A 65-year-old grandmother said she was tased, thrown to the ground and viciously assaulted by Carthage, Mississippi, police officers on July 23 while she was at the park reading her Bible and preparing a sermon.
According to a press release from Carlos Moore Law Group, their client, Vivian Burks, “was tased eight times, thrown to the ground, and sustained multiple injuries to her back, head, elbows, stomach, and legs.” Burks was also charged with disorderly conduct – failure to comply, resisting arrest and marijuana possession, according to a report by The Charlotte Observer.
Burks, who is from Leake County, Mississippi, claims she was at Lincoln Park minding her business when she was approached by an officer due to having an expired tag on her car. Burks said she told the officer she had a current tag and then gave it to him, along with her license and registration.
She says the officer subsequently offered to put the tag on her car and proceeded to do so while another officer also approached.
Feeling leery due to the way the officers looked at her after talking to each other, Burks said she attempted to get into her car and leave. That’s when she says things went left.
“I went to get in and he said, ‘Step away from the vehicle,’” she explained while tears rolled down her face in a video interview that was posted to Facebook. Burks said that the officers wanted to search her vehicle, but she refused because she believed that they did not have the legal grounds to do so.
“I said, huh, and they grabbed me and … I wanted to know what they were doing, and they just went from there,” Burks continued, getting more emotional. “They just did me like a dog. They didn’t want to hear nothing; they wouldn’t even let me talk or nothing.”
Burks said she was thrown to the ground and pinned by both officers. Every time she told them she was sick, hurt, or didn’t feel well, she said they tased her again. She also said she couldn’t breathe. but when the ambulance finally came the EMT said he’d been doing his job for a long time and there was nothing wrong with her. She said the EMT then told the officers to take her to jail and book her.
“I told them I need to go to the emergency room, and he said, ‘Nah, I’m gon’ check you right here,’” Burks recalled.
According to Burks, she was taken to Lee County Jail and booked, but the treatment didn’t get any better. “The people, they were just so rude. They wouldn’t give me no water,” Burks said, explaining she told them she was diabetic.
She said she didn’t receive proper medical attention until the jail’s medical staff saw her, and a nurse told them she needed to go to the hospital.
However, Burks said she told the nurse she was afraid to go anywhere with the deputies. “I’m scared to get in there with them. I don’t want to get back in there with them because they done beat me; they done hurt me,” Burks said she told the nurse. “I told them, look at what they did to me.”
In the video posted to Facebook, Taser marks can be seen on Burks’ back, as well as scrapes and bruises that she says came from her encounter with the officers.
Attorney Moore said his client was treated atrociously, and he’s calling for “the immediate release” of the footage from the officers’ body cameras.
“This appalling incident highlights a severe abuse of power and a blatant disregard for human dignity and rights,” Moore said in a statement. “Our client, a 65-year-old grandmother, was treated with unimaginable brutality while peacefully engaging in her own personal activities. We demand transparency, accountability, and justice. The immediate release of the body cam footage is essential to ensure that those responsible are held accountable for their actions.”
Carthage Police Chief Billy McMillan confirmed to McClatchy News that Burks was arrested and charged on July 30 after officers claimed they smelled marijuana coming from her car, and she resisted arrest.
“The officer smelled marijuana, turned around, saw the suspect car also had an expired tag, and executed a traffic stop,” McMillan said. “After the stop, the officer continued to smell the aroma of marijuana from the car.”
McMillan has not addressed the assault allegations, but Burks said it is an encounter that will take her a long time to heal from.
“I’m deeply hurt and shaken by what happened,” Burks said. “The pain is bad, but the emotional and mental scars are even worse.”
