Fla. cop on leave in tasing of woman, 61

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — An officer who used a Taser on a 61-year-old woman in the back was placed on administrative leave Wednesday pending the outcome of an internal-affairs investigation.

A nearly seven-minute video, which was recorded by an onlooker with his cellphone, shows Officer Terry Mahan tasing Viola Young in the back Tuesday as she walked away from him in the middle of a city street in broad daylight. Young went motionless before falling face-first onto the pavement.

Police Chief Michael DeLeo held a middle-of-the-night news conference to announce the measures taken against Mahan. The department also released the cellphone video, posting it to the department's YouTube channel.

The incident, which happened about 5:20 p.m. in Frenchtown, sparked vocal outrage among those who witnessed it. One woman can be heard on the video repeatedly screaming, "Oh my God!"

"They just tased a lady for nothing," one man can be heard saying on the video. "They wonder why they're hated."

DeLeo, in the news conference, said that based on the video, he had "enough concerns" to place Mahan on leave and conduct an internal investigation.

"We will conduct a thorough investigation into this incident," he said. "We want to be transparent with the community by sharing what we can at this point. The investigation will determine if the officer's actions were legal and if those actions were consistent with the expectations I have set for our officers in terms of how we respect and treat our citizens."

Tallahassee Police Chief Michael DeLeo announces Oct. 1, 2014, an internal investigation of an officer's use of force in tasing of woman in her 60s.(Photo: The Tallahassee Democrat)

Letitia Hills, who witnessed a portion of the incident, pointed out that Dunn Street has no sidewalks and residents have no choice but to walk in the street. She and others expressed outrage at how police handled the situation.

"I know they have a job to do, but when you're just bothering innocent people and harassing the people that live in the community, that's just outrageous," said Hills, 41. "What are we supposed to do when we're walking? You don't even want to walk out in the street — you don't know what's going to happen. You don't know if you're going to be harassed or arrested or what. You just don't know."

Viola Young was arrested along with her daughter, Laguna Young, 41, her grandson, Quontarrious Jones, 23, and her granddaughter, Quaneshia Rivers, 20. All four have been released from jail.

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Laguna Young said she was coming back from a nearby convenience store with her son and daughter and her granddaughter, a toddler, when an officer approached in his vehicle and tried to talk to her son. Her son didn't want to talk to the officer, she said.

"When my son jumped back, I guess that's when (the officer) got mad," Laguna Young said. When the officer told Jones he was under arrest, family members protested.

"We said we didn't even do anything," Laguna Young said. "How are we under arrest?"

Laguna Young said she called her mother on a cell phone to tell her what was going on. Viola Young came to the scene to find out what was happening and to retrieve her great-granddaughter.

After the tasing, all four of the family members were taken to Lincoln Neighborhood Center to get them and officers away from the area, according to police reports, because of "the hostility of the individuals remaining on the scene."

Once at the neighborhood center, Laguna Young said they were forced to remain in hot police vehicles without air-conditioning. She was worried about her mother, whose blood pressure was spiking from the stress.

The incident was the latest to raise questions about the police department's use-of-force tactics. Earlier this month, Tallahassee city commissioners voted to settle a federal lawsuit for $475,000 brought by Christina West, a Tallahassee woman who suffered broken bones and other injuries during her DUI arrest in August 2013.

In that case, which was also caught on video, West alleged her civil rights had been violated and excessive force used during her arrest, which happened after she crashed her SUV into an unoccupied home. Four officers were suspended and one, Chris Ormerod, was later fired, though TPD said it was over unrelated traffic crashes.

The West case led to the ouster of TPD Chief Dennis Jones. DeLeo, hired late last year, has since been trying to repair the Police Department's relationship with the community. TPD also changed its use-of-force protocols, calling for officers to "de-escalate" encounters with citizens or suspects.

Robert A. "Gus" Harper III, a Tallahassee attorney representing Young, could not discuss the extent of her injuries. Young was treated at the scene before she was taken to the Leon County Jail on a charge of resisting an officer without violence. She was released after posting bail.

