Video: Cop repeatedly punching a 53 year old woman in the face

Originally posted by Willbert
And I'm to believe an officer?? Because he carries a badge and works for the goverment. He does not work for the citizens. He represents the goverment and is an inforcer.

Based on your paranoid statement here, I dont expect you to believe anyone except for the radio waves that breach your tin foil hat.

Originally posted by Willbert
I don't see the car moving do you? Even if blocked.. why is the car not moving? Oh. thats right.. It was'nt.

And again this goes back to the publics lack of understanding and knowledge about Laws and law enforcement action. Many people have taken the time in this thread to explain how it works, and some people are not going to accept it regardless of what evidence or laws are produced. You have made up your mind and nothing will change that, so we should end our back and forth here, since nothing productive will come from it.

You believe what you want.. Its a free country...

You have made up your own mind based off of a lack of understanding and knowledge coupled with apparent extreme paranoia and distrust in a stereotypical manner.

The Troopers actions were found justified by the PA.
The UHP is looking if agency policies were violated on their end.
The driver who is at fault is being prosecuted.

A good ending to a bad encounter.

I am not going to have this buried:

Update

UHP trooper punches woman after car chase

OGDEN, Utah (ABC 4 News) – A Utah Highway Patrol trooper is on paid leave resulting from an incident after a car chase in August.

Police say on August 28th 2010, Darla Jo Wright was driving her car erratically and evaded troopers after they attempted to pull her over.

UHP troopers were able to stop the chase by performing a “pit maneuver” that caused Wright’s silver 2000 Pontiac to lose control.

More info has been released from the Troopers report of the incident.

In his police report Davenport stated:


"I used my window punch to break the front window but the window tint stopped the glass from falling out of the frame. I pushed the window in and observed that the suspect was still gripping the wheel with both hands and trying to push our vehicles out of the way. She refused to comply with commands to give us her hands. Due to my close proximity to the suspect and my experience with Taser failure at such close distances I delivered three close hand strikes to her head in an attempt to gain compliance with our commands. I did this to distract and stun her and to stop her from trying to drive off and strike our vehicles or possibly run us over. The strikes worked and we were able to grab her hands. At this time I observed that Trooper Whitehead has deployed his Taser as sometime during the contact."


Davenport is currently on paid administrative leave as UHP continues an internal investigation into the matter.

This is released from the Troopers report. He accounts for the hits to the window, and why the windw required more force than normal to break. He accounts for his actions once the window was breached, talking about Taser failures at close range.

To those not familiar with how Taser works, the probes transmit on the same frequency as the brain to control motor control. The signal from taser is "stronger" than the brain signal, causing the muscle to involuntarily spasm. The effectiveness of the Taser is dependant on penetration and well as the probe spread.

As with any circuit, the path of travel is the path of least resistance between the 2 contact points. In a close hit with probes, the taser can lose effectiveness. That information is supported by data from Taser as well as from reports by Police Agencies.

According the UHP, their is still an internal ivestigation ongoing.

Utah Highway Patrol Spokesman Brian Hyer said UHP could not comment on this specific case but stated an investigation is ongoing, "“We do have the ability and responsibility to hold people accountable for their actions in any case where there may be issues that are serious and we take that responsibility very seriously.”

The Prosecuting attorney for Weber County reviewed the dash cam footage as well as the Troopers actions and came to the conclusion:

The Weber County Attorney’s office looked at the video along with other evidence. The county attorney told ABC 4 he did not see any actions from the trooper that warranted a Class A misdemeanor or felony for him to prosecute.

As far as charges against the suspect.

He (Weber County PA) is in the process of prosecuting Wright for her actions that led to the pursuit.

reply to post by Willbert


Whether the car was moving, or she was trying to move it is irrelevant in my opinion. She had already ran, endangering other peoples lives, simply because she is an idiot and ran from the police.

Her window was up... Does it matter if she rolls it down?(she did just run from the police) Then she wouldn't take her hands off the wheel.. I know I would have believed she was resisting further..

I hope she is charged and the police officer is given back his full duties! I would have pepper sprayed, then punched, if not worse...

People that run from the police are true idiots.. In the most truthful sense of the word... Idiots!!!

Data places the figure far higher: 2,500 people die and 55,000 people are injured annually as a result of high speed chases. One out of four chase-fatalities are bystanders.

Read more: Law Enforcement - High-speed Pursuits: To Protect And To Swerve - Police, Chases, Chase, People, Pursue, and Training
social.jrank.org...

reply to post by CharlesBronson74


The weight of the officer compared to the woman had absolutely nothing to do with it. And if we are comparing weights, the vehicle the woman was in control of outweighed the officer by over 1000 lbs.

