Was This Necessary? Elderly Woman Dragged To The Ground After Failing To Comply During Traffic Stop

September 13th, 2012 - By Victoria Uwumarogie

And you thought your encounters with the police for speeding violations were bad?

On August 19, 77-year-old grandmother Lynn Bedford was stopped in Keene, Texas on August 19 after being caught going 65 mph on a designated 50-mph road. And we know that once you go over 10 mph, you’re fair game for the po-pos. When Bedford was stopped, she told the officer (who was wearing a camera on his uniform) that she had a bladder infection and needed to use the bathroom badly. Unfortunately for Bedford, the officer wasn’t trying to hear all that, as he was honestly just waiting for her driver’s license and insurance. And unfortunately for the officer, Bedford wasn’t trying to hear what he had to say. Instead of complying, the woman asked him to hurry up and give her the ticket so she could go (“WOULD YOU LISTEN TO ME!?”). They went back and forth, and after asking Bedford to display her ID and insurance SIX (count ‘em) times, he told her that if she didn’t follow his orders, she was going to jail. Her response? “Well, go ahead.”

The officer then proceeded to pull Bedford by her arm to get her out of the car–she was indeed going to jail. Bedford, who according to reports was coming back from church, refused to budge and told the officer he was hurting her and that she was going to report him. Before you know it, the officer pulled the 77-year-old woman out of her car, where she landed on her back on the road. Once she hit the ground, she didn’t have too much to say, aside from yelping out in pain, and she was taken to jail, where she was released soon after. Since the incident, Bedford has hired a lawyer and isn’t sure if she’ll file a lawsuit or not as of yet, but the Keene Police Department is standing by the officer, Sgt. Geheb, noting that he asked her repeatedly and she failed to comply. However, her lawyer thinks the officer absolutely overreacted, and wound up injuring Bedford in his haste to get her moving: “The officer is not very interested in listening to what she has to say. She gets a little frustrated. And then he just overwhelms her. That’s what I see. And then it goes from routine stop to ridiculous stop.”

I’m the first person in most cases to say that I don’t mess with or trust the police, and trust me, I have legitimate reasons, but I’m not going to get into that. However, this woman should have just done what was asked of her without all the extra commentary. The faster she would have whipped out her ID and insurance, I’m pretty sure she would have made it to the bathroom even faster (and not a jailhouse toilet…). However, I can’t help but think that Sgt. Geheb should have waited for his backup to deal with this woman before yanking her out of the car like that. Her behavior, besides being annoying, wasn’t dangerous and didn’t make her a threat at that moment. God forbid when she fell down that she might have slipped a disk or broke a bone, because that would be much harder for the police department to explain. For the elderly, I’m sorry, I just don’t think it takes all that excessive force. In my opinion, Bedford was caught behaving badly, and Sgt. Geheb might have done a bit too much, even though his intentions weren’t bad. But I guess this is how older people act sometimes. It reminds me of the time (yesterday actually) when my mother, who is in her early 60s, told me that in her older age, she feels that her patience has started to wear thin with people, especially ones who are rude or test her last nerve. As a result, she doesn’t hold her tongue very much anymore. When I told her that kind of attitude could get her in trouble, she simply said she would just have to deal with the repercussions when they occurred, because she wasn’t going to put up with people’s crap when she doesn’t have to.

Maybe this was the frame of mind Lynn Bedford was in when she acted raised hell during her traffic stop, but we see where that got her. Let’s hope my mom sees this video so she can avoid the same drama and you don’t wind up seeing me and mines on television acting a fool…

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Do you think pulling this 77-year-old woman out the car was a bit excessive? Or did she deserve the treatment for not complying?

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  • Melinda Brown

    one more point on Gehebs written statement he said he tried to keep her form falling. BS He put his foot up on the side of the car to yank her out ! On the video it did not appear that way to me. He was the cause of her falling. She does not want him to loose his job, maybe he needs to take some anger management & elder care training. Maybe the city of Keene needs to change their policies. Maybe ? Change is good if its for the right reasons. There is always a better way.

