Deseret News | Reader comments: Utah to pay $40,000 in Taser settlement

Reader comments
Utah to pay $40,000 in Taser settlement

joe taxpayer | 2:42 a.m. March 11, 2008

this is a crying shame that a guy can be such a jerk and disrespect an officer and get paid for doing so! He'll probably do it again.

This is horrible | 3:30 a.m. March 11, 2008

I wish I could act irresponsibly, turn my back on an officer in a mocking and menacing way and then get paid $40,000 for when he took the appropriate force to take me down because I wouldn't cooperate. Mr. Massey should be ashamed of himself.

Texan | 6:31 a.m. March 11, 2008

If the oficer did nothing wrong the state should go to court and defend him, even though it might eventually cost more than $40,000. If the officer handled the situation properly this is legal blackmail! The state shouldn't encourage bad behavior. We need to support those we ask to enforce the law!

Comments continue below

Mad As Heck | 6:57 a.m. March 11, 2008

Why is the State paying someone money who was clearly in the wrong? Just because this guy puts his immature and illeagal behavior on Youtube, he makes money. I hope he donates the cash to charity. It makes me sick that he profits from his horrible behavior. He should be ashamed of himself. Who raised this guy? I don't know how he shows his face in public. This teaches our children that they can disrespect the law and make some cash. What a great example.

Just a Guy | 7:01 a.m. March 11, 2008

Massey should be holding out and getting a few more zero's on the end of that dollar amount as well as a formal apology from the UHP and making sure that Gardner is Fired.

I have several friends and family members that are officers and they all say that gardner acted stupidly and was completely wrong. He never should have let the situation escalate to the point of needing to bring out the taser and the comments he made are inexcusable. Those comments are why they are settling!!!!

bigbob | 7:35 a.m. March 11, 2008

Another prime example of how our criminal justice system works. The criminal gets all the justice. Now the tax payers are footing the bill for Massey's arrogance and disregard for authority. I gladly let someone taze me for $40,000I'dze me for $40,000.
To Just a Guy. It was Massey that acted stupidly. He violated the law.

re: Just a guy | 7:49 a.m. March 11, 2008

There is a difference between acting "stupidly" and acting illegaly. If everyone who acted stupidly got sued there would be no career in the US other than lawyers. I dont disagree with what the officers you know said. But, I notice you didnt say that any of them said what he did was illegal. Try asking them that question and ask them for supporting case law. A hint on the case law...Draper v. Reynolds.

Freeman | 8:00 a.m. March 11, 2008

Gardner is an employee of the tax payers. He displayed a lack of mature judgement. It appeared that he enjoyed bullying and using excessive force. Perhaps this settlement will remind all law officers that they are hired to protect and serve the public and that their authority comes from individual citizens granting that authority to them through government.

Larry | 8:04 a.m. March 11, 2008

Both Massey and the Officer were wrong, the problem was the officer had over reacted that is all! He could have handled it much better even if Massey was an Idiot!
The ticket does not have to be signed to be valid!
Two hot heads will never have a good out come!
The officer was not trained to correctly handle the issue!

Put it to rest now. (The End)

Remember | 8:15 a.m. March 11, 2008

For all of you who are crying foul here, remember, that even the Dept of Public Safety stated the situation "could have" been handled better. Gardner DID fail to communicate clearly and adaquetly to Massey. That is where the wrong is, even if Gardner was cleared of any wrong-doing. This is a shame. Clear the cop even th ough he had some wrong-doing. Can't have it both ways.

Attn: Horrible | 8:19 a.m. March 11, 2008

How do you turn your back on someone in a "menacing way" . . ?

Gardner was in the wrong, and he knew it -- that's why he LIED to the backup deputy. Gardner's big mistake was lying with HIS OWN VIDEO CAMERA RECORDING IT! This shows a certain level of stupidity.

Linda | 8:17 a.m. March 11, 2008

Giving the man 40,000.00? All he did was set himself up to be tasered. He acted in complete disregard of the safety of himself and put the officer in the need to defend his life. If the officer didn't act with caution he could have lost his life. If he acts with caution and tasered the guy then he puts himself at the risk of loosing his job. I don't get it. Mr. Masssey you were in the wrong and beligerent I don't think that deserves compensation.