The force that was used was not for punishment. The force that was used was to stop the actions of the woman and take her into custody. You have to separate the actions of a police officer and force used from the punishment given to the person. The police do not punish people. The courts do. Anytime an officer uses force it is to apprehend someone or stop their actions because they threaten someone's safety.

Just because she was boxed in does not mean she was not going anywhere. If you jam the gas enough and turn the wheel vehicles can break free.

reply to post by Xcathdra


That video is a completely different scenario than the one the OP posted. In this situation there was ONE officer, not a group of officers, surrounded by possible threats. The woman who got jacked was intervening in an arrest and touched the officer in a hostile manner, (get the *uck off of her!). The lady in the video the OP posted was in a vehicle and did nothing to show an intent to harm the officer before he started punching her in the face. She couldn't have hit him if she wanted to.

Like it's been said a million times before, he shouldn't have even been that close to her vehicle to begin with. He should have drawn his weapon and ordered her to get out of the vehicle, while the other cop tazed her. Then she could have been dragged out.

reply to post by Xcathdra


I think your post and especially the links to the article explain the officers justification for his actions. Like you said some folks minds are just made up for whatever reason.

reply to post by apodictic


The intent behind the post was to demontrate law enforcement action taken against females. There is another post that shows officers arresting intoxicated females that result in fights. Several members made the comment that because the suspect was A. Female and B. Intoxicated, that any trained male should have any easy time controlling her and extracting her from a motor vehicle while she is resisting.

I posted the videos to showits not as easy as people are trying to make it out to be, and a lot of other factors are taken into account that the general public does not A. know about or B. ignore because it does not fit their moral views.

There is nothing wrong with that, but in the end the officers actions can only be viewed in the sense of what the officer perceived at the exact moment use of force occured.

People are making their arguments off the video, as well as the sequence of events. What they fail to take into account is that knowledge throws their argument off. The officers had no idea what was going on when the incident went down. They assumed the driver was intoxicated based on observed driving discrepanices, and it goes from there.

Its like an argument between a kid who failed a pop quiz and a kid who took the test the following week who had all the answers.

They are not comparbale, and the argument is off.

As the update posted shows.

The troopers actions were not criminal according to the PA review.
The UHP is continuing their internal investigation to see if policy was violated.
The suspect is being charged for her actions.

I would really hate to be having a seizure, stroke or heart attack on the road with cops who are on the edge ,like this around. Not being able to get out the car when ordered, talk to the officer, or follow directions........
Not saying a medical emergency was the case here, but what if it was?
I'm sure being repeatedly punched after having a stroke would mean lights out permanently.
And being tasered during a stroke, yeah I'm sure that would help the situation too.....

They had the situation under control, her car wasn't going anywhere....so the response was way over the top.
Especially considering at that point they had no idea why she was driving erratically....

reply to post by Flighty


Lol arguments like this are insane. You are basing your scenario of a medical emergency off what occured in this video. I have dealt with situations you have described, and I can tell you the use of force is no where near what you are insinuating would occur.

When verbal commands are issued, and ignored, we look for reasons why. A person ignoring a verbal command while making definative, precise movement would tend to show the person is purposely ignoring the commands. Is the person deaf? Its a possibility.

However, even deaf people, and I have dealt with them as well, will make gestures to indicate that they are deaf.

A person suffering from a medical emergency, who are involved in a "pursuit" will act in a manner that would raise flags that something else might be going on. Aside from a diabetic problem, other medical conditions people have suggested are not going to give off the vibe of a master criminal.

I was dispatched to a posible DWI driver on the highway driving the wrong way. After a very short pursuit, the driver stopped, and myslef and an officer from another agency did our thing. When we got the lady out of the car, it was apparent she was not intoxicated. We called for an ambulance because she suffered from Alzheimers. She left a function, it kicked in, and she got confused an lost.

At no point was this lady thrown to the ground, dragged out of the car or manhandeled. The reason being her actions were inconsistent with what we were expecting. Could it have turned bad for us? Absolutely.

We wont know until contact is made, and even then depending on whats going on, its snap judgement.

As with any profession, theyhave their share of idiots... From Law Enforcement, to Military to Government, to Citizens, to people in these forums. There is no getting around it, so we must accept it and move on.

As I said before, A cop dealing with a situation like the trooper would look for a medical reason as much as a Paramedic would look for a serial killer while working a medical call.

