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
Yes but there were no grounds for the arrest, and the cop is going to get his a** drug through court.
LOL..You beat me to it..
The trigger happy officer was a way over the top, but when your traveling with your pregnant wife out in the middle of nowhere just sign the stupid ticket and argue your case in front of a judge if your so inclined.
I didn’t miss this part: “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.” Did I miss another part, or are you just making stuff up as you go along?
His guilt or innocence of what? The resisting arrest charges have already been dismissed. All that remains is the ticket.
I did not see that the resisting arrest charges had been dropped in the referenced article. I did see this though
"The Masseys declined a request Tuesday for an interview until they could speak with their attorney. Jared Massey is still fighting the speeding charge in Uintah County Justice Court. A trial is set for Jan. 12."
"By late Tuesday, no civil complaints against Gardner or highway patrol had been filed."
I still haven’t figured out why “Turn around and put your hands behind your back NOW,” when delivered by a cop with a Taser pointed at your noggin, is considered “optional compliance.”
“”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.””
Yeah they do, Feed the Donuts or the Ego first.
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 still haven’t figured out why “Turn around and put your hands behind your back NOW,” when delivered by a cop with a Taser pointed at your noggin, is considered “optional compliance.””
Its not but the cop was clearly without basis for issuing that command. If a cop orders a woman to give him sex it is not a legal command.
I’m sorry, I’ll only reply to people who have demonstrated they’ve read the article from now on.
I would say the cop made the wrong choice, the charges have been dropped! In the end he’ll probably be having a career change as well.
This driver didn't sign so I guess he can be arrested. But we all know officers can create a situation in which you're in a corner and you will be arrested if you don't shut up or toe the line. In my opinion the officer acted too abruptly and helped the situation along that led to the taser and the arrest. The driver was too determined and didn't realize the officer drew a short line.
Considering the road and traffic conditions visible in the video, the only conceivable justification for a 40mph daytime stop is revenue enhancement for the 400 person ----holes that that road passes through.
I don't see traffic safety, I see armed highway robbery.
The SUV clearly passes the cop...so it may have been a speed trap of sorts. The driver kept asking what he did wrong.
This was a cowardly act. The terrorist prisoners in Iraq get better treatment than this!
Don’t tase me, bro!...
the guy had the bill o’reilly bumper sticker on his car!!!
At least your tagline is appropiate. Should add something more though.
Such as, I have little patience for people who confuse their opinions with fact?
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