Harper said Young was "very emotional" after the incident and spent Wednesday with family. He added he was still trying to piece together what happened.

"I know what I've seen on the video," he said. "My gut reaction is sort of like everyone else's — it looks like an instrument that is used to deter violence is being used as a weapon. I think that goes against the spirit of the whole concept of Tasers."

He couldn't say whether Young would sue the Police Department, saying his foremost concern now is representing her in criminal proceedings.

"All options are on the table," Harper said. "The big thing is we just want to make sure that these types of things don't happen and that we can start rebuilding our trust in TPD."

The Rev. Ernest Farrell, president of the Tallahassee Urban League, said Chief DeLeo emailed him about the tasing Wednesday morning.

"I think there has to be some serious sensitivity training with some of the officers," Farrell said. "This kind of thing is unacceptable."

Dale Landry, president of the Tallahassee branch of the NAACP, said the video appeared to show officers escalating the situation and losing control. He called for a quick investigation by TPD and said State Attorney Willie Meggs should drop charges against Young.

"We've got to change this culture," Landry said. "It's pervasive in police around the nation. We've seen it. We've got to change this culture where we have folks that are being hurt in this manner openly."

Meggs said he wasn't currently planning to take the incident to a grand jury for review, though he said, "It may develop so much public interest that I do." He added that DeLeo called him Wednesday morning to tell him what happened.

He said DeLeo is doing his best "to get control of that agency and get it functioning properly."

Mayor-elect Andrew Gillum, who was in Chattanooga, Tenn., as part of a multicity tour to meet with mayors, said Wednesday that he had not yet seen the video. He said he found out about it via text message from City Manager Anita Favors Thompson and later talked to DeLeo.

"I stand 100 percent behind (DeLeo's) actions," Gillum said. "I have to believe that he has more access to more information than I do right now."

City Commissioner Nancy Miller acknowledged that would harm public perception of the Police Department.

"We're trying to build trust," she said. "This is taking us in the wrong direction."

City Commissioner Gil Ziffer said he was disturbed by the video footage and hoped TPD wouldn't take long to determine exactly what happened."

"I have great confidence in our chief of police," Ziffer said. "I think he's trying to develop policies that are right for our community."

Tasing came after arrests

While Jones was being arrested, Laguna Young and Quaneshia Rivers, 20, both started yelling at the officers, according to police reports. They, too, were arrested for resisting without violence. Young also was arrested on a charge of probation violation.

Shortly after the arrests, Viola Young approached officers and started yelling at them as they commanded a crowd to stay back from the area, according to court documents. Mahan told her to stay back.

Court documents say she shouted at officers, "I just want to know what is going on."

Mahan told her she was under arrest, but Young moved away from him. As she was walking away, Mahan pulled out his taser and fired it into her back. Young appeared on the video to fall face-first into the pavement as neighbors watched. She rolled over onto her back while moving her arms. Police handcuffed her and put her in the back of a squad car.

Mahan, in a probable-cause affidavit, explained what led to the use of force on Young.

"Viola Young caused me to take my focus off of one of the arrestees and engage her," Mahan wrote. "Young's actions obstructed officers while in the course of completing their legal duties."

Dunn Street was under patrol by TPD's Community Oriented Policing and Problem Solving Squad due to recent complaints from citizens about open-air drug sales, DeLeo said.

Video shooter tells his side of story

Pouchon Richard, who shot the video, said in an interview that five people including a child were walking down the street when an officer pulled up and asked them to step out of the road. They replied by saying they had no other place to walk.

The officer got out of his car and tried to arrest one of the people in the street, Pouchon said, "And when he did that, it kind of escalated because everyone else was like, 'Why are you arresting him? Why are you arresting him?'"

He said onlookers were in shock because they didn't think anyone had done anything wrong.

