Tasered over speeding ticket

[Web Monkey]

UHP (Utah Highway Patrol) tasers man in front of pregnant wife and baby over an alleged speeding ticket.

The guy is a moron. He should have signed the ticket, smiled, said "thank you" and hired a lawyer. My lawyer told me it's easy to get someone out of jail, it's a lot harder to get someone out of the hospital or grave.

He's lucky the cop's judgment wasn't any worse.

OTOH, the guy and his wife will probably be getting a nice new house and the kid will be going to a really nice college, all for free.

Terry

 

[bladephotog]

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.

I'm not sure if you're not reading too much into my post. But you should re-read it and take it at face value. I'm simply saying that it's good for BOTH parties that there is video rolling. Video is there to protect the officer more than anything else. I'm not assigning blame on the officer. If anything it's a good example of why you need to comply with the law whether or not his orders are lawful. A court of law is the place to argue that, not the side of the road. What if he'd shot him with a gun? Even if the cop was wrong the guy still got shot, or fortunately in this instance just tasered.

Traffic stops are the most dangerous thing a highway patrolman does. Of course they don't take chances and they shouldn't.

What's weird is that any speeding ticket I've gotten has the speed written in on the ticket. Why didn't the guy just look at the ticket if the cop wasn't going to answer him. Is it not listed in all states? I have to believe it'd be on the ticket.

 

[Cacia]

The result of inaction in the case of someone reaching for a gun may be a dead cop.

yea, I am willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.

Traffic stops are the most dangerous thing a highway patrolman does.

I always heard that it was domestic calls. --oh highway patrol

 

[Web Monkey]

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?

Although "hands in your pockets" isn't illegal, I've seen guns that would easily hide in a pocket, so I'd call "hands in the pockets" "criminally stupid".

Cops don't work in Mr. Rogers neighborhood . They're people who get up and go to work every day knowing that any random moron they encounter could kill them for any or no reason. It tends to make people a little jumpy.

When encountering jumpy people with weapons, it makes sense to not do things that make them even more jumpy.

The guy was an idiot. Now he's going to be a rich idiot.

Terry

 

[Cacia]

If somebody does not turn over their registration and DL, he probably had a reason, like knowing he had a warrant.

 

[ReefHound]

If somebody does not turn over their registration and DL, he probably had a reason, like knowing he had a warrant.

He didn't. If he had any warrants, they would have been found when he was arrested and added to the story. This is a real case, the guy's court date for the ticket is in January. I bet he beats the ticket, too.

I think the guy knew he was being railroaded and just wasn't going to take it in the rear.

 

[Firefyter]

The guy was definitely an idiot, and I'm willing to bet he gets nada out of it. The consequences of hesitation on the part of an officer can be high. Just watch this video from Mckinney, Texas and see what can happen....

Officer Attacked

 

[Desert_Diver]

He was tazered for being an idiot. 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.

Then a couple of questions;
Is it only in the movies youre to be read your rights if youre being arrested?
Cant you deny signing a sitation and be taken to court over the issue instead?

In Utah, you can refuse to sign the ticket. All the cop does in that circumstance is note that the individual refused to sign.

The cops only read you your rights if they are getting ready to question you about a crime. In this situation, the cop witnessed the speeding offense. No questions were required.

The cop is saying that the guy was tasered because he refused to follow instructions and walked away from the cop against instructions. That falls into the "fleeing" section of the taser protocol.

I'm not defending the cop. I think he used the taser without sufficient justification. On the other hand, the speeder was terminally stupid too. I think it makes more sense to follow the cops directions and then do your arguing in court.

The UHP is investigating the incident.

Art

 

[Desert_Diver]

Did you guys watch the same video I watched? Sure, the driver was stupid to be arguing the merits of a ticket and refusing to sign, but watch the tape from the moment the officer told him to get out of the car. The officer walked directly to his car, laid the paperwork on the hood, and reached to his left hip and pulled his taser and cuffs *as* he was saying for the *first time* to "turn around and put your hands behind your back". He was pointing the taser at the guy *before* the guy started back to his car. It was in response to being targeted that the driver said "what the hell is wrong with you" and started walking away. When his wife jumped out of the car the driver was telling her "run, run".

It was kinda hard to hear all that was being said when the driver was in his car, but it sounded to me that as soon as the driver said he wasn't signing anything the cop said get out of the car. Seems to me the cop could have explained the alternatives, either sign or be arrested, rather than proceeding straight to arrest. I doubt the cop is a bad guy but needs to be a little more patient with the dumb ones.

The UHP says that the version on the internet is edited. Pieces have been deleted. I have not seen the complete tape.

Art

 

[jeraldjcook]

I'm not defending the cop. I think he used the taser without sufficient justification. On the other hand, the speeder was terminally stupid too. I think it makes more sense to follow the cops directions and then do your arguing in court.

I sort of agree. In retrospect the cop acted without sufficient justification, but at the time how was the cop to know why the speeder was going back to his car. Because I apparently have too much time on my hands, I watch a lot of those "scariest police moments/chases" type shows. Numerous times there have been dash cam videos showing suspects walking back to their car against instruction and grabbing a weapon. Had this been one of those situations and the officer had to end up shooting him for real, people would be asking why the officer didn't taser him before he made it to his car. Obey the officer and fight it later. What ever happened to respecting authority?