I first saw this post on Attorney Eric Turkewitz blog and I could not believe the video. The video depicts Audra Harmon who was initially pulled over for allegedly talking on her cell phone. Apparently when she was able to demonstrate to Officer Sean Andrews that she was not in fact talking on the phone, he decided to cite her for driving five miles over the speed limit. Why bother admitting he was wrong? Ms. Harmon disagreed and asked to see the tape from the radar gun indicating her speed.
Ms. Harmon made the mistake of getting out of her vehicle to see the radar gun. Upon realizing her error, she quickly returned to her vehicle… but that was not the end of it. She was dragged back out of her car in front of her kids and while standing in a completely non-threatening posture, was struck twice by the officers taser.
I understand cops have a dangerous job, and I understand that this is an outlying exception caught on video. The point, however, is that abuse of power occurs. Racial profiling occurs. It is not acceptable. Thanks to this video Ms. Harmon will likely be compensated by the city, and with any luck Officer Andrews will be re-assigned, but there are many defendants who do not have a tape to corroborate their sometimes unbelievable tales of police abuse of power.