Grand jury declines to indict deputy who used Taser on 72-year-old woman after she dared him

Deputy not indicted for Tasering 72-year-old woman

AUSTIN, Texas — A deputy constable who shocked a 72-year-old woman with a Taser after she dared him to use the stun gun during a traffic job was cleared Wednesday by a grand jury.

A Travis County grand jury declined to indict Deputy Constable Christopher Bieze on a charge of injury to an elderly person.

Bieze used a Taser on Kathryn Winkfein on May 11 after she refused to sign a traffic citation after he stopped her for speeding on Texas 71 west of Austin. Video from a camera mounted in the deputy’s car captured the 4-foot-11 Granite Shoals woman struggling with Bieze and daring him to use the Taser on her.

The video became was widely viewed on the Internet and garnered Winkfein an appearance on NBC’s “Today.”

An internal investigation concluded Bieze did not violate any law or county policy and he was not disciplined.

However, District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg said Bieze was not blameless in the matter.

“While Deputy Constable Bieze may have followed the letter of the law, a more prudent use of discretion may have resulted in a different outcome,” she said in announcing the grand jury decision Wednesday. “In the end, they determined only that Bieze’s actions were legal. However, their decision was not an endorsement of either party to this conflict.”

Travis County commissioners last year agreed to give Winkfein a $40,000 settlement after she filed a claim over the incident.