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 ...
Freep mail
“yep and what if one is from out of state? Gonna drive 3-6-15-30-45 hours to defend your rights in court for a speed trap?”
Well, by all means no! Why in the world should he be penalized for breaking the law if he’s from another state? That would just be soooooo wrong! /sar
“You folks are funny.”
And by “you folks”, who might you be referring to? You mean us conservatives who believe in taking personal responsibility for our actions and not making excuses for them? Yeah, well in case you forgot, that’s what real conservatives believe—AND practice.
All the same, if you think I should back off a bit on the caffein, I'm with you..
Well said!
“What video did you watch? That trooper was calm and professional.’
Is this the same cop who the motorist was trying to calm down?
The driver was a hot-headed motor mouth and the more that I watch the video and the CNN interview the more I suspect a 'don't taze me, bro' episode..........
Another thing to remember is that a cop is under no “I really like when the guy started telling the cop to “read me my rights”, like that means anything. “
This is just another example of why the motorist was tazed. The motorist was the one in control and taking command of the situation throughout.
The cop expressed his frustation to his fellow cop about the motorist being “in charge”.
Did he break the law (speeding)? I think that is questionable and to say he did or didn’t is wrong.
Either way, as a conservative I have a right to ask questions of my employees, these public servants you revere. I have a right to force them to take personal responsibility of thier actions. Being conservative does not mean serfdom. Sorry, maybe you are confusing this country for China or another police state.
Wow! That explains a lot..
“I think you’re arguing with a bunch of people who’ve never seen how quickly an incident like this goes south.”
Taze them all and let God sort it out?
Thanks.
You’re fighting awfully hard for this cop.
Let me ask you what the necessity — since it is not required by law to sign for the ticket — for the cop to push the issue?
He had his info. He had the car and the driver (positive ID) on the video. Why could he not have just noted (and recorded on tape) that the driver refused to sign?
The offense was speeding, not armed robbery or murder. Was this cop’s ego so fragile that he needed the citizen to comply with his commands?
I believe that cop was itching for a confrontation. Maybe his wife pissed him off that morning and he had to take it out on someone. The kid was stupid, but did nothing that deserved the treatment that he got from that cop. Maybe stupid should be illegal, but right now it’s not.
From Wikepedia: A belligerent is an individual, group, country or other entity which acts in an aggressive or hostile manner, such as engaging in combat.
Other sources read pretty much the same.
You write the taser is a tool for law enforcement to control beligerents as if it applied in this non-belligerent situation.
My chinese is a little rusty but I tried to make it is clear as I could for you being the Chinese conservative that I am. But if you need help understanding what I said, Google translator could explain it a lot better. :)
When you are a hammer, every problem is a nail.
You referred to the driver as a ‘suspect’. He was a kid who got caught speeding. It is not a criminal offense. The ‘investigation’ was over. He was being issued a ticket. I think that the use of ‘suspect’ reveals your taint.
With the driver and the car and the refusal to sign recorded on tape, why couldn’t the cop have just got back in his car and driven away?
He wanted to break this guy. He wanted obedience. The cop should be fired.
I raised six kids; I understand what you are saying WRT controlling a classroom, but through the 80s and 90s there was a trend toward mindless acceptance of all that was presented in the classroom, most of which was nonsense.
“I can’t believe all the cop haters here on Free Republic.”
I cannot believe all the submissive personalities here on Free Republic.
As a conservative/libertarian, this place is really not the place for this personality type if one is looking for conformity.
While Demoncrat Underground, MoveOn.org, or a jihad sites are probably better fits for government authority sites, FreeRepublic.com is a place to learn something about indivdiual rights.
Stepping aside from oneself and putting aside ones’ “filter” of the world can be difficult. However, this is a place where individual rights and not the governments tends to be a priority.
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