VIDEO: Driver Tased For Asking Why He Was Stopped

VIDEO: Driver Tased For Asking Why He Was Stopped

rinf.com

A man was tased and arrested on a Utah highway after being stopped by an officer and refusing to sign a speeding ticket because he did not understand what offence he had committed or why he had been pulled over.

The encounter, captured on the police car camera on September 14th and released this week, is the latest in a long string of incidents involving the unacceptable use of Tasers by officers on citizens whom the evidence reveals are in no way threatening, acting unlawfully or resisting

(visit the link for the full news article)

In your opinion was the officer right in tazing this guy? Did he seem like a threat? What happened to respect?

As this article states this shows just how far our civil rights a have been eroded.

rinf.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

Of course not...

The american cops seem to be bloody mental over there... what's going on?

Are the cops that scared of people that normal conversations have to be conducted over a hideously large number of volts?

That's seriously messed up.

R.I.P the land of the free, America is the new nazi germany!!!

I saw the vid, the guy being pulled over should of not had in hand in his pocket, i think thats where the officer felt the threat was. Also, the guy being pulled over should of been more civilzed towads as to why he was being pulled over and shuld of been more conversational.

But then again, this cop wasnt allowing him to do so. I feel it was a little right in tasering him, but i think it could have been avoided. The cop came out way too rough also, that wasnt right.


Still, this seems to be a normal occurance here in the US unfortuantly, with these cops rampantly flexing their power over us. Pretty soon, we may not even have a 2nd Amendment at all.......

This guy got tased because he was tase-able(i wonder when the spell checker will recognize the word tase, that will be the day)

It was just one of those "I am going to tase the next guy I can" kind of days

The taser was introduced as a way to reduce gun fatalities, but I find it hard to believe that this guy would have not cooperated if the officer unholstered his gun instead of tasing him.

The scary part was when he lies to the 2nd cop about how he had warned the guy(as mandated by state law) before he tased him, maybe he just forgot, but it is scary either way

This event shows that, compliance with authority is a greater concern then the actual crime, as far as the police are concerned.

If the cop had made a mistake(it happens) then every violation that occurred after the officers mistake becomes overturned in court. Although it is hard to over turn that taser sting

Failure to read a prisoner his rights is a big no no, it threatens the case for the court system and draws automatic internal affairs investigations for the police department, retraining and the such, so now nobody likes this cop

Here's an interesting tid bit a friend told me the other day.

He said he had a cousin that was arrested for an assault and didn't have his rights read to him at the time of arrest, nor upon being booked.

His lawyer told him that the police don't have to inform you of your 5th amendment rights unless they are about to question you.

I'm not sure if this is true or not but it don't sound right to me.

Does this sound true to anyone here???

Later, Ausable_Bill

Yeah i kind of felt as though the guy being stopped could have gone about things a little differently. However as the previous poster pointed out the cop really wasnt giving him any chance to remain calm and respectful. I am sorry but, "you were going a little fast there" is not telling him why he was being cited. He had every right to know what speed he was going to provoke the stop in the first place. When he exited his car he should have kept his hands out of his pockets, taken a little less "threatning" posture. But what would that be? If he had his arms crossed that could be threatning, if he was talking using his hands, that could be threatning. He would have stood there with his hands at his sides and talked in a soft tone in order to be non threatning. It would be hard at this date and time to be calm when stopped by a police officer who wasnt giving proper cause as to why you took time out of your day to stop and answer his questions. I think the cop went a little too far, but things could have been handled different on the other guys side also. It is getting bad though, and i think people are getting tired of their rights being challenged all the time. There are still alot of cops out there that do the job because they want to serve, but there seem to be more like this officer, that has the power trip of you obey me, or i will subject you to pain until you submit. I think in order to go home every night, officers need to keep their heads on straight and not give too much trust to people they deal with. I talked to an officer one time and he said well everyone we stop we have to think that is the enemy, they want to hurt us, that is what keeps us alive. Unfortunately what that has done has put the officer into that frame of mind, and in turn has put the citizen in that frame of mind now also. Who knows when you get pulled over what loose nut is behind that wheel.

Yes yet another sign of police brutality and a total disregard for an individuals rights and the rule of law, and I'm told the US is not turning into a police state.

On the Cops Side:

He had to ask the driver multiple times for his license and registration.

The driver should have just signed the ticket, it is NOT an admission of guilt. It simply says he is aware of the ticket and will be in court, almost like posting bail. A refusal to sign means that you can be arrested and held in jail until you see a judge, just like if you don't post bail.

