Tigerman
Contributor
I kinda suspect the reason why they write tickets (atleast many places) is the fact that they make more money from the tickets than it cost writing them. In other words they write tickets for profit..
Tasered over speeding ticket
- Thread starter scuba_girl
- Start date
Please register or login
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
- Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
- A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
- You can make this box go away
From the Salt Lake Tribune, Jan12
The motorist who was shocked by a Utah Highway Patrol trooper with a Taser, then gained fame on the Internet, has settled his ticket.
Jared Massey pleaded guilty Thursday in Uintah County justice court and agreed to pay $107 for the speeding citation.
On Sept. 14, in an encounter recorded by a dashboard camera in his patrol car, UHP Trooper John Gardner stopped Massey on U.S. Highway 40 in Uintah County. Massey refused to sign the citation, insisting that Gardner show him the 40 mph sign Gardner said he passed. The pair walked to the front of the officer's car, where an argument continued until Massey started walking away. Gardner then shocked Massey twice with his Taser.
Massey later acquired a copy of the video through Utah's open records law. He posted it on YouTube and it was viewed around the world. The UHP exonerated Gardner, saying the trooper had a split second to react. Gardner was placed on paid leave but has since returned to duty. - Nate Carlisle
So it looks like no lawsuit and no discipline for the trooper.
Art
The motorist who was shocked by a Utah Highway Patrol trooper with a Taser, then gained fame on the Internet, has settled his ticket.
Jared Massey pleaded guilty Thursday in Uintah County justice court and agreed to pay $107 for the speeding citation.
On Sept. 14, in an encounter recorded by a dashboard camera in his patrol car, UHP Trooper John Gardner stopped Massey on U.S. Highway 40 in Uintah County. Massey refused to sign the citation, insisting that Gardner show him the 40 mph sign Gardner said he passed. The pair walked to the front of the officer's car, where an argument continued until Massey started walking away. Gardner then shocked Massey twice with his Taser.
Massey later acquired a copy of the video through Utah's open records law. He posted it on YouTube and it was viewed around the world. The UHP exonerated Gardner, saying the trooper had a split second to react. Gardner was placed on paid leave but has since returned to duty. - Nate Carlisle
So it looks like no lawsuit and no discipline for the trooper.
Art
Mark Michaud SELAUSAR
Contributor
Having been a police officer (16 years) in a fast paced (28 patrol officers / 3000 calls a month), very modern city, I have to stand behind this officer. He may have been a liitle slow to explain things, but certain things are not plain to everyday people.
The average age of the person I will fight is 18. That is not so bad when I am 20. But when I am 35, 40 45, etc. it is different. Society demands I do everything from parking tickets, to catching murderers. Each of those has its own priorities at different times. Sometimes speeding tickets are important. Sometimes parking tickets are important....ie: handicapped spots by people who don't need them. Say you have a severely handicapped child, it is raining and some knucklehead uses that spot that shouldn't.........today that is important to you.
Things can go bad really fast. I am not the world's sacrificial lamb. Law enforcement is a job, just like any other, but with stakes and consequences that can change in a second. Remember Chevy and Shane Keyhoe? This happens more than you think, from nice guy to fighting for my life.
If you check the FBI standards on Taser use in the force continuum it is right after verbal and before hands on. I know this because our agency adopted that policy. Before I get wrestled to the ground, or have to fight, I can end it quickly. I have to do this more than most people know and I can't afford to blow out a knee, break a bone, and shouldn't have to.
Verbal Judo was mentioned. Great tool, but not a negotiation tool. It is used to set the stage......If you don't do this I will do this. This shows that I did everything I could before going to te next step.
In the old days force was only used when the officer was in danger or someone was actively resisting arrest. Now things have changed about my job. Problem management is a large part of my job, not just enforcing laws. Even verbal judo teaches the following on Dealing with difficult people:
1. Ask (sir will you please?)
2. Set the context (Explain the reason why)
3. Present options (Explain the options)
4. Confirmation Stage (Sir, is there anything I can do to get you to cooperate with me?)
5. ACT!
When you are in imminent jeopardy....act.
Law enforcement is a place where situations are always dynamic and can change very quickly. Trooper Mark Coates of the SC Hwy Patrol had a routine Traffic stop, yes I said routine. The violator was totally compliant and was not seen as a threat til the end even on the video. At the last minute that changed and Trooper Coates died after being shot by this guy. He shot the bad guy, center mass with a .357 and you hears the troopers dying words on the radio.
