Unruly woman, 72, Tasered

AUSTIN, Texas - Cursing and belligerent, the great-grandmother refused to sign her speeding ticket, got out of her truck and dared a deputy constable to shock her with a Taser.

So he did.

Video released by a Travis County Constable's Office shows 72-year-old Kathryn Winkfein hitting the ground and moaning while the shocks jolted through her body after the May 11 confrontation with Travis County Sheriff's Deputy Chris Bieze.

Winkfein was stopped for driving 60 mph in a 45-mph zone just west of Austin. A dashboard camera in the deputy's car shows the 4-foot-11 Winkfein refusing to sign her speeding ticket, getting out of her white pickup truck and cursing at the deputy constable.

Bieze then pushes her to get her away from traffic.

"You're gonna shove a 72-year-old woman," Winkfein says angrily, standing inches from the deputy.

"If you don't step back, you're going to get Tased," Bieze says.

"Go ahead, Tase me," Winkfein says. "I dare you!"

The video shows Bieze using the Taser and Winkfein hitting the ground and moaning in pain.

"Put your hands behind your back or you're going to be Tased again," Bieze yells, and then hits her with another jolt.

Winkfein was eventually charged with resisting arrest, a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and fines up to $4,000.

A telephone message left with Constable Sgt. Maj. Gary Griffin of the constable's office was not immediately returned yesterday.

Griffin has defended Bieze's actions and that Winkfein was belligerent and difficult to handle.

But Travis County Sheriff Greg Hamilton, whose office does not oversee the constables, issued a statement Wednesday saying:

"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." *