Attorney: Officer felt he had to Taser Hula Hoop Lady

what I have personally observed. I respond to these stories with my opinion just as everyone else when the subject stirs me. And of course you know opinions are like ...... everyone has one. Every Law enforcement officer knows before they work the first day on the job that every action they take especially in view of the public will be second guessed and discussed by the public and even within their own department. That is the nature of the job. And police officers are no more infallible than anyone else and they do make mistakes and sometimes even when they do the right thing based upon the situation and training the public will still call it a mistake. And I don't need to know what a police officer has or is going through to pass my personal judgment on whether I think the response of an officer is appropriate. I am free to present my opinion here and based upon the responses most writers are repulsed by the response of the officer to the "Hula Lady". I would suggest it is you who are truly clueless.

Officer Parks didnt realize the Hula Hoop Lady was mentally challenged? It is highly obvious to anyone that listens to the NPD video, that she was trying her best to tell the cop about her condition. So, officer Parks repeatedly tazed the poor woman, as she was on the ground trying to comply with his orders. Norfolk needs to compensate this woman for Park's lunacy. I drove past her on Granby Street regularly, and she poses FAR less of a noise problem than the gang bangers two blocks down on E.Little Creek Road. Yet I dont see Parks or others of Norfolk's Finest taking down the hoodlums...just this poor harmless old hula-hooper. Great going, Norfolk!

A neighbor called the police because of loud music coming from Ms. Hula Hoop. I've never heard what time of day that call was made, but was calling the police the only action that could have been taken? Ms. Hula Hoop has lived there for many years and just about everyone knows her because she also hangs-out in the office lobby with other residents. She loves her music and always has it when she does her work out on Granby St, but you don't hear it when you drive by.
It's going to be interesting to find out why all of this started in the first place. What kind of person would call the police instead of asking Ms. Hula Hoop to kindly turn her music down?
This case is going to be very interesting.

To all of you who simply brush this off as the officer needs more training:
I dont think he's capable of being retrained.
To those who say he "has to protect himself": he is sworn to protect the community. He puts himself at risk.
To those who say, he was 'still in shock from being shot at' - he should not be on the street patrolling if he can't think clearly.
And to those who say she should have been treated that way: I'm sad for you, anyone can see she was disturbed and non violent. There was no excuse to tazer her even the first time. second and third were clearly an assult.
This is really sad, now Norfolk has national publicity as this has been picked up by Fark and others. And they likely will have to pay. The officer should be let go and prohibited from going to another town to enforce. This gives all cops a bad name. Sad that people can defend him.
And it does look like a lot of the defenders are really posted by the same person under different names.

This video will make a great training video for police all over the country. The subject was attempting to comply with a police order, however the officer was simply not listening. For whatever was going through his mind at the time IE; personal problems, bad hair day, etc he felt compelled to tazer this woman three times!
This reminds me of the officer in the attack on the skateboarders video. SOME officers get very angry very quickly when they don't feel in control. You can hear the stress in his voice and he took the only action he could (In his mind) to reassert control.
Tazering her three times was her punishment. It was a one way argument, as far as he was concerned. Comply or ELSE!
She deserves compensation. The officer should be retrained or dismissed.

Unfortunately OldManMerritt you comment, "If an underage child commits a crime the parent is responsible", isn't true. Your underage child can shoot and kill someone and the parent isn't responsible at all, but if your dog bites me then the owner is responsible. Doesn't make any sense does it?

This lady has been doing her thing on Granby Street for years, and the video clearly shows her trying to point to her medical alert that she wears around her neck. As I've said before it may not be worth $5 million, but it is worth compensation. I can't wait to see how this turns out.

Watching the video shows she is not playing with a full deck. You wouldn't leave an Alzheimer's patient alone in public, would you? They need to charge the person who is responsible for her. If an underage child commits a crime the parent is responsible. I am sure she is getting some kind of money from the government and who ever takes care of her money is responsible. You can't have your hand out for the financial reward and not be held accountable. It is sad that it happened and the officer should be retrained on protocol, but don't ask him to do his job then put him in a situation where tax payers called him about a disturbance and expect him to do his job, but end up having tax money go to pay 5 million because someone didn't want to care for her.

OMM

I don't like what you said about Hula Hoop lady, but I do agree about the aggressiveness of panhandlers. So many say "just leave them alone." I don't know the ones in Norfolk well (except on the medians, approaching cars for handouts) but in London a couple of those "peaceable panhandlers" chased me,screaming for money, when I walked past them alone as a young lady. One nearly hit me, twice, on Knightsbridge on a Sunday morning (my church was there). I learned to cross the street from the subway immediately because this guy was always there and he would always get too close, then suddenly swear and shoot out his arm in my direction. Mentally ill, but scary. Like I said before, I don't agree with parents/people who say "they aren't responsible for their actions so it's okay if they knock your block off." And we have a neurologically disabled person in the family, so I have some authority to back my beliefs.

