[SPINTECK]

most interesting thing is that it show the person who tazered obtained the tape by filing a public records request. Most people don't know about their rights and are intimidated into being abused.



http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2007/11/22/aqui.youtube.taser.cnn

 

[Toshi]

that officer is the worst kind of scumbag. makes me sick.

 

[sanjuro]

thats an abuse of power and thats no joke.

 

[valve bouncer]

Silence you pissy panted little girls, that limp-wristed commie (probably an illegal immigrant too) was lucky he wasn't blown apart with a Claymore for his insubordination. We need to make that officer president.

 

[manimal]

that officer is a puss. That driver displayed passive resistance at most. If the officer wanted to arrest him, for whatever reason, and the dude just says "no" and walks away, he should have just put some hands on the driver; i mean, it's not like the driver turned and took up a fighting stance, he just didn't want to listen.

me thinks that department will be paying out some cash.

 

[blue]

And here I was, thinking the state troopers were the only good LEOs here...

*sigh*

I guess some professions attract more delinquent and socially deficient misfits than others?

 

[stevew]

I hope someone starts a new tazer thread tomorrow.

My life wouldn't be complete without one.

 

[RenegadeRick]

that officer is a puss. That driver displayed passive resistance at most. If the officer wanted to arrest him, for whatever reason, and the dude just says "no" and walks away, he should have just put some hands on the driver; i mean, it's not like the driver turned and took up a fighting stance, he just didn't want to listen.

Wow, even the cops are getting in on the armchair quarterbacking now? I can't believe it. You don't know what it was like man. You weren't there. That guy was big and scary and dangerous. He was a total threat with his wife and kids in the car... well ok, maybe not so much.

On a more serious note, the CNN clip is so heavily edited you miss out on some of the quality bits like the cop never telling this guy he was going to be under arrest if he did not sign the ticket and jumping straight to the taser as soon as he asks the guy to turn around. You miss the part where he threatens to take the guy's wife to jail. You miss the part where he refuses to read this guy his rights. You miss the part where he searches the driver's area of the vehicle and get to hear the babies crying even over the highway noise, and best of all you miss the part where he tells the assisting officer at the end that he told the guy, "turn around right now or I'll taser you", which was an outright lie.

You can watch the full video here.

At the end, I think the issue is summed up pretty well by the cop has to say about this guy, "he's completely in charge." This seems to be the problem. It seems that any time anyone questions anything an officer is doing it is perceived as a threat and can lead to a violent response. In today's society it seems saying anything other than "Yes, sir. Thank you, sir. May I have another, sir?" is inviting violent and potentially life-threatening retribution.

The cop felt that this guy was not complying and in my opinion all he was asking for was an explanation of what he was stopped for. He did not know that signing a ticket was not an admission of guilt. The officer could have explained this. He was never told he was being placed under arrest. If the officer had communicated more clearly things would have gone much better.

 

[BMXman]

I hope someone starts a new tazer thread tomorrow.

My life wouldn't be complete without one.

exactly...I think both parties were at fault...if you're going to challenge a cop you're already skating on this ice whether you're right or wrong...D

 

[manimal]

Wow, even the cops are getting in on the armchair quarterbacking now? I can't believe it. You don't know what it was like man. You weren't there. That guy was big and scary and dangerous. He was a total threat with his wife and kids in the car... well ok, maybe not so much.

the only way i can see him getting the ok on this one is if he can articulate that he was trying to effect an arrest and the driver was attempting to flee by getting back into the vehicle. but it sounds like he never even mentioned the "you're under arrest part" and had already planned to tase the dude.
that is why i'm glad my department waited so long to issue tasers and write an in-depth taser use policy.

 

[profro]

that is why i'm glad my department waited so long to issue tasers and write an in-depth taser use policy.

Did you have to get tazed?

 

[ohio]

exactly...I think both parties were at fault...if you're going to challenge a cop you're already skating on this ice whether you're right or wrong...D

I like most of what you write/share, but of all of the posters in this forum, you seem the most eager to forfeit any right to question authority. To me, that's a completely foreign concept and I'm curious what experiences have brought you to that.

I will absolutely, always exercise a legal right to calmly and rationally question my government; doing any less than that is to invite the government to believe that people don't have that right.

 

[Silver]

exactly...I think both parties were at fault...if you're going to challenge a cop you're already skating on this ice whether you're right or wrong...D

Yeah, that's the way it worked in the Soviet Union and East Germany as well. You're setting the bar awfully low, but I will point out that at least we don't disappear people that often (unless they happen to be Muslim, of course...) in this country.

Seriously, at this point you could post video of the cops shoving a plunger up Abner Louima's ass and you'd find a way to blame it on the victim.

 

[manimal]

I like most of what you write/share, but of all of the posters in this forum, you seem the most eager to forfeit any right to question authority. To me, that's a completely foreign concept and I'm curious what experiences have brought you to that.

I will absolutely, always exercise a legal right to calmly and rationally question my government; doing any less than that is to invite the government to believe that people don't have that right.

agreed, but i think what bmxman is getting at is that there is a time and place to question authority. on the street when it's you and the cop is not the time to debate the issue, that's what court is for. every cop is trained to control a situation thus giving the officer the final say in what goes down, right or wrong. every citizen is obligated to resist an unlawful arrest but the problem with that is the difference of opinion on the scene since it's obvious that the officer believes he's in the right. the best bet is to go along for the time being and handle the situation in court when things have cooled down. the officer in will look like a fool in court when you prove that he/she was in the wrong.

 

[manimal]

Did you have to get tazed?

it's not mandatory but i was tazed a while back when i went through a school with the sheriff's department. something i'll never forget but i still hate pepper spray more than electricity.