Another Deputy waited too long with a non compliant person and he died. Video of Terrible! - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting
I am not saying this trooper was the perfect example of Law Enforcement, but til you walk a mile in our shoes don't be so quick to judge us harshly. Bad guys don't think like you and I. They act like you and I and then turn when they get the opportunity. When this guy turned away and decided the officer wasn't important anymore he caused the response. If this Trooper would have tried to go to hands on, he may have been overpowered.
Things change fast, look at this videwo and see if you don't ge a better perspective. Police Officer gets the Beating of her Life! - Dumpalink.com
This is real and it happens more than you know. Fortunately we win a lot and nothing is ever said of it. When you are asked to stop, you do that. If I am unclear, an *******, or even flat wrong, you sign your citation, call my boss, and also make youre case in court. I am not allowed to just say, OK you don't have to.
You, THE PEOPLE, said we want the police to do these things and we do, but then THE PEOPLE don't like it when it affects them adversely. I cannot just walk away and say OK, you don't have to. When you fail to comply and sign a citation, or you turn and walk away, red flags should go up. That is not normal behavior.
The taser is a great tool that keeps situations from escalating and allows an officer to stop a situation, when he recognizes things are about to get out of control. When this guy argued, refused to sign, and walked away he set the stage. Had this gone differently, the guy pulled a gun and killed the officer, many of you would have said........he should have seen it coming and should have acted sooner. The taser doesn't cause major injury, like batons and active fighting, it just hurts alot. People who have died from the taser would have died if several officers would have just "Overpowered them". Taser is considered by most departments as less lethal and before intermediate tools such as OC, sticks and K-9. Taser is used, in my agency, after Officer presence and verbal warning, if applicable. This guy was not acting normal and he very well may have intended to do something worse when he got back to his car.......but we will never know.
This is not a defense for taser, or for other officers, but a perspective you don't have if you are not involved in this everyday. Most people would never act like the violator and when a really bad guy gets to court, jury's see a nice clean cut young man. That helps a jury to think this person is just like them..........but he is not. This violator is most likely abusive, a control freak at home and work and he will not be told he did wrong by a "lowly civil servant". I hear, "you should be arresting drug dealers" when a person gets stopped for speeding or DUI. The truth is, Speeders and DUI ruin more familes of working America (on a personal level) than drug dealers ever do. Again it is all my job at different times.
It is not a perfect world but consider this before making harsh judgements when you have hindsight and all of the facts. In the 6 months before we were destroyed by Katrina, Law Enforcement, in a 40 mile radius, had to shoot and kill 18 bad guys in several jurisdictions including my own. All were totally justified by the media and the courts. It is not safe out there and things change really fast.
Remember I have kids, family, a life too and I am not out here to put myself in harms way because you don't like the fact that you got caught. People we stop for small stuff, may know something I don't and be desperate from something they just did...................Nothing is black and white out there. It is a constantly changing dynamic world being a police officer.
Everything that trooper did may not have been done right, but al of us don't have years of experience behind us and like diving, sometimes things go in a direction we can't control, but have to respond to. It is a world of being constantly task loaded. Officers have to know and remember more things than any other job in this world. I have to know what is civil, and what is criminal. I have to know criminal law, traffic law, municipal / county ordinances, traffic investigation, domestic issues, court orders, self defense, when to and when not to, drug laws, drug detection, court room demeanor, how the legal system works on different levels, I could keep going for a while more. I have to juggle this all of the time, everyday. Remember that when you are quick to be critical of our actions when you only have certain perspectives.
I will end with these two links. Watch them in order and see what I am talking about yourself.
You will have to log in to UTUBE to see these.
link #1 YouTube - Police Shooting Video #1
link #2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPEiRQoALcs
Mark
The average age of the person I will fight is 18. That is not so bad when I am 20. But when I am 35, 40 45, etc. it is different. Society demands I do everything from parking tickets, to catching murderers. Each of those has its own priorities at different times. Sometimes speeding tickets are important. Sometimes parking tickets are important....ie: handicapped spots by people who don't need them. Say you have a severely handicapped child, it is raining and some knucklehead uses that spot that shouldn't.........today that is important to you.
