Heart wrenching: Cop brutally attacks 78-year-old grandmother for delivering cupcakes to her grandchildren

78-year-old grandmother Mary Poole was brutally assaulted and pepper-sprayed by a police officer when she attempted to deliver cupcakes to her grandchildren at school.

The children's parents are in the midst of a divorce and custody battle, so Mary wanted to do something nice for the children. She decided to deliver a gift in a neutral setting.

"I hadn't seen my granddaughters for some time and I wanted to see them, and so I baked some cupcakes and bought some cookies for my granddaughters' classroom," Mary said.

When she arrived at the school she was met by a rude Clovis Unified police officer who told her that she was not allowed to visit the children because there was a restraining order against her. In reality, there was no restraining order against her and no legal reason to keep her out of the school.

The officer was either lying or was totally mistaken about the situation.

Mary obeyed the officer and left the school. She then pulled over to call her son and tell him what happened. While she was on the phone, she was again approached by the officer who became immediately confrontational. As with most police encounters, he refused to hear any explanation that she attempted to give him, but instead demanded immediate obedience.

When she tried to explain her situation, the officer became violent with her. Next he pepper-sprayed the woman in the face twice during the confrontation, as she was struggling to free herself from the attack. The officer must have seen her struggling for safety as a sign of resistance.

"He wouldn't listen to anything I had to say, period. Every time I tried telling him anything...I mean, I was even telling him, 'I'm 78 years old,' before he grabbed me. He sprayed me with mace twice," Mary told reporters.

"And I was very frightened, and I told him to call the police and he said, 'I am the police. He jerked me out of my car with my left arm with such great force, and then threw me onto the pavement. From there he dragged me by my left arm up to the school grounds," she said.

The officer's attack left Mary seriously injured with several broken bones and a dislocated shoulder.

When all was said and done Mary was taken to the hospital and left with more than $180,000 in medical bills.

Mary Poole filed a lawsuit this week, alleging police brutality and elderly abuse.