Posted on 11/22/2007 7:37:13 AM PST by Excuse_My_Bellicosity
Was a Utah Highway Patrol trooper acting within policy when he used a Taser on a driver who refused to sign a traffic ticket?
That is the question UHP internal investigators hope to answer after Trooper John Gardner - a 14-year UHP veteran - zapped Vernal resident Jared Massey with the device for refusing to sign a speeding ticket or submit to being arrested during a traffic stop about 10 a.m. on Sept. 14.
The incident placed UHP on the defensive when the officer's dashboard video of the emotional confrontation found its way onto Internet site YouTube.
"We are doing an internal investigation to see if the trooper's actions were warranted," said Trooper Cameron Roden, a UHP spokesman. That investigation is expected to be completed this week or sometime next week.
The 10-minute video begins as the officer passes a sign clearly showing a speed limit of 40 mph on U.S. 40 in Uintah County.
Gardner - who remained on active duty as of Wednesday - then proceeds to pull over Massey's Dodge SUV.
The trooper approaches the driver's side window and twice asks for Massey's driver's license and registration. The second time, the trooper is audibly frustrated, saying, "Driver's license and registration, like now."
"How fast did you think you were going?" the officer asks.
"I was going 68," Massey could be heard saying.
"OK, there's a sign right there that says 40 miles per hour," the officer says, shortly before returning to his squad car.
When Gardner returns to the SUV with the traffic ticket, Massey refuses to sign the citation, insisting that Gardner show him the 40 mph sign.
"Well, you are going to sign this first," Gardner said.
After refusing, Gardner asks Massey to exit the SUV, which at 2:23 minutes into the video, he does.
The pair walk to the front of the officer's car, where Gardner points his Taser at Massey, ordering him to place his hands behind his back.
''What the hell's wrong with you?'' Massey asks, while turning and beginning to walk back to the SUV. Gardner tells the driver to turn around, but he refuses and continues walking away.
The officer aims the Taser, and at 2:37 minutes into the video, fires it into Massey, who falls backward onto the pavement and can be heard screaming. Massey's wife then comes out of the SUV screaming and is ordered back inside the vehicle by Gardner.
''Ma'am, do exactly as I say or you're going to jail, too,'' the officer says.
After the incident, off camera Massey can be heard repeatedly asking to be read his Miranda rights, but it remains unclear from the video, which cuts in and out, whether the officer complied with that demand.
Roden said he was unaware whether the man was given his Miranda rights, but noted Massey could have been read them when booked into the Uintah County jail.
In the video, Gardner repeatedly states he tasered Massey because the man failed to comply with his instructions and demands.
A short time later, an unidentified officer strolls up on scene and Gardner tells him that Massey "took a ride with the Taser."
Gardner then states that Massey was "jumping around, making me nervous as hell. I was like, nah, we ain't playing this game."
"Good. Good for you," the unidentified officer says.
Massey, who was not available for comment on Wednesday, is scheduled to stand trial for the speeding ticket Jan. 14 in Uintah County Justice Court.
When drivers sign traffic tickets, they are not necessarily admitting guilt but merely acknowledging they will show up at court or to pay the ticket, Roden said.
In the event that a motorist refuses to sign, a trooper can simply write "refuses to sign" on the citation, which is then given to the driver, or they can chose to arrest the motorist, Roden said.
"I can't speculate to this incident what was going through officer's mind," Roden said. "The officer has to weigh a lot of different things."
Troopers that carry Tasers must take a four-hour certification course outlining how and when to use the devices, according to UHP's nine-page policy. They are taught to use them in three circumstances:
* When a person is a threat to themselves, an officer or another person.
* In cases where the physical use of force would endanger the person or someone else.
* When other means of lesser or equal force by the officer has been ineffective and a threat still exists.
"There's a lot that goes into it," Roden said.
UHP requires an officer file a report any time a Taser is used, noting, among other things, how many warnings the subject was given and where the electric probes hit on a person's body.
Officials are then required to get the person arrested checked by medics. Massey was later taken to Uintah Basin Medical Center in Roosevelt, Roden said.
ngonzalez@sltrib.com
i didn't insult anyone. and if you had read my post you would have seen that the blame here goes all around.
but if i tell someone to put their hands behind their back and they begin to walk away and put their hands towards their pockets and ask me if i'm crazy, you can bet he'll be on the ground one way or another.
or would you have preferred the officer to have used a nightstick and sent this guy to the hospital rather than a taser where you're fine 10 minutes later.
sorry the taser looks oh so scary to you.
This is really confusing. Was he refusing to sign a ticket or resisting arrest?
