Sheriff denounces Tasering of woman in traffic incident

June 10, 10:44 PMCivil Liberties ExaminerJ.D. Tuccille

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Travis County, Texas, Sheriff Greg Hamilton
disagrees with the Tasering of Kathryn Winkfein.

While Travis County, Texas, constables are circling the wagons and defending the Tasering of 72-year-old Kathryn Winkfein by Deputy Constable Chris Bieze during a traffic stop, Sheriff Greg Hamilton has a very different take. In fact, Sheriff Hamilton, who has no authority over the elected constables, is distancing himself from Bieze's action, and carefully criticizing the deputy's use of a Taser.

In a statement (PDF), Hamilton says:

On May 11, 2009 the Travis County Constables Office arrested Kathryn Winkfein and charged her with Resisting Arrest. During the incident the deputy constable used his electronic control device, commonly known as a Tazer. The incident was recorded on the officers in car video camera and has since become a favorite video for media to incite responses to their programs.

As Sheriff of Travis County, I want to make two things perfectly clear. First, the deputy constable does not work for my agency. The Constables Office is a separate office with the Constable elected to office by an individual precinct. Second, I do not personally agree with the actions of the deputy constable as they are shown in the video. When I look at the video I am in awe of what happened.

Precinct 3 Constable Richard McCain is on record as defending Bieze's action, as is Constable Sgt. Maj. Gary Griffin.

email J.D.: civilliberties (at) tuccille.com