Robert | 8:41 a.m. March 11, 2008

Most people who don't like this settlement seem to believe that Mr. Massey deserved the treatment he received from the officer because Massey was a "jerk" or was "uncooperative" or argued with the officer. But law officers are trained to pull their weapons from their holsters only when there is clear and present danger to the officer or others. In this case, the officer pulled his weapon from its holster for no clear reason. He had ordered Mr. Massey to get out of his vehicle, which he did, then he pulled the weapon out and aimed it at him. It was only then that Massey turned his back and started walking back to his vehicle. The officer then shot him with his weapon, not once, but twice. Then he clearly exaggerated about Massey's behavior when the second officer arrived at the scene. The lesson here is that officers must be professional.

Where does it end | 8:47 a.m. March 11, 2008

Massey was clearly at Fault Period!!!!
He put the officer into a position where a choice had to be made. I don't know about the rest of you but I have a wife and 4 kids who depend on me to come home every night. I'm not a police officer or fireman but a sure am thankful to those who fill these positions in our communities. I was pulled over for speeding yesterday, guess what? I did it, I'll take my lumps and try to be a better driver next time. Massey broke the law once and now he's stealing from the tax payers. He's Gutless and unable to take responsiblity for his mistakes, but hey!! he's smiling all the way to the bank. Should we all be so lucky to have such a person in our community.

Attn: Where does it end | 9:14 a.m. March 11, 2008

I, too, have a wife and children who depend on me to come home every night. And that odds of that are lessened, not raised, by allowing people like Gardner to remain in the employ of the state.

I am a strong conservative, meaning I think the ability of the state to abuse its citizens should be limited. And I am insistent on law and order, which means I think people should be punished in proportion to the degree that they threaten the safety of the people. No principled person who believes either of those things can in any way condone what Gardner did in his gross abuse of authority, about which he gloated on tape, nor can they condone the State in not punishing him for that abuse. I am a huge supporter of the brave police officers who work for the state of Utah, and every one of them I have talked believes Gardner behaved profoundly inappropriately. This is not any sort of "close case".

its funny | 9:25 a.m. March 11, 2008

I am not sure what the danger was after i watched the video his hands never left the officers site. In the officers own words he tasored him due to the fact that he did not follow instruction not out of defense. I put myself in Masseys shoes, if i argue or disagree with an officer according to what i read this would be a good reason to be arrested and tasored, why not shot. There is a reason that authority can not be used in excess and it is because we have rights. It is clear that Masseys rights were violated and they made the best decision to settle 40,000 instead of the millions these cases usually go for. It would be completley diffrent if there was any danger present but there was not.

To Just a Guy | 9:25 a.m. March 11, 2008

I work in law enforcement, and guess what the topic is this morning? None I have heard have expressed that Massey deserved the money. Protocol is that a person is cuffed for the safety of everyone until things can be sorted out. I'm sure warrants etc. were being run, and Massey was aggressive. That's why Gardner ordered him to put his hand behind his back. Massey was not going to comply with anything, from signing the ticket and anything that was to happen after that.

Not only is it unfortunate that he was paid for his bad behavior, it has set presidence for officers and the general population, by showing if you're enough of a jerk, you may get your moment of fame on youtube, plus get money for it. I don't think any officer would have reacted differently. Massey didn't comply, turned his back on officer, put his hands in pocket (had he been patted down for weapons), wife was trying to get in on the situation -- yeah, any officer would have felt threatened.

Sad thing is next time Gardner may hesitate and lose his life for that hesitation. Hope Massey can live with that if it happens.

John | 9:32 a.m. March 11, 2008

If the state believed this guy did nothing wrong why are they paying him $40,000. Obviously they know the police was not in the right.

Jury | 9:36 a.m. March 11, 2008

A jury would have recognized Massey's greed and handed him his attorney bill, and the state's attorney bill and said "Here, take care of this, would you?" He must be one greedy dude.

Real Estate Junkie | 9:35 a.m. March 11, 2008

The Massey apologists and this ridiculous settlement demonstrate the slippery slope this country is sliding down. When an officer points a weapon at me and orders me to put my hands behind my back I'm not stupid enough to turn away from him and put my hands in or near my pockets out of the officer's site. If I did that I would expect that weapon to be discharged whether it was a gun or a taser.

Somebody remember this: You haven't seen the last of Mr. Massey. He will be in the news again and we'll see if any of you change your tune.