Things can go bad really fast. I am not the world's sacrificial lamb. Law enforcement is a job, just like any other, but with stakes and consequences that can change in a second. Remember Chevy and Shane Keyhoe? This happens more than you think, from nice guy to fighting for my life.
If you check the FBI standards on Taser use in the force continuum it is right after verbal and before hands on. I know this because our agency adopted that policy. Before I get wrestled to the ground, or have to fight, I can end it quickly. I have to do this more than most people know and I can't afford to blow out a knee, break a bone, and shouldn't have to.
Verbal Judo was mentioned. Great tool, but not a negotiation tool. It is used to set the stage......If you don't do this I will do this. This shows that I did everything I could before going to te next step.
In the old days force was only used when the officer was in danger or someone was actively resisting arrest. Now things have changed about my job. Problem management is a large part of my job, not just enforcing laws. Even verbal judo teaches the following on Dealing with difficult people:
1. Ask (sir will you please?)
2. Set the context (Explain the reason why)
3. Present options (Explain the options)
4. Confirmation Stage (Sir, is there anything I can do to get you to cooperate with me?)
5. ACT!
When you are in imminent jeopardy....act.
Law enforcement is a place where situations are always dynamic and can change very quickly. Trooper Mark Coates of the SC Hwy Patrol had a routine Traffic stop, yes I said routine. The violator was totally compliant and was not seen as a threat til the end even on the video. At the last minute that changed and Trooper Coates died after being shot by this guy. He shot the bad guy, center mass with a .357 and you hears the troopers dying words on the radio.
Another Deputy waited too long with a non compliant person and he died. Video of Terrible! - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting
I am not saying this trooper was the perfect example of Law Enforcement, but til you walk a mile in our shoes don't be so quick to judge us harshly. Bad guys don't think like you and I. They act like you and I and then turn when they get the opportunity. When this guy turned away and decided the officer wasn't important anymore he caused the response. If this Trooper would have tried to go to hands on, he may have been overpowered.
Things change fast, look at this videwo and see if you don't ge a better perspective. Police Officer gets the Beating of her Life! - Dumpalink.com
This is real and it happens more than you know. Fortunately we win a lot and nothing is ever said of it. When you are asked to stop, you do that. If I am unclear, an *******, or even flat wrong, you sign your citation, call my boss, and also make youre case in court. I am not allowed to just say, OK you don't have to.
You, THE PEOPLE, said we want the police to do these things and we do, but then THE PEOPLE don't like it when it affects them adversely. I cannot just walk away and say OK, you don't have to. When you fail to comply and sign a citation, or you turn and walk away, red flags should go up. That is not normal behavior.
The taser is a great tool that keeps situations from escalating and allows an officer to stop a situation, when he recognizes things are about to get out of control. When this guy argued, refused to sign, and walked away he set the stage. Had this gone differently, the guy pulled a gun and killed the officer, many of you would have said........he should have seen it coming and should have acted sooner. The taser doesn't cause major injury, like batons and active fighting, it just hurts alot. People who have died from the taser would have died if several officers would have just "Overpowered them". Taser is considered by most departments as less lethal and before intermediate tools such as OC, sticks and K-9. Taser is used, in my agency, after Officer presence and verbal warning, if applicable. This guy was not acting normal and he very well may have intended to do something worse when he got back to his car.......but we will never know.
This is not a defense for taser, or for other officers, but a perspective you don't have if you are not involved in this everyday. Most people would never act like the violator and when a really bad guy gets to court, jury's see a nice clean cut young man. That helps a jury to think this person is just like them..........but he is not. This violator is most likely abusive, a control freak at home and work and he will not be told he did wrong by a "lowly civil servant". I hear, "you should be arresting drug dealers" when a person gets stopped for speeding or DUI. The truth is, Speeders and DUI ruin more familes of working America (on a personal level) than drug dealers ever do. Again it is all my job at different times.
It is not a perfect world but consider this before making harsh judgements when you have hindsight and all of the facts. In the 6 months before we were destroyed by Katrina, Law Enforcement, in a 40 mile radius, had to shoot and kill 18 bad guys in several jurisdictions including my own. All were totally justified by the media and the courts. It is not safe out there and things change really fast.
Remember I have kids, family, a life too and I am not out here to put myself in harms way because you don't like the fact that you got caught. People we stop for small stuff, may know something I don't and be desperate from something they just did...................Nothing is black and white out there. It is a constantly changing dynamic world being a police officer.