Third alternative, stop him by grabbing his arm. That usually produces some lovely results, too.
OK. Watched the video AGAIN, just to be sure.
Officer asks driver to sign the ticket.
He Refuses to do so.
Officer asks him to step out of vehicle.
Asks him to put his hands behind his back.
Officer tells him “I am placing you under arrest”.
Driver says “no you are not.”
Driver starts walking back toward his vehicle.
That is when the officer fired the taser at him.
If you cannot see who caused the problem, who is guilty, then you are just trying to fool yourself. You are not fooling anyone with any smattering of intelligence.
Please, watch the video (not on youtube) on the link to the original post, and see if what I say is TRUE, or NOT.
(List of DRIVER’s attempts to WHINE his way out of ticket).
I didn’t see the sign.
I saw it but hadn’t reached it yet. (Only one of the two statements can be true)
You have to read me my rights
You have to listen to me.
You have to let me explain.
I’m gonna take you back there and show you.
You didn’t tell me what I did wrong.
You didn’t tell me how fast I was going.
REASONS MOST POSTERS SAY COP WAS WRONG
Driver’s wife was cute.
Driver’s wife was pregnant.
Driver’s wife was crying.
Driver’s wife had small child in back seat.
On Sept. 24, a suspect jumped out of a car during a traffic stop and shot a rookie officer in the face at close range with a sawed-off shotgun. The officer needed reconstructive surgery, but was released from the hospital about a week later.
Sunday October 27, an officer responding to a melee at a West Philadelphia nightclub was shot in the ankle. More than two dozen bullets were fired, police said. One suspect was fatally shot and another was arrested.
Wednesday October 31, an officer responding to a radio call, pursued an SUV. The gunman eventually got out of his vehicle and approached the squad car, firing twice through the window and hitting the officer once in the right shoulder.
Wednesday October 31, Officer Cassidy succumbed to a gunshot wound sustained the previous day when he walked into a robbery in progress. Officer Cassidy was checking in on a store at the corner of 66th Avenue and Broad Street that had previously been robbed. Unknown to Officer Cassidy, there was a robbery in progress in the store. As Officer Cassidy entered, the suspect turned and fired, hitting the officer's head. Officer Cassidy had served with the Philadelphia Police Department for 25 years. He is survived by his wife and three children.
Monday November 12, two undercover narcotics officers were shot Tuesday evening while trying to serve a warrant. ... One officer was shot in the leg, the other was hit in the hip. Both were reported to be in stable condition at different hospitals.
Sources:
Manhunt After Philadelphia Police Officer Shot in Head at Dunkin' Donuts
“thefactor attempted to explain to you how Miranda warnings work, facts you apparently didn’t know, and you responded by accusing him of assulting arrestees. That’s not the sort of rhetoric that people interested in having a factual discussion of the issues engage in.”
HUH? The point being made was the driver was out of control for asking for his miranda. The cop in this case could have responded that he was not going to be questioned. Once again, all the cop was worried about was asserting his power.
There have been few facts coming from the pro-tazing crowd here. Many of the people on this thread and the other related thread that support the cop are saying this driver shoulda been clubbed or shot. I’ve been called a whiner, moronic, and so on because I think the cop handled the situation poorly.
Fact - cops work for the people. When the people get pissed then cops and their bosses will lose their jobs and sometimes end up in jail themselves. People like me are getting pissed with the militarization of the police and their upward trend of using violence to solve a problem.
That is sad and I assume you are posting those as a reason why its ok to use force in cases like this. I still don’t agree.
Its wrong to treat people like chattel. The trend in this country is that police are feared and mistrusted. The police are reinforcing this trend by becoming more violent. Its a vicious cycle and on a downward trend.
“well, if the common person thinks that then they would be wrong wouldn’t they?”
You really don’t get it.
“but if i tell someone to put their hands behind their back and they begin to walk away and put their hands towards their pockets and ask me if i’m crazy, you can bet he’ll be on the ground one way or another.”
I’m sure. But if you were doing your job properly that situation could be avoided in many cases. Cases like this one.
“or would you have preferred the officer to have used a nightstick and sent this guy to the hospital rather than a taser where you’re fine 10 minutes later.”
You’re fine much of the time. Others you have a heart attack or are run over by the traffic rushing by 2 feet away. A simple speed trap traffic stop escalated to force. It is a sad world.
“sorry the taser looks oh so scary to you.”
sorry you are such a thug and indicative of what is wrong with todays law enforcement agencies.
Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas to you and yours, and thanks for intelligently debating the issue.