All the lawyers see here is their 35-40% plus expenses cut. They couldn't care less about this lady--and if the officer hadn't behaved so egregiously, the taxpayers of Norfolk wouldn't end up paying another enormous lawsuit. The best thing I ever did was move out of Norfolk--they didn't send a car when I would call to report gunshots and crack dealers in my yard--but this guy has to taser the Hula Hoop lady and cost us another huge settlement. She's out there every day and has been for YEARS and there's no possible way he couldn't have known she was mentally damaged. He should have been fired immediately.

I had never seen the video before. That is just pitiful. I cannot see her losing this case. She may not get nor deserve 5 million, but she will win (unless of course the city settles). I know police have an extremely tough job and they have the suspect's, the public's and their own safety to worry about, but sorry this just seems way over the top. He did not seem threatened by her, it didn't seem like he was even really listening, though admittedly she was babbling. And I agree...could this complaint not just have been addressed like you would with folks making too much noise at a party?

tell me you really believe the police have the discretion to "ignore" calls for service? Maybe they should get your number and only ignore your calls for service...

All sorts of minor crime reports are handled by phone with no follow-up, so it’s obvious that the police have the discretion to ignore calls at their leisure. This lady was not in front of any residence. She was in a wide, landscaped traffic median. A couple of minutes of observation from a nearby side street would show that a nuisance complaint was not justified, regardless of who called for whatever reason. Parks should not have left his car to harass Brown in the first place.

To be able to protect a community from crime, a police officer has to be able to recognize the difference between what is legal and what is illegal. Between the gun cases downtown and this case here, it seems that NPD is failing miserably at that.

A person with brain damage legally sign the paperwork to hire a lawer? I see no mention in the article of someone having power of attorney for this woman. She needs to be someplace else doing the hula-hoop. Suppose someone driving by thinks she is going to step off the curb and slams on the brakes and causes an accident. She is a hazzard to herself and others.

If you saw the video you would see that she was pointing, pulling and telling the officer about her medical alert badge that she always wears.

As far as not allowing her to do her hula hoop exercise in the median strip is obsurd. I see her often, and I see a picture of health, and inspiration to all. After her accident she did not force herself to become a vegetabl she started rebuilding her body and God Bless her for it.

I hope it goes to trial because the video tell all. As I previously said it may not be worth $5 million but it IS worth compensation, and that officer needs to be punished more then just serving desk duty but fired from the force.

Yes, and this lady, if I am reading the story correctly, was injured as an adult. It is a sad story. Perhaps she has never had anyone to be her advocate, like the children who are born disabled and get parent-sdvocates as their parents learn how to help them.
So my comments are not so much about her as about the fact that the comments have widened out (as they so often do) and now include other people with disabilities.

If that was my disabled mother aunt or sister she would not hula-hooping in the middle of the road. You are the same people that would be crying foul if she had been hit by a car again! The sad fact is sometimes even people in good health need to be protected from themselves. I think most people that are saying it is so wrong have never had to try and stop someone that is mentaly impared from doing something. Go try it out and report back!

After reading your comments, it is clear to me that you are completely clueless. You have no idea what police go through, and you seem to think you are a doctor and expert on everything.

...this was YOUR disabled mother, aunt, sister, friend? Well, I can tell you how I would feel! That video just nails him. He willfully and wantonly disregarded this woman's instructional pleas for assistance and leniency in light of her condition. Additionally, he broke with Norfolk PD uniform code in ignoring her warnings relative to her neurological and physical limitations. I doubt this lady really cares about the money. What would she spend it on, really? She'd have no control over it--a legal guardian would be appointed. No, this is about teaching the police a much-needed lesson. Hoola-Hoop Lady For The Win!

There was no hitting or rolling around. There was a woman repeatedly saying, "read my medic alert card in my pocket" while an arm joint was painfully pushed beyond its capability. Also, we don't have many female suicide bombers in Ward's Corner for our police to deal with; maybe VB is different. Heck, most of us in the area are stunned to learn she had a radio in the bag she hangs on the sign each morning, you can't hear anything over the traffic (which is why she goes there).

When I see an officer in our area of Norfolk (2/3 of a mile south) they typically greet me by name or recognize me from being out walking with my dogs. You'd expect an officer to be able to do the same thing with someone who's stood in the same location every day for years. We all know her, even if she didn't meet us halfway to introduce herself to us.

This incident, in light of the crime we do experience there, is just further indication that the Ward's Corner neighborhood is completely forgotten by the city. Maybe they should have left the police substation where it was instead of moving it across town as a plum for a city councilman?

you try to call someone an idiot on here and then misspell idiot...you should be banned. By the way the Sheriffs Office in Portsmouth will have lots of sensitivity training and use of force training if Doug Funkhouser is elected Sheriff...dont believe all the bunk, vote for Funk.