Update

UHP trooper punches woman after car chase

OGDEN, Utah (ABC 4 News) – A Utah Highway Patrol trooper is on paid leave resulting from an incident after a car chase in August.

Police say on August 28th 2010, Darla Jo Wright was driving her car erratically and evaded troopers after they attempted to pull her over.

UHP troopers were able to stop the chase by performing a “pit maneuver” that caused Wright’s silver 2000 Pontiac to lose control.

More info has been released from the Troopers report of the incident.

In his police report Davenport stated:


"I used my window punch to break the front window but the window tint stopped the glass from falling out of the frame. I pushed the window in and observed that the suspect was still gripping the wheel with both hands and trying to push our vehicles out of the way. She refused to comply with commands to give us her hands. Due to my close proximity to the suspect and my experience with Taser failure at such close distances I delivered three close hand strikes to her head in an attempt to gain compliance with our commands. I did this to distract and stun her and to stop her from trying to drive off and strike our vehicles or possibly run us over. The strikes worked and we were able to grab her hands. At this time I observed that Trooper Whitehead has deployed his Taser as sometime during the contact."


Davenport is currently on paid administrative leave as UHP continues an internal investigation into the matter.

This is released from the Troopers report. He accounts for the hits to the window, and why the windw required more force than normal to break. He accounts for his actions once the window was breached, talking about Taser failures at close range.

To those not familiar with how Taser works, the probes transmit on the same frequency as the brain to control motor control. The signal from taser is "stronger" than the brain signal, causing the muscle to involuntarily spasm. The effectiveness of the Taser is dependant on penetration and well as the probe spread.

As with any circuit, the path of travel is the path of least resistance between the 2 contact points. In a close hit with probes, the taser can lose effectiveness. That information is supported by data from Taser as well as from reports by Police Agencies.

According the UHP, their is still an internal ivestigation ongoing.

Utah Highway Patrol Spokesman Brian Hyer said UHP could not comment on this specific case but stated an investigation is ongoing, "“We do have the ability and responsibility to hold people accountable for their actions in any case where there may be issues that are serious and we take that responsibility very seriously.”

The Prosecuting attorney for Weber County reviewed the dash cam footage as well as the Troopers actions and came to the conclusion:

The Weber County Attorney’s office looked at the video along with other evidence. The county attorney told ABC 4 he did not see any actions from the trooper that warranted a Class A misdemeanor or felony for him to prosecute.

As far as charges against the suspect.

He (Weber County PA) is in the process of prosecuting Wright for her actions that led to the pursuit.

reply to post by apodictic


I don't know about you, but I would rather get 4 to 5 jabs to the face, than get 2 barbs pulsing 50000 volts of electricity through me... I hear it makes you retarded for a good while afterward, and has a good chance of loss of bodily function...

For me, this is how the level of force should go.

1. Punch in the face
2. Pepper spray - Pepper spray (not common mace... Mace is like the baby of the sprays) is vicious and the effects last long and suck really really bad.
3) Baton Ouch ...
4) Tazer - I do not want to get shot by barbs that electrocute you
5) Gun - The end!

This is the order in which I would like /dislike force accordingly.

Being hit with Taser probes does not affect a persons mental capacity in any way shape or form. After the 5 seconds when it stops, the brain immediately regains control of all body movement. The loss of bodily function has occured only once to my knowledge.

Use of Force / Subject Resitance Control will vary from agency to agency. Some allow a taser to be used the momeny a person resists verbal commands, where other agencies require it to be used one step below deadly force. Case law, state law and policy will determine the continuum.


Use of Force - Florida

I wont post all the info, but people who are curious take some time to read it. It contains some good info and might help people at least understand our actions a little better. I am not expecting it to change anyones minds either. Juist keep in mind its not a standard, and will vary from state to state.

reply to post by Resurrectio


Yeah but the thing is on top of those jabs to the face she was also tazed. Getting zapped causes you to completely lose your motor functions i.e. she wouldn't have been able to accelerate the vehicle, where as she easily could have if it were just punches. The tazer is the only thing that should have been used in that situation, in my opinion. After all, that is why they're issued them.

Originally posted by apodictic
reply to post by RestingInPieces

 

Police protocol is to stay a safe distance away and assess your situation before making any moves, not run up, bust the window and start wailing on whoever is in the car. Shut up

They assess the situation in about 1/2 second while they are traversing the "safe distance" from their door to the door of the driver.

How many times have you seen a high speed chase end with a 15 minute intermission while the cop "figures out what's going on"? Hardly ever. They literally ALWAYS run up on the car AS SOON as it has stopped and either draw their weapons or yank the guy out of the car and throw him on the pavement. If you don't believe me there are thousands of youtube videos of high speed chases for you to watch.