Everything that trooper did may not have been done right, but al of us don't have years of experience behind us and like diving, sometimes things go in a direction we can't control, but have to respond to. It is a world of being constantly task loaded. Officers have to know and remember more things than any other job in this world. I have to know what is civil, and what is criminal. I have to know criminal law, traffic law, municipal / county ordinances, traffic investigation, domestic issues, court orders, self defense, when to and when not to, drug laws, drug detection, court room demeanor, how the legal system works on different levels, I could keep going for a while more. I have to juggle this all of the time, everyday. Remember that when you are quick to be critical of our actions when you only have certain perspectives.
I will end with these two links. Watch them in order and see what I am talking about yourself.
You will have to log in to UTUBE to see these.
link #1 YouTube - Police Shooting Video #1
link #2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPEiRQoALcs
Mark
Gee, it looks like I get to say "Told ya so!!" to several people at once
About what? Everybody knew there would be no discipline for the officer and it's way too soon to know if there will be a lawsuit or not. They weren't going to file one until the outstanding ticket issue was resolved. Most states allow at least a year to file a lawsuit and attorneys often like to use every bit of it to research and build their case.
The lawsuit would have nothing to do with whether he was guilty of speeding or not.
vshearer
Contributor
A civil suit will go nowhere. I don't know why it is so hard to understand. When a cop says "Turn around and put your hands on your head" you are being arrested. If you walk away expect to get Tased at a minimum. This officer did not do a great stop, but the guy was asking for it.
tjmills
Contributor
while I respect our law enforcement and what they have to deal with on a daily basis.....this was horrible judgment on the officers point and should be called out. If for nothing else than horrible judgment on the situation. He needs to understand that, at least in this case, it was bad and that he should be called on to exercise more tollerance and read the situation better in the future.
If our law enforcement wonders what a thankless job this can be at times, this is one example why that is. We can all justify why this happened but we all know it shouldn't have.
Just my opinion ......
If our law enforcement wonders what a thankless job this can be at times, this is one example why that is. We can all justify why this happened but we all know it shouldn't have.
Just my opinion ......
DeepDiver36
Registered
The one think the kills me over and over again is when people fail to take responsibility for their own actions. I am not going to recite the law as many posters have done that already. I am not going to judge the UHP officers actions as I was not there.
What I see in this case as well as every five minutes in life is a person doing something and then justifying it by blaming it on everyone else. This guy was guilty of SPEEDING, he paid his ticket in court so he has ADMITTED to this FACT. He was speeding, anyone over five knows that if you break the law, you will face a punishment.
A speeding ticket is the courts method of allowing you to continue on your way with the promise to come in front of a judge rather then being booked into jail. Watch any police show or get pulled over and they always tell you, "By signing here. This is not an admission of guilt, but your promise to show up to court on this date and time"
Like several other posters have said, the side of the road is neither the time nor the place to dispute this. The officer was not going to say, "Oh, well you made such a great argument and since you refuse to sign, I will dismiss this ticket right here and now.!" Sign the ticket and tell the judge. At least in Utah, once a person has been issued a ticket, it can only be revoked by a judge. The officer no longer has the authority to dismiss the ticket.
If the officer is found to be in the wrong, then he will have to take responsibility for his actions. This officer has received death threats for this.... please!
What I see in this case as well as every five minutes in life is a person doing something and then justifying it by blaming it on everyone else. This guy was guilty of SPEEDING, he paid his ticket in court so he has ADMITTED to this FACT. He was speeding, anyone over five knows that if you break the law, you will face a punishment.
A speeding ticket is the courts method of allowing you to continue on your way with the promise to come in front of a judge rather then being booked into jail. Watch any police show or get pulled over and they always tell you, "By signing here. This is not an admission of guilt, but your promise to show up to court on this date and time"
Like several other posters have said, the side of the road is neither the time nor the place to dispute this. The officer was not going to say, "Oh, well you made such a great argument and since you refuse to sign, I will dismiss this ticket right here and now.!" Sign the ticket and tell the judge. At least in Utah, once a person has been issued a ticket, it can only be revoked by a judge. The officer no longer has the authority to dismiss the ticket.
If the officer is found to be in the wrong, then he will have to take responsibility for his actions. This officer has received death threats for this.... please!
Similar threads
