**Update** - Tasered driver speaks out on CNN - Thought taser was a gun! Watch Video
It seems like we’re seeing incidents like this with more and more frequency over the past couple of weeks - but this one is particularly troublesome - it looks like the driver is merely trying to explain or point something out to the officer when he turns his back and is hit with the taser. To make matters worse, look how the officer interacts with and threatens the man’s wife.
Outraged? Let the Utah Highway Patrol know.
35 comments ↓
That cop needs to be fired or arrested for excessive use of force.
I have officially lost all faith in law enforcement. I would rather deal with 100 criminals than be within 50 feet of a police officer. These people disgust me.
Wow! What was that cop thinking? Tasers are supposed to be used as an alternative to deadly force. There was no threat or need for force. I hope this cop gets shot, his officer safety is horrible.
www.prisonplanet.com its real
Horrible USA, I’am happy to live in The Neterlands.
If this would happen in my country that cop would be the one going to jail. Seems like whatever is said cops are right….
cops like to abuse there powers cuz they believe they are the law..
He should be fired from his position and be turned to parking security or something like that, where he cant carry a gun/taser.
Don’t say stuff like , he should get shot..no,then you are even worse then him, if you want to do something to him except firing him, taser the hell out of him
Fascist methods in an increasingly fascist country. I just don’t think there’s any other word for it. And now they want to allow guns in colleges. You can count on more interesting little movies if that ever happens.
OMG, fire the cop! Can’t believe this just happened
Seems like USA becoming a fascist state.
USA is just so totally FITH.
We’re Aussies and have driven across the states a few times and have felt much safer, more comfortable and more secure in Mexico, Cuba, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama.
USA = Total Loonies
Damn, what a bad cop…
Only in America !!!
I hope this cop gets shot bi his own taser.
I hope this cop gets shot by his own taser.
Another example of wasteful use of gov’t. Now the State will have to $ out. Too late for the internet. Civilian 1, Gov’t 0.
United States is such a stupid country, to see things like this really pisses me off.
Everybody has wapon and uses them like it’s their fork and knive to eat with…
I hope this cop got fired and kicked the living shit out, clearly a guy who shouldn’t have any power at all!!!! Let him clean the streets…
Every day something else in the US, yesterday i read about soldiers who lost a bodypart in Irak had to give back their bonus because the could no longer serve…
Long life bushy!!!!
That was a completely uncalled for action. Tasering a man for refusing to sign a ticket is preposterous. That trooper has no right wearing a law enforcement uniform. The poor man could have easily fell into oncoming traffic and been killed. Utah do the right thing and fire this officer.
That cop did exactly what he should have. The suspect was CLEARLY resisting an officer who gave him a LEGAL command. Without the taser that would have become a fight on the side of the road with one or both getting injured or killed. The guy should’ve just signed the ticket and gone about his business and taken his case to court. Signing a citation is NOT an admission of guilt. The only thing the officer needs to be admonished for is is questionable officer safety. That’s not very smart to walk up to the driver’s side door like that.
As far as I can tell, the officer acted correctly. The officer is allowed to use force if you resist arrest - once an officer is required to arrest you (as he is when you don’t sign a ticket) he is required to use force to arrest if you resist - in this case if he started wrestling in order to arrest, it might have put him at ristk (he couldn’t have known that the wife wouldn’t get violently involved). Note to all people - if you want to contest an arrest/ticket YOU MUST do it in court - it is impossible to do so outside court, and so courts do not allow you to resist arrest/argue becuase you think that the officer is wrong - you MUST do it in court.
Also in relation to the officer’s conduct in general it is fully in line with the training provided to them - there are trained to be assertive and use ‘loud voices’ to attempt to ward of potential violent situations. That is why he raises his voice before firing, and why he raises his voice to the lady.
Note also in relation to Trevor’s comment tasers are not merely an alternative to deadly force (in fact I don’t think their ever supposed to be used that way - you are supposed to go to your gun if the other guy has a gun for instance). Tasers have been used primarily to make it easier for officers to physically control people who are resisting arrest - the only alternative is to hit them with batons/physically wrestle. In the case of a potential 2 on 1 situation (again, I think the officer is required to be cautious here) I think he is correct to have used a taser instead of trying some kind of wrestle.
Overall I have to say that this is textbook correct policing - if the were required to adopt different rules in similar situations regarding anything (e.g. police lower their voice, not use a taser, attempt to negotiate/explain to someone why an arrestee should not resist arrest whilst they are resisting arrest etc.)
I advise people to watch the video again, and consider what they would have done as the police officer to fully execute their duty to arrest the offender without (a) doing the court’s job on the street and (b) putting themselves in any greater danger than nescessary.
Oh and bye the way, don’t get misled by the claim that there is a requirement to provide miranda whilst arrest someone who has declined to be arrested. The law does not require miranda to be shouted at people resisting arrest - they can be properly informed of their rights some time after arrest is made.
As an aside - may I ask, where did this video get sourced from? There appears to be some footage missing. Where can we see the rest to ensure we have a full idea of what is going on?
