By Jason Silverstein, nydailynews.com
Newly released body cam footage shows police in Oklahoma pepper-spraying an innocent, 84-year-old woman in her own home — after officers chased her son into the house.
The footage of the attack on Geneva Smith emerged Friday, just days after she threatened legal action over the violent encounter. Smith said she did nothing to provoke the spray, and suffered a panic attack as she later sat in jail for no apparent reason.
The video, obtained by Fox 23 News, shows Muskogee police officers storming into Smith’s home while searching for her son, Arthur Paul Blackmon. Police said the son drove through a stop sign, then ran away from officers and into his mother’s house.
In the chaotic clip, Smith seems clearly confused when officers enter her home, searching for her son.
An officer eventually shoots the son with a Taser as he appears to hold up his hands.
As Smith demands to know what’s going on, an officer later identified as Michelle Casady warns her, “Turn around and face that way, now, or I’ll spray you.”
Just moments later, Casady sprays Smith’s face, and the octogenarian collapses to the ground as she is handcuffed.
Blackmon was charged with driving under the influence, obstructing an officer, driving with a suspended license and carrying a weapon, police said.
Smith, meanwhile, was not charged with a crime. But officers later said she brought on the spray by failing to comply with orders.
An attorney representing the city told the Muskogee Phoenix the spray was a reasonable use of force “given the totality of the circumstances.” The police department said it is still investigating the incident.
