| Opinions were mixed Friday near Columbia and West First streets in Elmira, a day after city police said they used a Taser on a woman in an effort to prevent her from swallowing evidence from a suspected drug purchase. "I am completely for the Taser," said Samuel Draper, who lives on Columbia Street near where the incident took place. "It's what I call a 'convincer.' ... It's better than using their guns, of course." Alphonso Greene, 47, who lives on West First Street and witnessed the event, said he thought the Taser was overkill. "For a female (suspect), I really think that was kind of dumb and stupid," Greene said. "A Taser, to me, is just another way for the police to abuse people." The stun gun incident was captured on video and posted on YouTube and the Star-Gazette's Facebook page. City police had watched the woman enter and leave a house located near Columbia and West First streets that was under observation as a suspected crack house. Police believed the woman to be in possession of narcotics and initiated a traffic stop. The woman stopped her car, but officers saw her put something in her mouth. The video shows the woman after she exited the vehicle. She is surrounded by six police officers, who repeatedly order her to spit out what she'd placed in her mouth. When she refused, and the officers were unable to forcibly remove the objects from her mouth, they used a Taser on her to get her to comply. "Despite the dangers, drug users will swallow their drugs to avoid ... |