: )
No, genius, you wrote that “As I stated earlier, (IMHO) this is the kind of guy that would run over and kill a construction worker, or a child, and leave the scene of the crime if he thought no one saw it” in post #104.
As for including them in the reply, not sure what I mean. So I guess that makes me 12 yr old. OK.
He escalated things so he could taze someone who wasn’t giving him enough ‘respect’.
Look, these Revenuers don’t like to hassle people either. That’s why they are belligerent, IMHO.
I got one in a famous speed trap. It was raining. He was pushing me to sign, telling me I’d be taken in if I didn’t. I told him “I don’t sign what I don’t understand”, so proceeded to read it 3x, ask him a lot of procedural questions. He got real belligerent, but I had witnesses. In the end, I was lucky. He had to stand in the rain until I was satisfied (hehehehe). He might not have hit his quota as a result; ho hum.
There is no penalty to not sign, as we have seen on this thread. Accept it, put your tail between your legs, and move on.
I only included you in the reply because the post was between you and the other poster. I did not mean to imply you were the one acting like a 12 year old, or accusing others of being 12 year olds, as the other poster did.
I am guilty of responding back with some smarthy statements myself, I guess because it’s hard to believe that that many people could watch the video and not see that this driver was uncooperative and fringed on resisting arrest.
I have listened over and over to the parts of the conversation earlier in the video, and the kid keeps telling the officer, NO, NO I WON”T, YOU CAN”T, I DON”T HAVE TO, etc.
The way many other posters have responded, their ALTERNATIVE for the officer were that he lay down in front of the SUV and let the driver run over him as he took off.
The kid said, “NO, I’m not signing it, and you’re not giving me a ticket.”
I would suggest that some posters try this next time they get pulled over, and see what happens.
They have authority, but they are not The Authority. They still have to treat us w/ a lot of respect. They are not an Authority unto themselves.
“In that post, you noted that cops are not our betters and deserve no additional respect than anyone else does.”
I still don’t think they do. Do cops have a tough job? Yes. Do they deserve respect? Yes. Are cops better than the average person? No. Where do you draw the line? If cos are better then do they get special rights? Are they free from prosecution? Can they take bribes without fear? The first two are already in place.
Cops get paid fairly well in most places. They can quit anytime they wish. Our military people get paid squat, can’t quit, and are away from home for months. Lots of jobs are dangerous. Many are more dangerous than being a cop. Should we rate peoples rights based on how dangerous their job is?
“There is no penalty to not sign”
Incorrect.
“He escalated things so he could taze someone who wasn’t giving him enough ‘respect’.”
Had the driver turned around and placed his hands behind his back, after being told he was going to jail, for speeding and refusing to cooperate, the officer would not have pulled the taser out.
By stating that the officer escalated things just so he could taze someone, you now are trying to play “MIND READER”, as you and others accused me of.
So, small dogs need to get off the porch.
and you have digressed to calling me, a cop who has clashed with you before but always remained relatively civil, names.
i feel sorry for you. i see the fruits of my work every day right before my eyes. whether locking up a dangerous criminal, finding a lost child, or helping a battered wife i go home feeling good about what i do. the citations, thank-you cards, and pats on the back from respected bosses are welcome, but not necessary.
from now on i will avoid you. you disregard simple facts in pursuit of your own agenda.
There is no penalty not to sign in the state of Utah. The officer has the discretion to put “refused to sign” and send him on his way, OR arrest him if he sees fit. The officer did neither. He is in trouble, rightfully so.
Officer asks driver to sign the ticket.
He Refuses to do so.
Officer asks him to step out of vehicle.
Asks him to put his hands behind his back.
Officer tells him “I am placing you under arrest”.
Driver says “no you are not.”
Driver starts walking back toward his vehicle.
That is when the officer fired the taser at him.
If you cannot see who caused the problem, who is guilty, then you are just trying to fool yourself. You are not fooling anyone with any smattering of intelligence.
Please, watch the video (not on youtube) on the link to the original post, and see if what I say is TRUE, or NOT.
Okay, I watched the video again and again. You wrote:
Officer tells him “I am placing you under arrest”.
Driver says “no you are not.” .
Sorry, I did not hear that part. Could you have imagined he said that?
“Incorrect.”
He’s correct in most states. Utah allows the LEO to arrest or note “refused to sign”.
“Had the driver turned around and placed his hands behind his back, after being told he was going to jail, for speeding and refusing to cooperate, the officer would not have pulled the taser out.”
He already had the tazer out.
“you now are trying to play “MIND READER”, as you and others accused me of.”
Aren’t you the guy claiming the driver was headed for his shotgun?
“So, small dogs need to get off the porch.”
SO once again you get insulting.
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