Posted on 11/21/2007 11:58:07 AM PST by Sopater
An internal police investigation is under way after a formal complaint was filed against a Utah state trooper who was videotaped Tasering a man who refused to sign a speeding ticket.
The officer's conduct has been called into question after a videotape of the incident was posted on YouTube.
The video, taken from a Utah Highway Patrol dashboard camera, shows Trooper John Gardner using a Taser on Jared Massey during a traffic stop on State Road 40 in Uintah County on Sept. 14.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
I predict Utah law will side with the cop, but that law may change because of this video.
by the way, anyone wonder how the video got out?
i mean who released it?
Dunno. What are the rights of the public?
Did the target citizen have a right to the video? Good questions.
I would reserve judgement on that until I see the original un-edited video. This one has no timestamp overlay (or it's been removed) so there's no way to tell if parts have been removed. I doubt this was submitted to youtube by the cop, so the authenticity is questionable (in my mind at least).
the question isnt wether the driver was a moron. you dont get to taser people becasue they are morons.
the question is what kind of cops should we have.
not this kind IMHO
I think he probably thought it was a speed trap, and in a way it might have been. Most like to be behind cops instead of in front. The cop stopped at the 40 and the guy kept going. One of my rare tickets was speed changing. Did I speed up at the sign or a few feet before? How do you prove it? The guy should have taken it up in court. What happened after he was tazered is more alarming to me.
You’re right, of course.
Exactly. Looking over my posts on this, Freepers might get idea I approve of what the cop did. I don't, I just think it was legal, and that a guy who behaves the way this suspect did ought to be glad that all he got was tasered.
Some years ago I took over a prosecutor's position that had been basically vacant for several months. Among the stack of cases waiting for me to review were a number of resisting arrest cases. I found out, after I got through the entire backlog, that one officer had filed half of the all the resisting arrest cases on the docket.
Videos existed for these cases, and they were, technically, good cases. The arrest was valid, the suspects did resist arrest, and the officer, although sometimes harsh in his tone, did not do anything that violated the suspect's rights.
But the guy just came across as an arrogant, belligerent, jerk, and a number of suspects, especially good ole boys who had had three or four too many, when told "You are under arrest, put your hands on hood of the car" decided that they would rather ball up their fists and fight than do what he said.
Nine times out ten, another officer, one with good people skills, would not have had trouble arresting the same suspect, for the same thing, at the same time.
i had the same question.
where did the video come from?
The manufacturers do not say tasers are not lethal. They are merely less likely to be lethal.
Think of it this way. A gun is not lethal unless you fire it and manage to hit someone who then dies. Otherwise, it just sits there just minding its own business.
No S@@@, the officer is on my payroll, my taxes. They work for us. Some, and even here I am sad to say, forget that.
This is a bad cop, and should be in jail.
So... people should just be able to ignore the cop, all the time. What... just issue a nice expletive, flip him off and drive away?
or make the cops be nicer.
“Please put these handcuffs on yourself, pretty please? Then, only if you say it’s OK, we’ll go to the jail. Is that OK? Or you can just leave if you like.”
LOL, maybe it would work.
The cop wouldn’t or couldn’t tell the driver how fast he was going. Yet, was issuing a citation for speeding?
The cop was in the wrong from the get go. The driver made a mistake by arguing with the cop, but the cop was an ass. The cop is supposed to be the one trained to handle situations so they do not escalate out of hand. The cop was too quick to want to arrest rather than explain. Just throwing his authority around.
Badge and a gun. That’s all he is. A badge and a gun.
Don't know. I watched the one posted here.
The cop lost control the minute the driver exited the car.
Then, with his back to traffic, he tazers the man who falls in or near a traffic lane.
I agree, but the cop may have been within his legal authority to compel compliance with an order to submit.
Perhaps an announcement of a reason to submit to a police order is not legally required.
I’m not so big a fan of tasers either.
This asshat driver should have rightly ended up with a broken leg from a baton.
Dude: that says it all for the entire thread. IMHO
Cop is out of control.
Use of a taser is potentially lethal force.
I am getting really fed up with a$$hole cops with a Wyatt Earp attitude.
Cops are slowly turning into the bad guys.
Exactly. He should have called for back-up the second the driver became uncooperative. Tazing a man standing next to a busy freeway is just plane stupid.
If you are under arrest then you must obey the officer
I’ve read your posts on the thread.
You truly do not think this cop will have any negative repercussions.
In that regard, even if he was technically correct, as you say (and I agree with you on the technicality), I think you are wrong about this cops future in law enforcement. I do think punishment for letting a situation escalate out of control is in order.
Just as it was his judgment to zap the guy, the cops boss will now have to use his judgement on whether to discipline him - and the cop has not given his boss too much slack to work with.
Time will tell.
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