Besides, what you say makes no sense. The purpose of the vehicular chase to to apprehend the driver. It doesn't matter if the driver is a 50 year old lady or a 5 year old kid. This means, apprehending him or her as soon and as quick as possible so that they can not continue to endanger bystanders, the cops, and themselves any longer.

So, go crawl back under your rock.

P.S Let me guess: When someone kills themselves because they get into a fatal crash while running from the police, it's the polices fault because they were chasing them???

reply to post by RestingInPieces


She was boxed in, she was tazed, she had no motor functions, she couldn't have done anything if she tried. Nice try though bud.

Originally posted by apodictic
reply to post by Resurrectio

 

Yeah but the thing is on top of those jabs to the face she was also tazed. Getting zapped causes you to completely lose your motor functions i.e. she wouldn't have been able to accelerate the vehicle, where as she easily could have if it were just punches. The tazer is the only thing that should have been used in that situation, in my opinion. After all, that is why they're issued them.

edit on 24-1-2011 by apodictic because: (no reason given)

An intersting counter argument. Question though... Can you point out in any of the Officers reporrts, on the video, or even the statements from the suspect herself that the taser was effective and worked? Just because it was deployed does not mean it was effective, or even made contact at all.

Originally posted by apodictic
reply to post by RestingInPieces

 

She was boxed in, she was tazed, she had no motor functions, she couldn't have done anything if she tried. Nice try though bud.

Officer accounts state she had the gas pedal floored attemtping to break her car free.
There is no evidence to support a claim that the taser deplooyed correctly, made contact, and was effective.
She had motor control based on the lack of information if the Taser was succesful.

She could. Even if the taser worked, its only works for 5 seconds. At that time the officer who deployed the taser will need to quickly re-evaluate and decide if the person will comply, or if it needs to be cycled again. A person who has been tased can still be handeled by other while the taser is active. As long as you dont touch the wires, or grab a part of the body that lies between where the 2 probes hit, there is no transferable affect to the officer.

Also, had the lady complied with all verbal commands, there never would have been a need to break the window, deploy a taser or utilise distraction techniques.

reply to post by Xcathdra


What is this woman's name? I can look. But you'd have to assume being roughly 4 feet away from the driver and pointing his tazer in the car, that it did indeed hit her. (otherwise he's a terrible shot.) And I'm sure tazers are far from faulty equipment because they need to be relied on if the officer is in danger.

Originally posted by apodictic
reply to post by Xcathdra

 

What is this woman's name? I can look. But you'd have to assume being roughly 4 feet away from the driver and pointing his tazer in the car, that it did indeed hit her. (otherwise he's a terrible shot.) And I'm sure tazers are far from faulty equipment because they need to be relied on if the officer is in danger.

I am going to assume you have never deployed a Law Enforcement Taser (either the M or X 26). The cartiridge that contains the probes are set in a specific way. One probe will fly straight, while the second probe is in an offset position. This is to allow for the probes to spread during transit. The reason for this, and as the trooper pointed out in his report, is effectiveness. The signal will travel between to the probe points, so the more space in between the probes, the better the effect of the taser.

As far as terrible shot goes, have you ever had to discharge a wepaon / taser in an encounter where a person is not standing still like a target, with sirens blaring, adrenile dumped because of the prsuit, all the while constantly evaluating and reevaluting the situation to determine appropriate level of force to use?

I can show you video where 2 cops were involved in a traffic stop with 2 men. A gunfight liteerally breaks out between all 4 in about 6 feet from each other, with no shots finding their marks. Its not as easy as you thinhk it is.

Faulty - That is a key word that is drilled into our heads from the moment we start the academy, to continuing education, to continuing weapon qualifications. The tools we use, from batons, to pepper spry, to Taser, to our duty weapons, to our patrol vehicles.

Its all man made, and because of that, fauilures happen. Factor in Murphys laws, and it will fail at the most Inopportune moment. Bullets fail, Bullet resistant vest fail, Tasers fail, taser cartridges fail, breaks fail, batons fail, pepper spray fails.

Another point drilled into us when involved in high stress situations is the reevaluation on a constant basis. If we are fighting hands on, and my training is not working as it hsould (a particular defensive tactic being used) we are trained to "change the channel". Meaning we immediately move to another technique in order to overcome the resistance and gain control.

As far as her name and info, here you go.

