Tasered over speeding ticket

[Tigerman]

As i said...
"However the cop who stopped him seemed to be kinda noobish too by not being able to communicate clearly what exactly was the problem, neither before or after he tazered the guy."

 

[jepuskar]

He should have yelled out.

Done Taze me Bro

 

[ShakaZulu]

Better delete this post before @#$% hits the fan...

 

[divebutt]

Anyone else notice that when asked several times by the man what speed he was going, the cop never answered? How do you give a guy a ticket and not tell him what he did wrong?

And since when is it illegal to put your hands in your pockets?

 

[ReefHound]

Anyone else notice that when asked several times by the man what speed he was going, the cop never answered? How do you give a guy a ticket and not tell him what he did wrong?

And since when is it illegal to put your hands in your pockets?

I noticed that about the speed, didn't he initially approach the car and say "you were going a little fast"?

As for the pockets, it's illegal to put them in your pocket after you are told to put them behind your back or on the car. Putting them in your pocket could be seen as reaching for a weapon and it's not surprising that the cop fired at that point. Fortunately he was holding a taser and not a gun. But as pointed out already, the cop had drawn and aimed his taser well before the driver turned his back or put his hands in his pocket.

 

[bladephotog]

This is exactly why having video cameras in cop cars are a good idea. A court of law will settle this one.

 

[Charlie99]

This is exactly why having video cameras in cop cars are a good idea. A court of law will settle this one.

There's a big difference between a cop being a bit nervous and too fast with the taser, and cop that deliberately zaps someone for no reason.

Sitting in front of our computer, running and re-running the clip we can see that the guy reaching into his pocket isn't really a threat. For one reason or another, the cop felt threatened. Maybe bad judgment, but certainly not criminal. Not even very likely to be liable in a civil suit. A suspension and/or re-training -- maybe.

While most posters would have the cop err on the side of inaction. The result of inaction in the case of someone reaching for a gun may be a dead cop.

Even discounting the possibility of the guy drawing a weapon, the cop isn't a mind reader about what else is going on. Why is the guy walking back to the car? Is he going to hop in the car and drive away, resulting in a pursuit? Is he a wanted felon and doesn't want to hang around until his identity is determined? There are lots and lots of reasons why the cop has a valid reason for using the Taser to get the situation under control.

 

[Otter]

I didn't even bother watching the entire clip is it is either (1) staged, or (2) a training video. I know of no LEOs who approach a diver w/o his hand on his gun and looking into the car. He sauntered up without hesitation or inspection. My BET is its a training video on what NOT to do.

 

[kombiguy]

other poster got it right. you only get read your rights when questioned, not when arrested.

As a defense attorney, if I had a client that was not given his "Miranda " warnings when arrested, I'd be very upset. The arresting officer, at least in Illinois and NY, is required to give those warnings when making an arrest.

 

[ReefHound]

I didn't even bother watching the entire clip is it is either (1) staged, or (2) a training video. I know of no LEOs who approach a diver w/o his hand on his gun and looking into the car. He sauntered up without hesitation or inspection. My BET is its a training video on what NOT to do.

Well you lose the bet. It's a real incident. Don't you watch the news? It was plastered all over CNN, Fox, etc. It happened on September 14, 2007, when Jared Massey was pulled over by Utah Highway Patrol trooper John Gardner for speeding on U.S. Route 40 near Vernal, Utah.

Here's an article in the Salt Lake Tribune.