The driver had his hands in his pockets, and walked away after being ordered to turn around multiple times. I'm not a cop but I've seen enough videos of people starting that slow, "i'm just creeping along this way walk", only to run or pull out a weapon. Does that happen all the time? No. But it only takes once and the policemen who protect our communities are well aware of that and are not willing to risk their lives, or the safety of others in these situations. As a police officer you can't wait on second chances or think "ah, he's probably a good guy."

On the Drivers Side:

The police officer did not communicate well with the driver. Even a simple warning of, "if you don't turn around/listen I WILL taze you." The driver saw the tazer but obviously didn't feel it was going to be used on him.

The stop would have been like any other stop had the driver not been tazed and I feel a little more communication could have avoided that.

The problem is that policemen see what could happen, the guy with the gun or knife in his pocket. And the driver, in this case, knows he isn't going to attack the officer so he does not perceive himself as a threat, even though he may be presenting himself as one. It's really a matter of perception.

Well now I speak from experience when I say that I have
3 years law enforcement experience and I'll try to explain
my viewpoint of this incident.

There were several things went wrong in this incident.

Firstly, the Officers wrongdoings:

1) Law Enforcement Protocols and Procedures do NOT
teach officers to stand directly in front of the drivers'
window as that is the best way to get a head blown off.
He is supposed to stay behind the drivers window
to prevent any harm to the officer.

2) He turned his back to the suspect after he realized this wasn't
going the way he wanted it to.

3) The tasering was appropriate in this case and I'll explain why.
The suspect did not obey the officers verbal commands. He
asked him to raise his hands which he refused. He kept his hands
in his pocket which made the officer feel insecure. On top of that
the suspect started moving back toward the driver's door which
could have been viewed as a threat since the officer had no idea
if the suspect had a gun under the seat. Once he refused to raise
his hands and he started back to the vehicle. The officer was reacting
to the suspect's intentions and movement. The suspect got what he
deserved.

4) The female passenger posed a threat as well when she exited the
vehicle. He should have drew his weapon at that point as his taser's
one shot capacity had already been used. But he only raised his cuffs
at her which wouldn't have done much good if she had a weapon.

5) He did not call for back-up as soon as the guy refused to sign
the citation. That was the sign this stop was not a good one. Before he
asked him to exit the vehicle he should have went back toward his car
and called for assistance. He did things in the wrong order and omitted
some protocols altogether.

6) Once tasered, the officer left him on the side of the road close
to traffic and went back to the vehicle. He could have been hit
by a passing car and the officer would have faced involuntary
manslaughter charges due to negligence. He should have immediately
placed him in the cruiser for safety of the individual.

Even though he made some mistakes in procedure doesn't mean
he did anything illegal NOR did he use excessive force for the
situation. Matter of fact in my opinion he did not use enough
force to control this situation. I would have grabbed the guy and threw
him onto the hood of my cruiser and cuffed his ass before he walked
back toward the vehicle. His hand in his pockets were plenty enough
threat in my opinion to warrant the force.

The driver's wrongdoing:

1) Rule #1, never ever argue with a cop. If you do, you're going to jail
or else you're gonna get the # kicked out of ya before you get there.

2) Be courteous to the officer EVEN if you think he is wrong as that
sort of stuff can be worked out later in court with a lawyer present.

3) He did not follow the commands of the officer. He DID have the right
not to sign the citation. But he DID NOT have the right to disobey his
verbal commands for movement no matter what he thought he didn't
do.

4) The guy was an asshole in my opinion and got what he deserved.

5) As far as the title of this thread, I disagree and it is a little misleading
as I counted at least 4 times the officer stated the reason why he was
being arrested. Just because the driver don't agree with the officer
does not give him the right to disrespect the officer and his commands.
He was told many times, the driver was just being an asshole and
insubordinate.

As far as the outcome goes, the passenger may have gotten a ticket
but I don't think it will hold up in court if the passenger's attorney
wants to pursue the procedure errors. However, the resisting arrest
charge will stick due to the video tape actions by the driver.

[edit on 23-11-2007 by Zeta115]

[edit on 23-11-2007 by Zeta115]

That cop should be retired, he's a nutcase.
Totally outrageous and inappropriate use of force against an ordinary citizen.

Watching the video I was hoping some concerned passerby would run him over with a truck or something.
And people wonder why so many cops get shot in the line of duty.
A police state based on force has to be resisted by force.
It's that or slavery.

[edit on 11/23/07 by xmotex]

Excellent analysis Zeta.

Too often we get used to the patience shown by the cops and feel it's OK to talk back.

But what we don't realize, maybe, is that the cops do not have to be that patient, they don't have to struggle to cuff people and they don't have to give a command twice.

There are probably training videos out there where this scenario is played out almost exactly and the actor (cop) gets shot by the female passenger who -looks- innocent, with the pregnancy and all, but is, in fact, armed.

