Suzannah Gonzales
Austin-American Statesman
November 9, 2009
When Travis County commissioners decided to pay $40,000 to the 72-year-old woman whom a deputy constable hit with a Taser in May, they considered several factors. Among them were another Taser-related case that was settled for the same amount and a video of the May incident that had not previously been released to the media.
On Sept. 29, commissioners unanimously approved the amount of $40,000 as a counteroffer to head off a lawsuit by Kathryn Winkfein, who initially sought $175,000 from the county. Winkfein signed a settlement agreement with the county Oct. 18.
On May 11, Deputy Constable Christopher Bieze stopped Winkfein on Texas 71 in western Travis County on suspicion of driving 60 mph in a 45-mph construction zone.
Winkfein, a 4-foot-11-inch great-grandmother from Granite Shoals who is now 73, told him that she wouldn’t sign the citation and then cursed at the deputy constable.
That led to a confrontation during which Bieze used his Taser on Winkfein, who was later jailed, charged with resisting arrest and released.
The resisting arrest charge against Winkfein is pending. And the incident is being reviewed by the Travis County district attorney’s office.
