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
What I meant was, did the officer have only two reasonable options - tasing or struggling - once the driver began to walk away? If so, what were they?
Also, I would appreciate an answer to my earlier question:
Is it your contention that a person standing along a highway in full control of his faculties, is no more at risk than someone being tazered in the same setting?
I've been in nearly that same situation. I thought the low speed zone through a small town, ended before it actually did. The officer, a county deputy IIRC, explained where it it did end. I explained why the address on my DL did not match that on the vehicle's registration. (I lived in San Antonio, my wife in North Texas, but when I bought the vehicle I was on temporary assignment in OK City, so we registered the vehicle at the North Texas address, since the "expatriot" period was short, I had not updated the address on the DL, even though I did move out of my apartment in SA, and later moved into a different complex when I returned to the Alamo City.) I was polite, the officer was polite. The officer did not mind me explaining my view of the situation. He gave me a warning ticket and I went on my way. Oh I also kept my hands on the wheel, until I asked and was given the go ahead to get my insurance certificate out of the seat back pocket where I kept it. I don't recall if that was before or after I also had a CHL, which is tied to the DL record, which I found out for certain last Monday when I renewed the DL, and the clerk verfied that I had a CHL.
Both the officer and the subject bear some responsibility for this situation, but the officer is supposed to be the professional. Most I've come in contact, even the guy running a notorious speed trap that has since been done away with by the state, have been polite and respectful. I had a trunk full of guns on that speed trap stop, but he only asked if I had guns in the back seat, which is all I told him about. That was the second time I was stopped with guns in the trunk, and I only had a couple really, but the first time we'd been out shooting at "the farm" and had a bunch, most of which were not even mine, not that it would matter, that state has no registration nor does Texas. I later found out that the local relatives considered that deputy to be of the Deputy Dawg variety, and probably the least bright and with the most "attitude" of all the county's deputies. It helps that I keep my military ID, on the "flipper" covering my DL.
Not if the vehicle had a digital speedometer (usually this in addition to the analog one). You see the light and glance down, or you just retained the number from the last time you scanned the instrument panel. Or you have the cruise control set.
“Correction: You didn’t hear the officer inform the driver of his intent to arrest him (take him to jail). That doesn’t mean it didn’t occur when the officer was standing at the driver’s door, and there was traffic noise obscuring parts of the conversation.”
Lets see, you have repeatedly stated the cop said things he didn’t. You have indicated the driver was going to run, he was going for a weapon, and so on. This is the kind of behavior in cops that gives every cop a bad name. Some cops won’t admit incorrect behavior of another cops even if it smacks them in the face.
I heard the cops say “because you wouldn’t sign”. The comment that “no you’re not” is what I assume the driver saying “no you’re not listening”
“One other point that has not been addressed on this thread: What does the law say about the officer’s search of the car at the end of the tape? Why did he do this? Was there probably cause? Any reason at all? Was that legal? Or... is this just another example of something routinely done by practically all cops... w/o regard for necessity or legality??”
IMO he was trying to find something else to use against Massey. If the Massey was the only adult I can see it needing to be searched and impounded. However with another adult who had a legal interest in the vehicle I don’t see where there is necessity or legality.
For all you cops out there. Most of you won’t agree that the cop was wrong. The common attitude here by cops seems to be condescending (at best) towards citizens . Some of advocated shooting Massey, clubbing him and so on.
Don’t be surprised as your support base in society continues to decline.
Yep, especially since the guy is a 14-year veteran. The cop acted more like a rookie on his first non-routine traffic stop.
I came out too much on the cop’s side because everybody was screaming “psycho powedrunk cop, put him in jail and sue his department into oblivion”, all emotion and not much thought.