Update

UHP trooper punches woman after car chase

OGDEN, Utah (ABC 4 News) – A Utah Highway Patrol trooper is on paid leave resulting from an incident after a car chase in August.

Police say on August 28th 2010, Darla Jo Wright was driving her car erratically and evaded troopers after they attempted to pull her over.

UHP troopers were able to stop the chase by performing a “pit maneuver” that caused Wright’s silver 2000 Pontiac to lose control.

More info has been released from the Troopers report of the incident.

In his police report Davenport stated:


"I used my window punch to break the front window but the window tint stopped the glass from falling out of the frame. I pushed the window in and observed that the suspect was still gripping the wheel with both hands and trying to push our vehicles out of the way. She refused to comply with commands to give us her hands. Due to my close proximity to the suspect and my experience with Taser failure at such close distances I delivered three close hand strikes to her head in an attempt to gain compliance with our commands. I did this to distract and stun her and to stop her from trying to drive off and strike our vehicles or possibly run us over. The strikes worked and we were able to grab her hands. At this time I observed that Trooper Whitehead has deployed his Taser as sometime during the contact."


Davenport is currently on paid administrative leave as UHP continues an internal investigation into the matter.

This is released from the Troopers report. He accounts for the hits to the window, and why the windw required more force than normal to break. He accounts for his actions once the window was breached, talking about Taser failures at close range.

To those not familiar with how Taser works, the probes transmit on the same frequency as the brain to control motor control. The signal from taser is "stronger" than the brain signal, causing the muscle to involuntarily spasm. The effectiveness of the Taser is dependant on penetration and well as the probe spread.

As with any circuit, the path of travel is the path of least resistance between the 2 contact points. In a close hit with probes, the taser can lose effectiveness. That information is supported by data from Taser as well as from reports by Police Agencies.

According the UHP, their is still an internal ivestigation ongoing.

Utah Highway Patrol Spokesman Brian Hyer said UHP could not comment on this specific case but stated an investigation is ongoing, "“We do have the ability and responsibility to hold people accountable for their actions in any case where there may be issues that are serious and we take that responsibility very seriously.”

The Prosecuting attorney for Weber County reviewed the dash cam footage as well as the Troopers actions and came to the conclusion:

The Weber County Attorney’s office looked at the video along with other evidence. The county attorney told ABC 4 he did not see any actions from the trooper that warranted a Class A misdemeanor or felony for him to prosecute.

As far as charges against the suspect.

He (Weber County PA) is in the process of prosecuting Wright for her actions that led to the pursuit.

reply to post by Xcathdra


You are correct in your assumption, and you make some good points. I guess I was just comparing the video to my personal morals. But you are correct, once you factor in adrenaline, fear, uncertainty and all that, the situation could end up differently. With that said, star for you good sir. Thanks for clearing some stuff up.

Originally posted by apodictic
reply to post by RestingInPieces

 

She was boxed in, she was tazed, she had no motor functions, she couldn't have done anything if she tried. Nice try though bud.

She clearly wasn't tazed. The officer shot the tazer into the car and promptly walked away.

Originally posted by Xcathdra
Another point drilled into us when involved in high stress situations is the reevaluation on a constant basis. If we are fighting hands on, and my training is not working as it hsould (a particular defensive tactic being used) we are trained to "change the channel". Meaning we immediately move to another technique in order to overcome the resistance and gain control.

And, conversely, when the level of resistance is decreased, so should the level of force. In this case, the woman gripping the steering wheel does not justify repeated punches to the face.

The rest of your post, which you have now re-posted four times to prevent your point from being ignored, ignores some important points, itself.

I pushed the window in and observed that the suspect was still gripping the wheel with both hands and trying to push our vehicles out of the way.

The video evidence clearly refutes this statement.

She refused to comply with commands to give us her hands.

Exactly what was he going to do with her hands, since the door was still closed, preventing him from extracting her from the vehicle? Surely he wasn't going to attempt to cuff her, through the window?

I did this to distract and stun her and to stop her from trying to drive off and strike our vehicles or possibly run us over.

Again, the video tells a different story.

He accounts for his actions once the window was breached, talking about Taser failures at close range.

But, wait, didn't he just say he didn't notice a Taser had been deployed until after he had punched her and gained control of her hands?

The Weber County Attorney’s office looked at the video along with other evidence. The county attorney told ABC 4 he did not see any actions from the trooper that warranted a Class A misdemeanor or felony for him to prosecute.

Well, maybe the prosecutor needs to take a closer look, because just like Davenport, he got this one wrong.

In case you missed it in this busy thread, here is my evaluation of the video www.abovetopsecret.com...