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Posted by: kwflatbed

By Ben Winslow and Geoff Liesik
The Deseret Morning News

SALT LAKE CITY — Thousands of people angry over a video showing a Utah Highway Patrol trooper using a Taser on a man stopped for speeding have vented on the Internet.
But some are writing about more than just calling the UHP to complain, or debating the merits of a traffic stop.
"OMG this cop needs to be killed," one person wrote on the Internet site YouTube, where the traffic stop video was first posted.
"I'm seriously going to kill this cop!!! I'm going to utah," wrote another.
"Someone please gut this officer," another posted. "Let him bleed out on the side of the road."
Some of those online comments have prompted the Utah Department of Public Safety to investigate the seriousness of the threats, as state public safety officials decide what to do about the initial traffic stop near Vernal that has become an Internet sensation, viewed nearly a million times.
Some online posts also threaten violence against Jared Massey and his wife, who were pulled over in the videotaped traffic stop.
"Right now, we have no substantial evidence or concern that the officer's life is in danger, but we will follow up," UHP Sgt. Jeff Nigbur said Monday. "We also want to look into that on behalf of Jared Massey's family."
Massey wished the online threats would stop.
"I wish people would have some common decency every once in a while," he said Monday. "When I posted the video it wasn't to vilify the guy, demean him or destroy him, and that's one of the things I hate about this."
"I wish people would realize and think about this: Trooper Gardner is a real person, he's got a real family. Real lives are being affected," Massey added.
The Utah Highway Patrol has received thousands of phone calls and e-mails from people on both sides of the traffic stop debate. A majority say the trooper was wrong to use the Taser.
"I think mostly it's people blowing off steam, and that's fine," Nigbur said. "But you can't say you're going to endanger somebody's life."
Massey said his family also received a few calls criticizing their decision to post the video on YouTube. There have been online posts saying Gardner would have been justified in shooting the Masseys.
Massey called the posts "unintelligent" and said those behind the hurtful messages aren't adding anything to the debate over the use of Tasers by police. He still stands by his decision to post the video on the Internet.
"I think it's a good thing that people know about it so we can say, 'How can we fix it so it doesn't happen again if it's wrong,' but not so we can act like morons," Massey said.
The clip, nearly 10 minutes long, shows UHP trooper Jon Gardner stopping an SUV being driven by 28-year-old Jared Massey on Sept. 14 on U.S. 40 near Vernal. On the tape, Massey can be heard refusing to sign a citation and arguing with Gardner if he was actually speeding, demanding to see the speed limit sign. The trooper ordered Massey out of his car, and the man begins walking toward the posted speed limit sign when Gardner pulls his Taser.
"Turn around, put your hands behind your back," Gardner says.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" a stunned Massey asks.
As Gardner repeats the command, Massey starts to walk back to the SUV. Part of his right hand is seen in his pants pocket.
"What the heck's wrong with you?" Massey asks as Gardner fires his Taser into the man's back.
Massey immediately stiffens and falls backward onto the road, screaming in pain. His wife, Lauren, gets out of the SUV screaming and is ordered back into the car or be arrested.
Massey got the dash-cam tape through a public records request and asked a friend to post the clip on YouTube after, he said, the UHP didn't respond quickly enough to his complaint about the traffic stop. The tape has become must-see online, and Massey has appeared on national TV talking about what happened to him.
It has also sparked a healthy debate over a person's rights when being pulled over. In Utah, a person can be arrested for failing to sign a citation. However, an officer has the discretion to simply write "refused to sign" and tell the person they must face the charge in court.
The UHP said it has expedited its investigation into the traffic stop and may render a decision by the end of the week. There has been discussion among UHP leadership about further training for troopers about traffic stops and Taser use.
"Are we going to learn from this? Absolutely," Nigbur said. "If we need to continue to train on the issue, that's something that we'll do."
Massey has said he is considering a lawsuit against the UHP.

