TALLAHASSEE, FL (WTXL) - According to State Attorney Willie Meggs, charges have been dropped for a 62 year old woman who was tazed by a Tallahassee Police officer on October 1.
Meggs announced Friday afternoon that Viola Young will not be facing charges of resisting an officer without violence. He also said that her daughter, Laquana Young, 41, and grandchildren Quanterrious Jones, 23, and Quaneshia Rivers, 20, will also not be facing that same charge.
Viola Young was tazed by TPD officer Terry Mahan on Dunn Street in the Frenchtown neighborhood. A neighbor took a cell phone video of the incident that went viral.
According to the court documents, after the State reviewed the reports and video, they decided that "there is no likelihood of conviction" for Viola Young.
They mention Young's age and that she has no criminal history. To prove a charge against the 62 year old woman, court documents say that the State would have to prove that she was interfering with the arrest of her grandson, and the documents say that there is not enough evidence to prove that.
Regarding the tazing, the documents say that the use of the tazer "may have been technically lawful," but that evidence shows it to be unnecessary.
The court documents say that that the incident began over people walking in the street. The document says that there are no sidewalks in the neighborhood, and homes are close to the street.
The police officer exited the vehicle and attempted to detain Young's grandson, Quanterrious Jones, for a civil infraction of obstructing the roadways, according to the documents. They say that Jones refused to stop.
The court documents show that Jones tried to pull away, and that when he was arrested, his family members were outraged, yelling at the officer.
According to the documents, "four arrests stemming from somebody walking in the roadway is not a scenario that lends itself to a successful prosecution."
