A criminal investigation should be opened for two officers who Tasered and pepper-sprayed a 57-year-old Georgia woman who called police to report a prowler.
Janice Wells, a third-grade teacher, called officers in rural Georgia for help. Instead, she ended up on the ground screaming and crying, begging officers to stop shocking her with the Taser.
"All of it's just unreal to me. I was scared to death," Wells told the Atlanta Journal Constitution. "He kept Tasing me and Tasing me. My fingernails are still burned. My leg, back and my butt had a long scar on it for days."
The horrible incident was captured on one of the officer's dash camera. In the video, officer Ryan Smith is shown driving to the scene. He exits the vehicle with Taser in hand and immediately begins using it on Wells, who screams in pain.
"Get in the car. Get in the car. You're going to get it again," Smith says in the video.
"I ain't do nothin'," Wells says between shocks.
The Tasering occurred after another officer, Tim Murphy of Richland Police Department, used pepper spray while trying to arrest the woman.
Both men lost their jobs as a result. Smith resigned, and Murphy was fired. Wells has retained a lawyer and should exercise her right to sue for police abuse.
However, after looking at the video, it seems that law enforcement authorities should investigate the use of excessive force.
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