 

[BMXman]

Yeah, that's the way it worked in the Soviet Union and East Germany as well. You're setting the bar awfully low, but I will point out that at least we don't disappear people that often (unless they happen to be Muslim, of course...) in this country.

Seriously, at this point you could post video of the cops shoving a plunger up Abner Louima's ass and you'd find a way to blame it on the victim.

I like most of what you write/share, but of all of the posters in this forum, you seem the most eager to forfeit any right to question authority. To me, that's a completely foreign concept and I'm curious what experiences have brought you to that.

I will absolutely, always exercise a legal right to calmly and rationally question my government; doing any less than that is to invite the government to believe that people don't have that right.

ok more specifically what I'm saying is...you have to realize the cop is in a position of power...and on the side of the road is not the right place to challenge that...I agree with the guy being arrested and his point of view....but if my wife and kids are in the car. I would choose to carry on the battle at a later time when the playing field is a bit more level...D

 

[BMXman]

agreed, but i think what bmxman is getting at is that there is a time and place to question authority. on the street when it's you and the cop is not the time to debate the issue, that's what court is for. every cop is trained to control a situation thus giving the officer the final say in what goes down, right or wrong. every citizen is obligated to resist an unlawful arrest but the problem with that is the difference of opinion on the scene since it's obvious that the officer believes he's in the right. the best bet is to go along for the time being and handle the situation in court when things have cooled down. the officer in will look like a fool in court when you prove that he/she was in the wrong.

exactly...now if I only thought this way when I was 15-20 years old....D

 

[blue]

agreed, but i think what bmxman is getting at is that there is a time and place to question authority. on the street when it's you and the cop is not the time to debate the issue, that's what court is for. every cop is trained to control a situation thus giving the officer the final say in what goes down, right or wrong. every citizen is obligated to resist an unlawful arrest but the problem with that is the difference of opinion on the scene since it's obvious that the officer believes he's in the right. the best bet is to go along for the time being and handle the situation in court when things have cooled down. the officer in will look like a fool in court when you prove that he/she was in the wrong.

You know damn well the local traffic "court" is a sham anyway...your best bet is to talk with the officer about the issue, rather than drive 4 hours to bumfvck Yootah (In this case, Vernal) to duke it out with a JP whos job is only to rake in revenue for the municipality anyway.

More rigourous standards need to be put in place for LEOs across the board, especially here. They're so hard up for people, if you breathe and can pass the POST junk you're in. The "psychological screening" is a joke...a background check and asking someone 20 questions about shooting up a shopping mall does not adequately size up someone for a position of such authority in society.

That said, IMHO an officer should be able to rationally justify to a "suspect" on a traffic stop why they were stopped. I got really fvcking tired of getting stopped when I drove a rustbucket, simply because I drove a rustbucket.

 

[jimmydean]

He was clearly resisting. The officer asked him like 3 times to step back and the last time he meant it.

My guess is the next time that dude gets pulled over, he listens a bit more closely.

 

[syadasti]

More tazer abuse - Austin, TX - 70 in a 65 - 5mph over the limit:

http://www.break.com/index/driver-gets-tazed-for-being-slow1.html

 

[ohio]

Seriously, how are they STILL making the same mistakes. I've got to assume that the Utah video did the rounds at every PD in the country...

If I were a cop I would be terrified of using a tazer even in a justified situation for fear of all the scrutiny regarding tazer use right now.

 

[blue]

UHP Trooper got off scot-free, btw.

 

[Silver]

UHP Trooper got off scot-free, btw.

Linky?

Not that I don't trust you, I'd just like to have that in writing somewhere so we can pull it up in a search the next time we hear about how well the police manage to police themselves...

 

[blue]

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=2245753

 

[Echo]

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=2245753

Looks like the cop will still get disciplined and the door is wide open for a civil suit.

 

[Silver]

Looks like the cop will still get disciplined and the door is wide open for a civil suit.

I love this part:

"I would be very concerned if I was trying to arrest someone and they turned their back to me, started to put their hand in their pocket, walking back to the car," Duncan said.

That's fine, except I never heard the officer say he was going to arrest the guy. Apparently not being able to read a cop's mind is grounds for being tasered now...glad to see another internal review has been run so smoothly.

 

[Echo]

That whole "signing the ticket" thing sounds kind of silly anyway. In NY, they hand you your ticket and send you on your way with a smile. Why the hell would I need to sign it?

 

[Zark]

Just once when I see a thread on the monkey titled "tazer abuse" I want it to be someone casing a double on an Intense.

Another douchebag, jumped-up hall moniter abusing his authority...sick of it.

 

[goofy]

That whole "signing the ticket" thing sounds kind of silly anyway. In NY, they hand you your ticket and send you on your way with a smile. Why the hell would I need to sign it?

I Pa. you have to sign it. All your saying is that you understand what the ticket is for not an admission of guilt, and I believe in most states that make you sign it that is the reason.
If the tasee didn't understand what he was being charged with then it's the cops fault for not explaining it.

 

[BMXman]

I Pa. you have to sign it. All your saying is that you understand what the ticket is for not an admission of guilt, and I believe in most states that make you sign it that is the reason.

It's the same in California...but you don't have to sign it if you don't want to....in some states your signature is mandatory!....D

 

[blue]

It's the same in California...but you don't have to sign it if you don't want to....in some states your signature is mandatory!....D

When I got a ticket a couple days ago, the SLPD cop was like "Don't worry, I won't taze you if you don't sign..."

I lolled.

 

[syadasti]

Man this videographer didn't taser these willful law breakers on their illegal donut break, what gives?