Definitely fault on both sides. The thing that gets my goat is that people think that since the driver is not the professional, he carries no responsibility for his assinine behavior. They teach you about traffic stops in drivers ed. Any reasonable person knows that it’s better to go with the flow on a traffic stop than scream and argue the whole way. I’m not saying kiss is a**, I’m suggesting a little mutual respect. No matter how much the officer pisses you off, and there’s some real dorkus cops out there, a ticket is a whole lot better than arrest or racking up further charges.
Massey’s behavior was erratic enough that the cop could probably justifiably say later that he suspected that he may have been under the influence of something other than alcohol and wanted to look for evidence. Maybe, I’m not a lawyer, but reasonable suspicion has a fair amount of wiggle room.
The half dozen times that I've gotten a ticket, the cop has ALWAYS told me, "Signature is not an admission of guilt, it's merely an acknowledgment that you'll appear in court or waive that and pay the ticket. That's all explained on the back." VERY standard spiel, you'd expect a 14 year veteran to have that down pat.
As far as the taser, once the driver turned and starting walking back toward his vehicle while simultaneously going for his pockets after being told to step up to the front of the car and put hands behind his back, that's all the justification the cop needs for the taser use. His level of belligerence was really a factor. With moving traffic pretty close by, tasing him was probably safer than going hands-on with him to stop him from getting back in the vehicle. It's a lot more dangerous for both people to be wrestling on the ground.
Having said that, I would expect a 14 year veteran to know better what to say to a person getting amped-up on them. When the guy originally didn't want to show license and registration after being asked twice and wife was getting all lippy, too, all the cop had to say was, "OK, we'll just arrest and book you as John Doe until we can find out who you really are." That will usually get a guy digging for his license pretty quick and I'd expect a 14 year veteran to know that little trick.
The cop could've also told him that he's arrestable for not signing the ticket, which he is under Utah law. Once out of the car, the cop also could've told the guy that he's arrestable for disorderly conduct, and saying, "Hey, let's be cool and keep this on the level of a ticket instead of an arrest." A lot of times, that will cool a guy down. It may not have worked, but it's worth a shot and the cop would better be able to say he did what he could before the situation went south.
You’re confusing civil court and criminal court. In civil court, you have to show damages. The infliction of emotional distress play nearly never works.
The civil rights card is played on the federal court level, and it’ll never get that far. The state supreme court won’t hear this case unless the local/state court is completely up in the night.
A month from now, this case will be forgotten and gone. 14 of Massey’s 15 minutes were used up over Thanksgiving weekend. The best he can hope for is dismissal of the speeding ticket and calling it even. Attempting to leave while fumbling with his pockets is the nail in the coffin on the taser use complaint.
I have NEVER said the driver bears no responsibilty... but, I do not think he was being overly disrespectful. He was not yelling, or being rude in his initial comments.. he was just trying to discuss the situation with the officer. It was stupid.. yea. Cause, most people know it's pointless. But, he was trying...and, in a reasonably polite tone.
There been a LOT of talk about Massey's "refusal to provide his license and registration".... like this is a sign of belligerence that, by itself, makes him worthy of arrest. I went back and timed the tape (And, this part doesn't appear to be edited). From the time the officer FIRST ask.... until the time Massey produced it.. was 1 minute, 11 seconds. 71 seconds... meanwhile, he was saying, "But sir.. I really don't think I was speeding. How fast do you think I was going". I'm sorry... I just don't think this level of delay is critical at all to this story.
They teach you about traffic stops in drivers ed.
Don't know where you live... but, here in Kentucky, they DON'T teach Driver's Ed anymore... We have to teach our own kids, or hire an AAA trainer. As far as I know.. my sons got their first training about how to deal with getting a traffic citation when I showed them this tape.
Any reasonable person knows that it’s better to go with the flow on a traffic stop than scream and argue the whole way.
I'm sorry... I just don't hear Massey screaming in the tape... (except when tased). Gardner is the first one to do any yelling. The MOST disrepectful thing I heard Gardner say was, "I'm not signing anything... until we can go back and see a sign." That statement had a "spoiled brat tone"... or maybe, one of self-righteous indignation.. but, not really of dis-respect for the officer.
