Despite the fact that tasing a full-grown man borders on excessive, a Texas cop found it necessary to tase a 72-year-old woman because she was yelling at him. And the slightly horrific, slightly hilarious farce was all caught on camera.

The Travis County cop says that he had to pull out the Taser last week because she wouldn’t sign her ticket and then started to act violent. Sadly, his commanding officer backed him up.

Now look here, piggies: I’d be tempted to tase the woman too for getting out of line when you may or may not be trying to do your job. But seriously, you could toss her in a cop car with one arm tied behind your back if you wanted to. And using a leopard-print taser doesn’t count. Just because it looks feminine doesn’t mean it packs any less of a punch.

Also, thank god the cop cam had video AND audio, because the dialogue from 40 seconds and on made me laugh. Multiple times (yes, I’m going to hell). The best part—the cop actually expected her to put her arms behind her back after being tased. Aaron Sorkin couldn’t have written that better. [Shiny Objects via Obscure Store]

Yes, the CoolCop is a hose that runs the output of an AC vent right into the top of your shirt. For some reason, it’s being marketed to cops and cops alone, because they’re the only ones who get hot in cars.

On a hot day there’s nothing more uncomfortable than having to wear a T-shirt soaked with sweat. Add a bulletproof vest over it and no amount of air conditioning coming from your car vent is going to keep you cool and dry.

The CoolCop dash attachment attaches easily to the air conditioning vent. The soft vinyl vest attachment fits comfortably between your vest and undershirt. Cool air is then delivered under your vest to keep you cool, dry and comfortable.

Next time I’m cruising the steamy streets of Atlanta wearing a bulletproof vest, I’m totally going to jury rig one of these things out of a vacuum hose. That’s a promise. [CoolCop via Book of Joe]

Two more cops arrived in an unmarked car, and moments later, Chad Hastings was freed. According to Hastings, the arresting officer muttered, “Get a new steering wheel lock, it looks like a bloody gun,” and told him he was a “a lucky boy,” since “any other cop would have had you at gunpoint.”

I have to say, if there was a gun that looked just like the Club, it would probably be a space death ray gun, so I think I’d have probably done same thing. [Courier Mail via digg]

One is a backpack-sized portable ADS that uses microwaves to roast your skin, creating what the Pentagon gingerly calls a “repel response”—in other words, OWOWITBURNSOWOWTURNITOFF. They say it causes no permanent damage, but there have been cases of second-degree burns.

And then you’ve got the PhaSR, that Starship Troopers-looking laser rifle above. Not only does “dazzle” you with lasers—not the kind that’ll make your sight any better—it has a infrared beam attachment to burn your skin too, which is more currently practical than the microwave-based pain beams, though the latter penetrates clothing better. The National Institute for Justice is testing it “in various scenarios, which may include prison situations as well as law enforcement.”

Meaning we can look forward to videos like this one, but with a sweet Halo rifle instead of a dinky taser dishing out the pain: [NewScientist]

Mounties corporal Scott Wilson defended his colleague’s grandad-bashing actions. “Whether the person is 80 or 20, we are dealing with a person who had a deadly weapon in their hand. We could not deploy our … pepper spray, because we could potentially contaminate the entire hospital.”

Lasser, a former prison guard, reckons they overdid it, claiming that, with three Mounties in the room, they could have overpowered him without using a Taser. Lasser said there were three RCMP officers in his hospital room and believes they could have easily handled him without the use of a Taser. “I was laying on the bed by then and the corporal came in, or the sergeant, and said to the guys, ‘OK, get him because we got more important work to do on the street tonight,’” he said.

“And then, bang, bang, bang, three times with the laser, and I tell you, I never want that again.” That’ll teach him to bring a knife to hospital, then. [CBC News via Dvorak]