Video shows Lower Merion police tasing woman in traffic stop
BALA CYNWYD, Pa. (CBS) -- Video of a traffic stop that ended with Lower Merion police tasing a woman has sparked investigations from the department and the NAACP Main Line branch.
The video picks up after the driver pulls over at the Wawa at the intersection of Conshohocken State Road and Rockhill Road in Bala Cynwyd.
In the video, you can hear one of the officers ordering the driver to get out of the car multiple times. She refuses those orders, responding she does not feel safe.
An officer appears to have a weapon drawn in the driver's direction. At one point, the officer threatens to break the car window if she rolls it up.
The driver asks the officers not to touch her until a sergeant arrives at the scene.
Eventually the officers get the woman's door open and tell her she's under arrest while grabbing her and trying to pull her out of the vehicle.
Then suddenly, one of the officers appears to tase the woman in order to pull her out of the car and place her under arrest for obstructing justice.
According to police, the driver in the video was taken to a medical facility due to an existing medical condition and she was later released.
The Lower Merion Police Department has released a statement that called the driver "non-compliant" and accused her of actively resisting their follow-up investigation.
The department also maintains that force was "required to take the driver safely into custody."
Other groups are asking questions about the incident, including the NAACP Main Line branch.
"Like many, I was shocked and very concerned when I reviewed the footage available on social media. We want to get to the bottom of this and ensure residents of color feel safe when encountering police," Brian Reese-Turner, the branch's president, said in a statement.
The video only shows a part of the police interaction with this driver and we don't know exactly what led up to this physical confrontation.
The Lower Merion Police Department says the incident is currently under review in accordance with its nationally accredited use of force policy.
