Woman 'dry stunned' while trying stop deputies from making arrest: Manatee Sheriff's Office

BRADENTON, Fla. - A 70-year-old grandmother was ‘dry stunned’ twice while Manatee County deputies served an arrest warrant on a man at the same residence.

According to the sheriff’s office, the stun gun was not deployed on the woman, who deputies say was trying to interfere with the arrest.

The sheriff’s office said, "there is a difference between being dry stunned and… the full deployment of the weapon."

"All we have to do as citizens in our community is comply with law enforcement," said Sheriff Rick Wells. "She just would not comply and that's when he made the decision that he was going to arrest her for obstruction and then you see everything that happened from that point on."

The woman, Barbara Pinkney, allegedly told deputies they could not enter the home without a search warrant. However, the sheriff’s office said a search warrant is not needed during the execution of an arrest warrant. Deputies were there to arrest her grandson, Tevin Turner, for violating his probation.

"That would have been a quick five-minute search if he wasn't there, we believe he was, and they would have been out of her hours," Sheriff Wells said, adding his office is now investigating the incident to make sure deputies properly handled themselves. "There are a lot of people in the community that are upset about the arrest and that's why I've opened up an internal affairs investigation so we can get all of the facts involved in this arrest and not just what you see [in the video].

The residence is the same address Turner listed on legal paperwork in the past, deputies said.

Pinkney, meanwhile, believes deputies used excessive force.

"It was really scary. I ain't never been through that before," she said. "Just because they come for one person doesn't mean they should treat the other person bad."

The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office said more than 30 calls for service have been made to the address over the last three years.

"There have been a couple of drive-by shootings, there have been domestic-related, alleged child neglect, warrants, just several different calls," the sheriff said.

Pinkney was arrested and charged with battery on an officer and resisting/obstructing an officer without violence.

She was released on bond.