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UHP clears trooper in Taser incident
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So, if the trooper was "justified and legal in his actions," why did he have to LIE to the deputy about what happened?
I'm old enough to remember when you could expect Utah cops not to act like Sledge Hammer.
2nd point: However, the "officer" was completely out of line by 1) refusing to communicate in a professional manner with Massey (e.g., not telling him how fast he was going), 2) not explaining carefully that signing the ticket is required by law (or face arrest) and is NOT as admission of guilt, 3) pulling a tazer prematurely before attempting other types of "persuasion", 4) shooting a guy with a tazer that could have caused serious harm when he had given no indication that he was a threat, 5) taking a totally unprofessional approach with the screaming wife, and 6) lying about the incident to the other officer as he arrived on the scene.
So, yep I guess the UHP should conclude that the officer was well-within the line of duty!? And we wonder why substantial groups of our population view law enforcement officials as the "enemy"?
Maybe the Constitution should be changed to allow online trials that only require a majority vote from YouTube surfers instead of a jury of your peers.
It's no longer, "Innocent until proven guilty" it's "Guilty if enough YouTube mavens call and complain".
Could the trooper not have said "I'm sorry, but if you don't sign the ticket I will have to arrest you. Signing is not an admission of guilt. It just certifies that you received the ticket." How hard would that have been?
The police officer could have called for backup and waited until more officers were on the scene. There were other options available.
I'd also like to see some changes to the police review board that reviewed this case.
There are multiple problems here. This "review" just uncovered more.
Shameful!
"Based on our review to this point, there are three main issues we are addressing," UHP Col. Lance Davenport said Friday. "First, a communication breakdown between Trooper Jon Gardner and Mr. Massey. Second, a delay in the investigative process of this incident. Third, the use of a Taser."
Excusemoi but you guys missed the point. There was no reason to order the driver out of the car. Everything that took place from that point forward needlessly escalated the situation. If the officer had handled this approporiately i.e. driver stays in the car, communicates precisely and accurately nothing else would have needed to take place. Therefore the tasing was the result of poor performance and would have never been necc let along be debated! The officer was wrong!! UHP management is more wrong!!!
You can pretty much guarantee that Massey will now sue. What a waste of time and resources. Quality people and organizations admit when their wrong and do it sooner than later. Shame on you UHP.
Governor John, you should call an audit of this out of bounds dept.