State Trooper Kills Woman With Taser Instead Of Chasing Her

-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger

Florida Highway Patrol officer Daniel Cole used his taser to stop a fleeing Danielle Maudsley. As a result, Maudsley fell and cracked her head on the concrete roadway. Maudsley has been brain dead ever since and is not expected to recover.

Maudsley had been arrested in a hit-and-run case and taken to a Florida Highway Patrol substation for processing. Maudsley, clad in handcuffs, fled out the door of the substation with Cole running right behind her. Cole drew his taser and shot Maudsley in the back. Cole has been cleared of wrongdoing by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

It was Cole’s responses to investigators’ questions that are most troubling.

If she makes it [to U.S. 19], you know, there’s no winning. I can’t let her get out and get run over.

What self-serving tripe! This is exactly the kind of response that one would expect from someone who’s trying to come up with an excuse to justify their actions.

Cole was also concerned that one or both of them would be injured if he tackled her. Is tackling her the only alternative to tasering her? How about moving your 267 pound fat ass and grabbing her? Cole’s weight is three times that of Maudsley. Notice how Cole plays the “officer safety” card. This card is often played when justifying the use of excessive force.

The cracking of her head on the concrete roadway was an entirely foreseeable outcome of the tasering. This young woman is dead because the trooper couldn’t be troubled running after her.

H/T: Hit & Run, Tampa Bay Dispatch.