  • Melinda Brown

    Not once did she refuse to give her ID to Officer Geheb. Officer Geheb lied to Chief Alberti that she had refused to show her ID. After he defamed her to the tow truck driver. I believe she was let go at the time on her own in her own car, quite shaken. From the initial time he asked her for her DL to when he laid his hands on her was 19 seconds. (wow he has a short fuse) What the public does not know is that he knew who she was & how old she was, she lived in that town for nearly 40 years. Officer Gehebs Son & her Grandson went to grade school together. Now his adult Son & another Officers Son Jeremy Rogers are calling her names. This is a prime testament of him as a parent & officer bullying, Its a big problem today among young people. They are not helping Officer Gehebs situation. He is on a desk pending investigation. What you don’t know is she had knee surgery a few weeks before & she was in some pain from swelling on her knee, when Geheb yanked her out she couldn’t get her feet under her fast enough & she was so afraid of falling on that knee. You will notice in the video it nearly collapsed under her as he was shoving her to the cruiser in handcuffs. Now she has back problems as well as a possible rotator cuff torn & bad bruises on her thin skin above the cuff line inflicted by Geheb. Her thumb is swollen & lucky he didn’t break it or break a hip when she fell. I hope in making your judgement having a bad attitude does NOT constitute having your civil liberties taken away.

  • Cinnamon71

    I look at it this way…The officers have many more advantages than we drivers have: guns, tasers, batons, self-defense training, etc. Drivers have their mouths which can get them in trouble or get them on their way with or without a ticket. She should have just complied with the officer and gave him the license and registration. If she had done that instead of arguing with him, she may have just been given a warning. I know there are some officers that abuse their authority but she was speeding and broke the law. When the officer pulls you over, put your hands on the steering wheel and wait for him/her to approach to ask the questions. If you feel that you were done wrong in any way, you can use your mouth down at the precinct and speak with their superiors or a lawyer if need be. I just know it’s not worth getting shot, beat, tased, hogtied, maced, etc. due to non-compliance.

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/SG5QWRJ76HX7CUQZONIGTKARPI slp2011

    She didn’t deserve to be roughed up like that, but all she had to do was listen to the cop. Don’t get upset when you get pulled over for disobeying traffic laws.

  • TatumPascal

    If the woman would have just given him what he asked for one of the five times he asked before loosing his patience she wouldn’t have been dragged from the car. You wrote yourself that your mom doesn’t “put up with people’s crap if she doesn’t have to…” Well, when a cop pulls you over for speeding, you have to…. Being older does not give you a pass to drive however the heck you want to.

  • Kayo

    Considering her age, the officer pulling her out of the car could have seriously injured her.

  • http://mommaused2say.com/ Mommaused2say

    Everyone was out of pocket! But I did laugh when she told him, “I will not!” lol Old people will let you know!

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000332397137 facebook-100000332397137

    She was asked over and over to comply, and did not. If indeed she was in a hurry because of a bladder infection, you’d think she would have handed him the license right away to speed up the process to be on her way sooner, not hesitate and refuse to comply. Having a drivers license is a privilege, not a right!

  • Shirl

    I’m still tryna come to grips with that fact that a 77 year old was driving 15 miles over the speed limit I didn’t think it was genetically possible -_-

  • applesauce585

    She got a break just dragged from the car…..sh*t if she was black he probably would’ve shot her azz! jmo

  • Gigi

    I don’t know Victoria U. Have you ever had a bladder infection? It’s an accident waiting to happen. If she was telling the truth, I’m surprised she didn’t end up having an accident in the police car. But I agree, there is enough blame to go around here. She took it there, and he took it even further.

    • kierah

      If she had a bladder infection, she would have peed herself in the police car for sure! She just didn’t think the officer would do anything to her. At least we know that officer doesn’t discriminate against the aged.

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