Wire Service

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Posted by: Kilvinsky

Well, I've got mixed feelings about Massey. On the one hand the dork should never have posted that on YouTube. That damn site is a trainwreck waiting to happen for some innocent person, regardless of who it is. Clips can be taken so out of context and misinterpreted it's scary.

On the other hand, at least the guy is plainly stating what 'morons' are doing is wrong.

As for the trooper, I ain't supporting him, nor am I criticizing him. I wasn't there and can't guess why he felt the need to use the taser and I refuse to watch the damn clip. I'm just really sorry it's there and I DO condemn the YouTube people for establishing that site.

Then again, First Amendment and all....

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Posted by: OCKS

Massey posted the video so the police could fix what's wrong. What's wrong is he didn't do what the trooper told him to do. If he thought the ticket was wrong, the court is the place to disagree. Although it does look like he may have tased a little too quick, of course I wasn't there and it was his call not mine.

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Posted by: justanotherparatrooper

Would I have tazed him..probably not. On the other hand as Sine said he wasnt tazed for speeding but for being "non compliant"....Rule # 1 DO WHAT THE OFFICER TELLS YOU. You can always fight it in court.

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Posted by: Cinderella

Tasered man feels sorry for cop


A MAN who posted a video on YouTube of a Utah trooper Tasering him for refusing to sign a speeding ticket has asked people to stop making online threats against the officer.


Trooper Jon Gardner of the Utah Highway Patrol Tasered Jared Massey as he was walking back to his car on September 14.

The UHT has received thousands of phone calls and emails criticising Trooper Gardner since the video appeared on YouTube. There have also been online threats against the officer, Fox News reported.

"I wish people would have some common decency every once in awhile," Mr Massey said.

"When I posted the video it wasn't to vilify the guy, demean him or destroy him, and that's one of the things I hate about this.

"I wish people would realise and think about this: Trooper Gardner is a real person, he's got a real family. Real lives are being affected."

UHP spokesman Sgt Jeff Nigbur downplayed the insults.

"I think mostly it's people blowing off steam, and that's fine," he said.

"But you can't say you're going to endanger somebody's life."

Sgt Nigbur said there was no evidence that Trooper Gardner was in danger.

The UHP is still investigating the Tasering incident.




http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599...-13762,00.html

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Posted by: kwflatbed

SALT LAKE CITY --
The Utah trooper who used a stun gun on a motorist who was walking away from him in a confrontation widely viewed on YouTube is back on duty after taking a verbal communications course.
Trooper Jon Gardner returned to work recently after internal investigators question the motorist in the Sept. 14 confrontation on U.S. 40 in eastern Utah, said Col. Lance Davenport, commander of the state highway patrol.
The driver, Jared Massey, obtained the trooper's dashboard camera video through a public records request and posted it on YouTube in November. Gardner's superiors acknowledged that the attention on the video prompted them to speed up their review of the confrontation.
The state patrol had said soon after the video surfaced on YouTube that Gardner felt threatened and was justified in jolting driver Massey after Massey walked away from the trooper and refused to sign a speeding ticket.
The video shows Gardner drawing his stun gun after Massey refused the ticket.
A surprised Massey asks, "What the heck is wrong with you?"
Gardner fires, and Massey shrieks and falls.
"Face down! Face down! Put your hands behind your back!" Gardner orders.
A woman screaming hysterically emerges from the passenger side of the sport utility vehicle Massey was driving, and the trooper tells her to get back inside "or you're going to jail, too."
State patrol policy allows troopers to use a stun gun if someone is a threat to themselves or others and other means of control are unreasonable. Though an internal investigation has not concluded, Gardner's superiors have said while justified that his "attitude" was a problem and could be a good case study for training.
Gardner learned better conflict resolution skills after taking administrative leave in November, Davenport said.


Wire Service

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Posted by: Sniper

On-board camera footage is "public record" ??????? Wow.

