BRADENTON, Fla. -- A Manatee County deputy is now working behind the scenes on administrative duties after using a Taser on a 70-year-old woman. This incident is similar to one that has happened before with the same deputy.
Back in 2008, Deputy Jason Riley used a Taser on a 75-year-old man while attempting to arrest the man’s grandson who Deputy Riley believed was in the home.
Now, Deputy Riley is under investigation for tasing a 70-year-old woman while attempting to arrest her grandson.
“That’s who we believe was inside the residence at the time that we made entry,” said Manatee County Sheriff Rick Wells.
RELATED: Manatee County deputy tases 70-year-old woman while attempting to make arrest at her home
Deputies arrived at Barbara Pinkney’s home in Bradenton on the morning of Thursday, December 26, with an arrest warrant for Tevin Turner. Pinkney told officers he wasn’t at the home, but deputies believed otherwise.
“We know he stays there, we’ve had several dealings with him at that residence,” said Sheriff Wells.
Under Florida law, deputies are allowed to enter a home with an arrest warrant if they have reason to believe a suspect is inside. What’s being investigated now is whether deputies used excessive force to get inside, after Pinkney refused to let them in, and whether tasing Pinkney was the right course of action.
“We know that a Taser is a temporary shock, and you know, trying to wrestle with a female is not always the best course of action,” said Sheriff Wells.
Deputy Riley claims Pinkney pushed him while he tried to get in the home.
As for now, Sheriff Wells said nothing he has seen up to this point makes him believe deputies did anything wrong.
“We know that there’s several minutes before this snippet of video that we all have seen that’s out there, so we’re going to try to get that as well to get a clearer picture of what the deputies were saying to her at the time,” said Sheriff Wells.
Sheriff Wells said Manatee County Sheriff’s Office will now attempt to obtain video from a witness which may show what exactly happened.
Sheriff Wells recommends that if another person finds themselves in a similar situation, to first comply with officers, then deal with issues stemming from the incident after the fact.