"I was enraged, but what can you do?" Richard asked. "That's why I put the video up — to make sure the world sees it and make sure ... somebody can do something about it."

Exclusive: New 'Sleeping Beauty' character discovered

LOS ANGELES — At long last, it's time to meet the missing co-star of Sleeping Beauty: The vulture.

That's right, a vulture character was destined to star in the 1959 classic, the last animated film produced by Walt Disney . A vulture from New York, no less.

He didn't make the animated cut. Researchers from the Walt Disney AnimationResearch Library found the long-deleted vulture character among story sketchesduring an extensive look at the film's historical material.

"The vulture has been hidden in boxes and now he's been properly identified," says Fox Carney, the research manager from the library that houses countless pieces of animated art from the Walt Disney Co. "It's a lot of detective work, piecing together this puzzle. But it's a real gem. And it's an aspect of the film that hasn't seen the light of day since the late 1950s."

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Go on set of 'Maleficent' with Angelina Jolie

The vulture, now featured in the extras for the new Blu-Ray edition of Sleeping Beauty(out Oct. 7), was a comical henchman for the evil Maleficent — a bitter fairy looking to put an end to the beautiful Princess Aurora.

With its New York accent, the creature never made it past the story sketch phase.

"The vulture didn't add much to the story and also somewhat detracted from that imposing nature of the villain Maleficent," says Carney. "And this New York type of vulture didn't fit into the world of this classic medieval Europe where this film is set. So they dropped the character."

A non-speaking raven instead earned the part as Maleficent's sidekick.

Carney's team resurrected the dialogue initially written for the vulture. The Blu-Ray extras feature a rough scene from these sketches, with Carney providing the New York accent, In addition, there are details of a deleted story line that had Princess Aurora meeting her true love, Prince Phillip, in disguise at a local fair.

Don Hahn, who produced the 2014 live-action film Maleficent, starring Angelina Jolie, was impressed by the vulture find.

"I'm always fascinated by characters that are discarded, and you wonder why they didn't make it," says Hahn. "It's Darwinian what makes it on the screen. These movies are very lean. Every frame counts and some characters have to fall by the wayside."

The scavenging birds do have a handicap.

Sketch of a vulture character that was to be featured in the 1959 animated motion picture classic "Sleeping Beauty."(Photo: Disney)

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"They are not the most beautiful bird in the world," Hahn adds. "They are the grim reaper, waiting for you to die."

Vulture characters did make it into 1937'sSnow White and 1967's The Jungle Book. In 1973's animated Robin Hood, Nutsy and Trigger served as the vulture guards to evil Prince John.

Hahn also originally included vulture characters in The Lion King, which he produced. The birds interacted with the lion Simba after the character was chased into the wilderness. But the scene was cut down until there was just vulture glimpses.

"Vultures get a bad rap. It's tough for them to make it into movies," says Hahn. "But it's Hollywood, people end up on the cutting room floor all the time. Even vultures."

Sketch of a vulture character that was to be featured in the 1959 animated motion picture classic "Sleeping Beauty."(Photo: Disney)

2 teachers accused of sex with student out of jail

DESTREHAN, La. — Two Destrehan High School teachers accused of having group sex with a male student have posted $7,000 cash bonds and been released from custody.

Kenner Police Department Sgt. Brian McGregor says 34-year-old Shelley Dufresne and 24-year-old Rachel Respess left the Jefferson Parish jail early Thursday.

They are accused of having sex with a 16-year-old boy at Respess' Kenner apartment.

Previously, on Tuesday, Dufresne was charged with carnal knowledge of a juvenile in connection with an alleged encounter in Montz, La., where Dufresne lives. She was released from Nelson Coleman St. Charles Parish Correctional Center on $200,000 bond Tuesday night.

Kenner police said Tuesday they were investigating allegations that inappropriate sexual contact with the same student occurred at a second teacher's home in Kenner.