Sorry - had a section of the above post deleted:
Overall I have to say that this is textbook correct policing - if the were required to adopt different rules in similar situations regarding anything (e.g. police lower their voice, not use a taser, attempt to negotiate/explain to someone why an arrestee should not resist arrest whilst they are resisting arrest etc.) it could lead to greater than nescessary force having to be used, or to a greater than nescessary risk to a officer’s physical safety. Citizens can I think be assumed to know that charges are contested at court, not with an officer, and that once an arrest is made by the officer, if commands are not followed by the officer, he WILL use force.
Boycott Utah - Ski Colorado
Wow, that was terrible. What the hell is wrong with that cop. He’s just tazering the kid for no damn reason. On top of that, if they *had* been a threat, then he would be dead. He turned his back on the girl and the guy several times. So not only is he too violent, he’s also stupid.
Tazered and jailed for speeding.. lol, Hitler would be proud.
MC,
After all the tasering events I’ve seen, I have to agree with you.
And I’ve seen ones that were uncalled for. (The guy getting tasered for asking Kerry questions is one)
This officer gave the man an instruction, and he refused to follow it.
He was very professional about it. Had he kicked or beat the guy while he was on the ground, then I could have said it was excessive force.
The dumbass should have just signed the ticket.
Jim and MC,
at no point did the suspect ‘resist’ arrest. He merely refused to sign a ticket; if that automatically requires arrest then fair enough the officer should first have informed the man he was being arrested, then read him his rights. He did neither. The officer immediately drew his taser, with full intention to use it in a situation which clearly did not call for it. The suspect was hardly a member of the Wild Bunch, was he.
And for the officer to say ‘you are going to jail’ - that is for the judge to decide, not a law enforcement officer. The officer was clearly acting ultra vires. What scares me is that he knew he was being filmed, but still felt fully at ease with his actions.
MC wrote:
“once an arrest is made by the officer, if commands are not followed by the officer, he WILL use force”
The man was told to get out of the car; he was not informed he was under arrest. He followed that instruction, and the instruction to put his hands behind his back and turn around. For which he was tasered.
In England we have a concept of ‘reasonable force’. Does that exist in the States?
[…] man tasered by a Utah Highway Patrol officer (read our initial story) spoke out on CNN about the experience. He tells the reporter that he initially thought the taser […]
Refusing to sign to a traffic citation is, by definition, resisting arrest. Aside from that, I think it’s a stretch to say that the guy wasn’t resisting. His resistance wasn’t physical, sure. But he was resisting.
I fully agree that the guy was a dumbass.
TEXTBOOK POLICING??? Is THAT your textbook??? NO ONE should be allowed to use ANY kind of force unless directly threatened. So the guy is upset and refuses to sign some goddam piece of paper? Just let him know it might end up costing him more if he doesn’t and then let him go. That’s what numberplates are for. But no, this brainless, god-fearing redneck needs to make a point of showing “who’s in charge” (cfr. what he says to his colleague after torturing the guy cowardly). Yes, that’s what he is: a coward who probably joined the police because the idea of carrying weapons appealed to him. Probably got bullied in school too. It’s the most dangerous cocktail in any society: fear, frustration, ignorance.
Do American people actually take their Police force serious anymore?? My god this is sick. Hope that guy gets fired and suid his ass of.
Yep, totally agree with CJ.
The US is pissing on countries like Iran, Nazi-Germany, Russia,… But if you check the US out, you just see that they are even worse than these countries. Tazing someone with such high voltages is WRONG.
And, if it would be a life-threatening situation for the cop, the tazer wouldn’t have helped anyway. The tazer is a weapon to use on the more innocent “criminals”, the ordinary civilians. Did I hear anyone say they don’t respect human rights in Russia or Iran? The US is appearantly worse. And at least Nazi-Germany didn’t torture their own followers (non-jews or -socialists) for a speeding ticket…
Ok, I admit, human rights are slightly better respected in the US, but you guys are heading the wrong way FAST.
This is why cops are shown so little respect by society; from the top to the bottom of the socio-economic spectrum! They are simply revenue generators. Yes, they are the first ones we call in an emergency, but that is why they are civil servants. Patrol crime ridden areas, fight illegal immigration, fight the drug trafficing….do these and stop hiding under bridges to get the respect of this law abiding citizen!
I don’t completely agree with what the officer did and I do think the whole thing might have been avoided. Maybe. But Jared appears to have just thought things should be done his way. Sorry, but the Officer is in charge. When he tells you to do something and you decide to just walk away, there can and will be consequences. And you especially don’t stick your fingers in your pocket while walking away. I live in that community and feel like nothing more than perhaps a talk needs to be done with the Officer. Jared - maybe get him a new shirt and maybe a ‘Sorry you were tased’ gift basket.
For those who have not taken a law class or read the criminal code for the US. You do not have to read someone their rights when you arrest them. You have to read someone’s rights before you interrogate them. All that T.V. stuff where they just start reading rights right off the bat is false. Also as mentioned signing the ticket is basically your bail agreement that you will show up to court. It has nothing to do with guilt. By not signing he chose to not sign his “bail” and so has to be arrested so he can be forced to show for court. Whatever you do you should never not obey an officer. They have the legal authority to compel you and if you do not follow his orders he can use force to compel you. If you believe something is wrong you dispute it in the court room not on the street.
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