclusion.

Link

I wonder why all this stuff seems to happen in Florida?

**Ducky** · 04-25-06, 03:23 PM

Florida = old PO'd people on meds with dodgy tickers, and / or drug users with the same problem.

**Operator13** · 04-25-06, 03:27 PM

The cops tried to calm her down, but Delafield wouldn't listen to reason.

I would think most people, when confronted by the police would act in a reasonable manner.

When confronted by an offender wielding weapons what is an officer(s) supposed to do?

They made it home. That's the important part.

The offender died? Shame.

**Retdetsgt** · 04-25-06, 04:17 PM

If she'd been more mobile, she'd have been shot and killed by the police anyway, if they had any sense. Unfortunately, there is a trend to using tasers in lieu of deadly force when confronted with same.

**Daynathepayna** · 04-25-06, 07:21 PM

I wonder what her family will say at her eulogy. "She was an energetic person with a SPARKling personality."

**Ducky** · 04-25-06, 08:12 PM

well, considering she was holding them at knifepoint, I'd hope they'd say "She was a certified whackjob, rest her soul"

**Andrewtx** · 04-25-06, 08:25 PM

Why didn't the police use their giant net gun to ensnare her in a web? Clearly they wanted her to die.

**Whitewolf** · 04-25-06, 08:55 PM

Originally Posted by TattoodDucky

I can imagine.. "Throw a net over her!"

Ummmm....Ducky, I believe she might use her knives to slice the net off of her.

**Retdetsgt** · 04-26-06, 12:06 AM

Originally Posted by Daynathepayna

I wonder what her family will say at her eulogy. "She was an energetic person with a SPARKling personality."

She had just enrolled back in school and was starting to get her life together.

**Welpe** · 04-26-06, 12:28 AM

Originally Posted by Retdetsgt

She had just enrolled back in school and was starting to get her life together.

She was an aspiring rap artist too....oh wait.

**lcsodre108** · 04-27-06, 01:13 AM

Was she in a Rascal, or a Hover Round?

**TheeBadOne** · 04-27-06, 01:26 AM

**Whitewolf** · 04-27-06, 02:28 AM

Originally Posted by lcsodre108

Was she in a Rascal, or a Hover Round?

Could be both. Hey, I found her pic. She wasn't in the wheelchair earlier ago.

Gimme a jeeper creeper!!

**kimby** · 04-27-06, 04:40 AM

I used to work with handicapped people and I think someone in a wheelchair can be a lot more mobile and dangerous than someone without one. Some of those wheelchairs should be considered deadly weapons. Seriously.

**Virginian** · 04-27-06, 08:01 AM

I'll refrain from making fun of the deceased woman, since she could have clearly had mental problems related to her age or disease, but that picture is darned funny