My main point now is... this incident should NEVER have gotten to the level of making an arrest.. period. Massey had done NOTHING until then to warrant an arrest. Was arrest a 'legal option' for the cop? Yes... but, it was VERY poor judgement, and led to an unwarranted escalation of the entire situation.
“Massey’s behavior was erratic enough that the cop could probably justifiably say later that he suspected that he may have been under the influence of something other than alcohol and wanted to look for evidence. Maybe, I’m not a lawyer, but reasonable suspicion has a fair amount of wiggle room.”
I might buy that except for the lies he told the second officer and the “took a ride on the tazer comment”.
Maybe.... but, I don't think so. I think this incident will continue to raise the ire of people... because, cops and people seem to see it with different eyes. Cops want to defend what most people see as indefensible.
I think, there is a larger debate building about the general use of tasers. Cops LOVE these things.. cause, it makes their jobs SO much easier. People are starting to push back, and demand more limitations on their use.
I think.. this battle is still in it's early stages, and this video will remain Exibition #1 for the case against over-zealous cops.
When I watch the video closely, I believe Gardner had already decided to pull his Taser out before he even set his clipboard down. The decision to USE it.. once pulled, was WAY too quick.
Massey was NOT running... he actually was not even back to the bumper of his car, and no longer moving at all at the moment the Gardner fired. Massey was clearly in shock, asking "What the hell is wrong with you?".... Which, considering the circumstances... was a reasonable question. Not the response Gardner was looking for.... but, the first thing that would have come to my mind.
Had Gardner halfway lowered his weapon, and said... calmly, please come back here and face my car, I'm placing you under arrest." I expect, Massey would have started pleading, "Arrest me?? Why??". Then Gardner could have said, "Too late, shut up... get back here". Or, something along those lines... but, That was too much work. Much easier to just TASER this clown and cuff him.
FOUR CHANCES to do as the officer asked.
To a cop, or someone familiar with what they do... saying, "Turn around and put your hands behind your back"... may be the same thing as "I'm placing you under arrest". But, to an inexperience person... it is NOT the same. Typically.. cops say BOTH things...
In this case.. Gardner never got to the "I'm placing you under arrest part".. cause, even on the FIRST SAYING, he was drawing his weapon... and screaming. It took all of 3.5 seconds before the taser was fired. 3.5 seconds for Massey to try to comprehend what, exactly, was going on...
This DID NOT have to happen this way. It did, only because Gardner was trigger-happy, lazy, and unprofessional. IMHO.
From reading some of the local message boards, after all the emotional knee-jerk drama calmed down, a whole lot of locals think Massey was the main problem. Copper needs to find a different profession or get some serious refresher training, Massey needs a clue on life.
That’s sad... My reaction has been just the opposite. The FIRST time I watched, I dis-liked Massey, and saw him as the main culprit.
But, the more times I’ve watched it, listened to what Massey was saying, and read the laws in Utah... I have become MORE disgusted with Gardner. He was REALLY sloppy, lazy, and arrogant in his behavior.
It didn’t have to be like this... I just don’t think drivers should be arrested because they TRY To have a conversation with a guy giving them a ticket. It really was a VERY short discussion... Gardner got interupted twice, then just said... “Okay... and, made up his mind”. I’m taking this punk to jail.
In these situations.. The cop has ALL the power. ALL the authority. The ticket WILL get issued, whether the driver likes it or not. Unless the driver becomes threatening in some way, I don’t think they should be arrested.
What Gardner should have done is, say.. ‘Shut the hell up.. take this ticket... See you in court.”
Thanks for taking my comment with good humor. Both parties in this case should have conducted themselves better to avoid the tragic outcome.
Best regards,
Barnacle
theres the problem, ARREST FOR WHAT??? not signing a ticket or was it 'disrespect' ???
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