Wednesday, 24-year-old Rachel Respess of Kenner turned herself in to the Kenner Police Department in connection with having inappropriate sexual relations with the same 16-year-old student.(Photo: WWLTV)

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Respess turned herself in to Kenner Police Wednesday morning. The 24-year-old was arrested and charged with felony carnal knowledge of a juvenile, indecent behavior and contributing to delinquency of a minor.

At a press conference Wednesday, Kenner Police Chief Michael Glaser told reporters that he believed the community should be outraged by the actions of the two teachers.

"No matter what the sex of the victim is, everyone should be outraged," Glaser said. "You have an educator whose responsibility is the safety and education of children, and when it goes outside those lines I do believe the community should be outraged."

The incident is alleged to have happened Sept. 12, after a football game in which the Destrehan Wildcats beat the Helen Cox Cougars 48-7.

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A breach of trust: Teachers having sex with students

Destrehan High, in the St. Charles Parish Public School District, is located about 25 miles east of New Orleans on the east bank of the Mississippi River and enrolls grades 9 through 12.

The accusations came to light Sept. 26, after a male student bragged to classmates that he was having a sexual relationship with a teacher, according to the school district, which in turn contacted authorities.

On Dufresne's page on the St. Charles Parish Public School's website she writes that she been teaching at Destrehan High, her alma mater, for 10 years and is married with three children.

A message from Dufresne on her page reads: "I take my job and my students' education seriously and try my best to help all of my students be successful; however, this requires work and effort on the part of each of my students. I hope that all of my students have a great experience in my classroom and leave with the tools they need to be successful throughout the rest of their high school careers and in life."

As a condition of her release in St. Charles Parish, Dufresne is only allowed to leave her home for continued intensive mental health treatment, doctor's appointments and church. She must provide proof of her mental health treatment or go back to jail.

Thailand: 2 arrested in killing of British tourists

BANGKOK (AP) — Two migrant workers from Burma were arrested Friday after police said they confessed to killing two British tourists whose battered bodies were found on a beach in southern Thailand last month, in a case that damaged the image of the country's tourism industry.

Thailand's national police chief Gen. Somyot Poompanmoung said the DNA results released late Thursday night backed up the confessions of the two men to raping and killing 23-year-old Hannah Witheridge, and slaying David Miller, 24, on Koh Tao, an island known for its pristine diving sites.

Police identified the 21-year-old workers from Burma's western Rakhine state as "Win" and "Saw." Both were detained on the island Thursday and questioned by police who brought them to the crime scene Friday to re-enact their alleged crimes, a standard part of criminal investigations in Thailand.

Crowds of onlookers watched as the suspects were led to the rocky alcove along the shore where the two bodies were discovered Sept. 15. Autopsies showed that Witheridge died from head wounds while Miller suffered severe blows to the head and drowned in the surf. It is still unclear what prompted the killings.

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An undated composite file handout picture made available by Britain's Foreign and Commonwealth Office on Sept. 17, 2014 shows British students Hannah Witheridge and David Miller, who were found murdered on the island of Koh Tao in Thailand.(Photo: epa/British Foriegn and Commonwealth Office)

During the re-enactment, the two men wore flak jackets and motorcycle helmets as protection against angry residents, who fear the crime will damage tourism to the remote island.

"There was clear evidence: forensic evidence, (testimony from) witnesses and other evidence, as well as closed-circuit television footage," Somyot told reporters. "The police and investigation teams have analyzed all evidence and it's clear that the two suspects committed the crime on that day."

The two face charges of murder, rape and theft, but have not yet been formally charged, Somyot said. They are expected to remain in custody until they are brought to court.

About 2.5 million people from Burma, also known as Myanmar, work in this Southeast Asian country, most as domestic servants or in low-skilled manual labor industries like construction, fisheries or the garment sector.

Koh Tao, about 250 miles south of Bangkok, is a quiet, small island a short boat ride from Koh Samui and Koh Phangan. The latter is known for raucous "full moon" parties that attract young foreigners and Thais.