Just a Thought | 10:03 a.m. March 11, 2008

Do any of you reading these comments realize that Massey was paid more for his stupidity than Garner's annual salary? It would make me want to go out there and put my life on the line for next to nothing. People in that job must want to be there for more than the money, and I thank them for it. We don't pay the people who are out there to protect us enough.

Think about it.

Coverup | 10:28 a.m. March 11, 2008

If Gardner had acted properly , the UHP would have been more than happy to let this go to trial . As it was ,the Attorney Generals office was aware of the 10th circuit courts ruling in Casey vs Federal Heights which sets the standard for excessive force in taser cases . Gardners comments to the Deputy at the end of the tape would have been too much for his defense team to overcome . Massey sold out cheap , Gardner was lucky .

Remember | 11:11 a.m. March 11, 2008

@To Just a Guy,
If you are a law enforcement guy as you claim, then you know that the citation can be written and left without any signature. The cop can write down refusal to sign and the end of the situation. But that wasn't the case. I suppose you are defending the cop only because you are a cop? Sounds like it.

@Coverup,

You h it the nail on the head. If this went to tril the dash cam would have blown the defense away. And yes, Massey cut himself cheap. But without knowing why he accepted the settlement, we can only speculate.

To the rest of you who claim Massey was greedy, where is the greed? He merely was proving a point and standing up to h is rights not to be bullied by a cop. That happens far too often.

Better Informed | 12:16 p.m. March 11, 2008

This is for "Just a Guy" and "Informed"...

I too have law enforcement in my family and none of them agrees with you. In case it hasn't sunk in, law enforcement is DANGEROUS. An injury from some jerk like Massey can end your career. The officer in question was within his legal rights to tazer the guy. Until UT changes the law that says you HAVE to sign a traffic citation, people behaving like Massey should expect consequences to their bad behavior. The biggest crime here was that they paid the guy 40K instead of locking him up. If all of you armchair critics think it's so easy, then I suggest you go into law enforcement and see what it's like to deal with people like Massey on a regular basis.

pat | 12:24 p.m. March 11, 2008

When the officer stopped Massey, he was UNDER ARREST! For goodness sake, he better comply with the officer who was doing his job. As soon as he didn't comply he should have been taken to jail, pure and simple. At least he didn't get a bullet in the head, which is what would have happend where I live.
Too bad he was paid to be stupid. What does that show the younger generation? Be bad, so you can get money? Crazy!!!!!!!

Curious | 12:42 p.m. March 11, 2008

I would like to know what the actual police protocol is for a situation when an individual refuses to sign a citation.

coverup | 1:10 p.m. March 11, 2008

To Curious
Proper protocol in Utah is to simply write "Refused to sign " on the ticket and politely place it in the car . This procedure was explained to Gardner AFTER the video was released on u-tube .
After 14 years on the job , you would think that he would know this .

To Better Informed | 1:18 p.m. March 11, 2008

Utah law doesn't require a signature. Check your facts. The law enforcement agent can notate a refusal to sign and hand him the ticket. They also may make an arrest right then and there for refusal to sign. Neither one of these were taken. As far as I am concerned, many law enforcement just note the ticket refusal to sign and leave it with the speeder. End of story.

observer | 3:20 p.m. March 11, 2008

This was a case where two hot-heads met. Either one of them could have chosen to defuse the situation. They ought to make them both stand in corner with their arms around each other until they start giggling, like they made us do in kindergarten.

Grand Danois | 11:50 a.m. March 15, 2008

The issue in this case is the use of excess force by police. Excess force in this case was blatantly clear. Nobody was in any danger until Gardner lost his sensitivities. He does not belong in any kind of public service. Congratulations to Jared Massey for standing up to the brute. Regrettably the tax payers end up paying rather than John Gardner.
The compenstaion offered/accepted was too low.

God bless America | 8:03 a.m. March 18, 2008

Kudos to Massey for standing up for his rights. We are sliding down a slippery slope in this country toward a police state and a complete loss of liberty. Until the police realize that they are here to serve and protect rather than to intimidate and bully, none of us is truly free.

also tasered in the back | 6:30 p.m. May 21, 2008

I would like to know who the lawyer was for this case. Also, tasers are sold to prevent from having to kill a person with a pistol round, and protect the officer. They are not to be used to shoot someone in the back. What a coward of a back stabbing, back shooting; well you get it.

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