Police in Virginia entered a backyard party filled with children and ended up Tasering a 55-year-old grandfather as well as a pregnant mother.
The man, a family counselor and Bible study teacher, was arrested for public intoxication even though he was in his own backyard the entire time.
Public intoxication in the privacy of his own home.
They were celebrating the baptism of two little boys. The mother of the boys tried helping the man when he fell to the ground after being Tased, but she was Tased herself.
Prince William County Police charged her with assault on a police officer.
Part of the interaction between Rodriguez Sr. and the cops was caught on a home video camera. It doesn’t show any combativeness from his part.
Oh yeah, there’s one other thing. The family is Hispanic and some didn’t speak English. The woman who was arrested, the mother of the kids and the mother of one on its way, is apparently facing deportation because she is being detained by immigration officials.
Edgar Rodriguez Sr., the man who was Tased, said he had just pulled out his wallet and was handing the cops his ID when they Tased him. That was when the 25-year-old pregnant woman tried to help him, said Edgar Rodriguez Jr., the son of the elder.
“They Tasered her in the back. She didn’t assault the officer. She was assaulted by officer,” said Edgar, Jr. who was just steps away from his father.
Police say they were responding to a noise ordinance – even though it was broad daylight – when Rodriguez Sr. got “disorderly” and “refused to identify himself.”
But Rodriguez Sr. doesn’t speak English. His son had to interpret for him in the above news video. So there’s a good chance he didn’t understand what the cops were asking.