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Posted by: kwflatbed

Tasered man sues Utah trooper


By Ben Winslow and Geoff Liesik
The Deseret Morning News

SALT LAKE CITY - The man who was Tasered and posted it on YouTube has now filed a federal lawsuit against the Utah Highway Patrol trooper who shocked him.

The lawsuit was filed Friday afternoon against UHP Trooper Jon Gardner, who pulled Jared Massey over for speeding on Sept. 14 on U.S. 40 near Vernal. It accuses him of excessive force and seeks an unnamed amount in damages.

"There was no need for Gardner to Taser Massey because Massey was non-violent, not threatening in any way, not fleeing and not resisting arrest," the lawsuit states.

Massey declined to comment on the lawsuit when contacted by the Deseret Morning News on Friday. In past interviews, he has said he didn't want to sue but wanted the trooper's superiors to decide if the conduct was appropriate.

In a Nov. 27 letter filed with the lawsuit, Massey called for Gardner to be "justly punished" by the UHP.

"I also request that those who have participated in the cover-up of this misconduct to be disciplined," he wrote, "and that other actions be taken to assure the public that this type of abuse by a highway patrol officer will not be allowed to occur and will not be covered up if it does occur in the future."

Frustrated that authorities were taking too long to investigate his complaint, Massey had the dash-cam recording of the traffic stop posted on YouTube in November. It became an international hit -- being viewed more than 1 million times.

In a version of the infamous traffic stop described in court papers, Massey disagreed that he was speeding, but wound up with a citation anyway. He refused to sign it because he wanted to see the speed limit sign.

"Signing a citation is not required under Utah law," Massey's lawyer Robert Sykes wrote in the lawsuit. "Gardner could have left the citation with Massey with the exact same effect as having Massey sign it."

Instead, Massey was ordered to exit to the vehicle, "as if to allow Massey to show him what he meant," the lawsuit said. Gardner walked to his cruiser as Massey left his SUV.

"Gardner never advised Massey, prior to Massey's exiting the vehicle, that he was under arrest, or that Gardner intended to put Massey under arrest after he exited the vehicle," Sykes wrote. "After Massey exited the vehicle, he walked calmly toward the officer's cruiser, pointing to the sign down the road with his left hand, and stating that he did not think he had been speeding prior to the 40 mph sign."

"While Massey was pointing forward with his left hand, his right hand was at his side, with the thumb hooked inside of his right pant pocket, but the right hand outside the pocket."

The lawsuit accuses Gardner of "belligerently" demanding that Massey turn around and put his hands behind his back. On the dash-cam tape, Massey is heard asking "what's wrong with you?" As he walked back toward his SUV, Massey was Tasered. He shrieks and then falls back onto the roadway.

"This stunned Massey, who fell hard on to the highway, screaming in pain, while Trooper Gardner tauntingly said 'hurts doesn't it?'" Sykes wrote. "Massey struck his head very hard on the pavement, which was due to the fact that the Taser causes a complete loss of the ability to maintain muscle control, causing an individual to drop like a free weight."

The lawsuit accuses Gardner of chiding him, then threatening Massey's wife if she didn't get back in the SUV. After he was handcuffed and arrested, Sykes accuses Gardner of lying to another officer who arrived on scene.

"Trooper Gardner falsely told this officer that he warned Massey that he was going to be arrested and Tasered if he did not comply with his requests," he wrote.

The lawsuit does not specifically name the UHP as a defendant, but said that he was acting in his job capacity as an employee for the Utah Department of Public Safety. The UHP has repeatedly refused to make Gardner available for interviews.

UHP spokesman Jeff Nigbur told the Deseret Morning News they were not directly commenting on the lawsuit.

"We need to let it take its course through the system," he said. "We'll just wait and see what happens."

An initial DPS investigation ruled that Gardner was justified in using the Taser on Massey.

"We still stand by our initial decision after we investigated the case," Nigbur said. "And that is, he was reasonable and justified."

Wire Service

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Posted by: JoninNH

What a piece of shit. Just another dirtbag looking to make some money the 21 century way... by suing someone.

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