I wouldn't be surprised though if -this- video also becomes a training vid as an illustration of the many errors the cop made.

I was wondering if anyone would pick up on the way he left the guy cuffed lying so close to the highway!

Nice job and a star for you.

Zeta , How wrong you are,it was obvious that this person was not a threat and had done nothing wrong, the officer said you were going kind of fast, well was he driving fast or not. The driver quite rightly thought he had done nothing wrong and all the officer had to do was give him a verbal warning.

The police today all to quickly resort to violence as the first choice, and may I remind you that citizens have rights, rights to question the officer and his actions, a right to defend himself if he thinks his safety is in danger, obviously you think people dont have rights and the police can do what they like, well no they cannot.

This driver stopped he did not drive away he did not threaten the offficer in any way, and aren't these offficers supposed to be trained proffesionals, obviously not, this is police brutality and miss use of powers and abuse of civil rights.

What you are really saying is were the police were god all mighty we can do what we like and get away with it, well yes you will get away with it for a while but maybe next time you will get your head blown off by some one who has been on the receiving end of police brutallity.

Your supposed to be public servants not knuckle dragging thugs who inflict pain for a laugh.

reply to post by Ausable_Bill


If you are being ARRESTED you have to be read your rights.

If you are just in handcuffs, that does NOT mean you are being arrested. It is to contain/control someone. That is it.


*off to watch the video...back w/ opinions*

XMO, Good reply, and if my pregnant wife had been tasered the cop would have got kneecapped, an eye for an eye.
These cretins make ciminals of ordinary citizens.

reply to post by Zeta115


I agree with Zeta 1000%

The driver was a huge pain in the arse.
Im sick and tired of the cop bashing....and just as sick of people who think they are above the law. Give me a break.

[edit on 23-11-2007 by greeneyedleo]

reply to post by greeneyedleo


Well, his court appointed attorney told him that "technically they don't have to, because he was never questioned by the police"

If it was me, I'd have fired that lawyer on the spot and hired another one.

Now this has my curiosity up, so I'm off to read up on Michigan laws.

Later,... Ausable_Bill

reply to post by magicmushroom


It is not obvious from the cop's perspective that the man and his wife were not threats. How do you know? For all this cop knows he has pulled over drug dealers or violent people. I know it doesn't sound right to go about assuming the worst in everyone but I think your view would change if you spent some time working as a police officer. I'm not defending how he handled the situation, but a person who refuses to give information and listen to a repeated set of simple instructions has put himself into the threat category. As well as another individual, pregnant wife or not, coming from the other side of the vehicle.

It is very easy for us to watch a video like this outside of this police officers experience but we have to try to see him as an individual. He is not representative of an overbearing police force set to taze away the rights of the population. He is one man, concerned and worried about his own safety in the situation. Again, he may not have made the right choices but I don't believe his intention was based on anything other than his perceived personal safety.

Magicmushroom, I don't mean this as anything against you, just trying to expand on the perception of threat from the police officers point of view.

Green you think asking a cop a few questuions makes him a pain in the arse, so I'm right then cops are just knuckle dragging morons who cannot do real tekie jobs because there cranialy challenged as more than two questions sends them into neanderthal mode.

Originally posted by magicmushroom
he did not drive away he did not threaten the offficer in any way,

That is not true
He was a threat just as soon as he kept his hands in his pockets
after the officer told him to raise them. It was after this fact
that he got tasered. What this driver lacks is discipline and
respect. Undoubtedly, he did not have a good family upbringing
which he should have learned the respect part there.

Also, every driver's course in every state in the US teaches
drivers what to do in case they are pulled over by a cop.
This driver did not do those things. I'm not taking up for
the officer nor am I taking up for the driver. Both made
mistakes in this incident. But I'm afraid the court is gonna
look at it as which one made the least mistakes. In that case,
the officer made the least mistakes. And yes, professionals
DO make mistakes. But a mistake this small does not
warrant retirement or wishing the officer had been run
over and killed while doing his job.

A cop has one thing in mind while he performs his duties.
He's gonna go home to his family at the end of his shift.
Any threat to that intention is gonna be met with
fierce resistance on the part of ALL cops everywhere.
But some cops never make it home due to situations
just like this one had the driver had his own agenda.
However, the cop did not know what that agenda was
and could not afford to risk harm any further.

I'd also like to mention that I am NOT a cop anymore as I
left law enforcement back in the late 90's. But I did have
hundreds of vehicle stops and a few chases in my time.
But tasers were not widely used in my era. But I was
certified in Baton, Pepper Spray and on the 40-Cal Glock
pistol. And I would have used any of them OR ALL of them
in order to make it home safe to my family.

[edit on 23-11-2007 by Zeta115]