Comments about ‘What's next if driver won't sign ticket?’

Out on the highway is not the time or the place to exercise your rights you feel may have been abridged. Seldom are traffic stops wrong or incorrect. It has always been comical to me when speeders or reckless drivers have the audacitry to argue or become belligerent when stopped by an officer.

When being stopped for a traffic violation, you should accept your citation then appear before the judge and plead your case with facts. The abuses police officers and troopers receive is uncalled for and in some cases, the violator may have brought on their own consequences with their behavior.

I fought a speeding ticket once and the judge told me that my signature on the ticket WAS an admission of wrongdoing. We have this fantasy about the constitutional rights, but they don't really exist unless you have a huge amount of money to pay for lawyers. It doesn't really matter what the lawyers say about constitutional rights and all that garbage, it's what the judge says when you get in front of him. Unless you are rich...

Great a position paper by a civil rights attny.

Two things:

1.) For some reason people believe that laws are not what they are. That everything is solved by talking as if you are in some group therapy session. There is a protocol to follow - a system - and if you defy it, you are breaking the law.

2.) The cop probably could have said something like this, "Okay buddy this is what's gonna happen. You have a debate over whether you were speeding. Fine. But there's a time and a place to do that - in court. My job now is to ensure you sign this, which is your pledge to appear in court. If you don't sign it, I'm gonna arrest you because you're violating the law. If you resist, I'm gonna taser you or whatever else I have to do to bring you under arrest. Are we clear?"

I bet you this guy would've shut up pretty fast.

I am surprised to see some of the comments in here and at other places which imply that you MAY have constitution rights all over the country BUT NOT on a highway.... as if highway was an entirely new country. They do sound like someone who is working for Law enforcement agencies. In all fairness they should disclose whether they work for Law Enforcement Agency or not in his/her/their comment(s). - A concerned driver

I am a retired cop with 30 years under my belt. Who cares if the driver signs or not. If the city and/or police department requires that all drivers sign a traffic ticket and the driver refuses to sign, the officer has the option to write "refused to sign" - What happened to civility and our police and community relation concepts?

I believe all speed laws are implied contracts under the Uniform commercial code. Section 1-207 states that any contract you do not willingly, knowing agree to obey you do not have to obey.
name
without prejudice
ucc 1-207

look it up.

The cop was in motion at the time. A speed radar has to be stable to be effective. I didn't see a 40-mile an hour sign until after the cop began to pull this guy over, hence the argument "where's the sign at that you're talking about..." How was the guy speeding? He was pulled over before he reached the sign. Watch the video! The guy asked one question repeatedly... "What speed was I going...?" The officer didn't know. The victims vehicle wasn't past the 40-mile an hour mark, before he was pulled over. In the jurisdiction (the officer was in) could he have left the citation in the vehicle of the offender? He was quick and cold the way he tased! I bet none of you people would be on this cops side if this were your mother in the same situation. Did the cop have the option of leaving the un-signed citation with the guy and leaving the scene, or was he obligated to make the individual sign it? If he had a choice of either the two, but chose to tase; then, he should be fired and never allowed to work in law enforcement again!

The UCC code does not apply to normal citizens, the UCC code just apply to merchants in the course of their business.

I have to wonder whether Gardner has a history of investigations for excessive use of force. The motorist did NOTHING that could possibly justify being shot for a speeding ticket...whether it was a bullet or a taser, a gun is a gun and shooting someone is shooting someone. If Gardner is THAT twitchy with a weapon, he needs to be reassigned to a desk job.

I'm sure glad I'll never be driving through Utah.

Review of the Tape will indicate that the trooper pulled his vehicle in front of the temporary sign thereby blocking the sign from view of oncoming motorists. That is a tactic used in speed traps. The trooper did not designate the offense as e.g. 50 mph in a 40 mph zone. 'You were going kinda fast' doesn't cut it. The Utah State Motor Vehicle web site states that a motorist can calmly explain his actions to the officer at the time of the citation issuance and that the officer will listen to his side. Didn't happen here. The trooper told the motorist that he couldn't explain and that wasn't the place to argue his case.

When asked what his speed was the officer refused to tell him. The officer did not tell the motorist that signing the citation was not an admission of guilt.
He did not tell the motorist that failure to sign was grounds for arrest. He ordered him out of the car and told him he was under arrest. The troopers body language and demeanor were those of someone looking for confrontation.

the trooper's use of the Taser exhibited immature and dangerous conduct.

Well this seems like a played event. The driver with a smirk on his face as if saying by deed- I darn you to shoot me! Of course the driver forgets he under legal dentition until the officer releases him.

Yet, if I were that traffic enforcement officer I would have let the driver get back into his vehicle and drive off, as I try the rationale appeal process in a loud and clear voice. As the driver moves off- I think obstruction charges, evading charges, etc; a string of felonies worth mentioning in video shown on U-tube.

Remember driving is a privilege not a right.

This is a prime example of the abuse and neglect of power that has been passed from the president to our lower public police who think they can trample over the rights of individual americans.
Thank Bush for this Attitude
Tkatz

Agreed. This was horrifyingly unjustified. Don't get me wrong, I think tasers are a great alternative to using a gun, but tasers should be used only when a cop would otherwise use a gun. Would this same cop have pulled a gun on this guy and shot him to death? I think not. This guy needs to get criminally tried for unlawful force(if there is such a thing nowadays).

Hey common sense.... I'm 100% on your side but do have to correct you on one thing.. Radar guns have 2 different settings. 1 for stationary monitoring and one for mobile monitoring. (IE. If I'm traveling east and you're going west, you actual speed still shows on the radar.) Other than that... This man has NO BUSINESS being in any position of authority! Fire him and let him get a job at Mc D's

"A person who abuses his power, acts so unprofessional and then jokes about it, should not be in law enforcement." - That's the key that UHP are known for. I understand that they must protect themselves in the line of duty but this incident is ridiculous. Thank goodness I'm not living in Utah. I've had experiences with them in the past and because of them, I don't think highly of them anymore. They need to develop people skills seriouisly if they ever want people's trust back again. Loooong way to go.

It's simple. This cop and his police unit supervisors can NEVER JUSTIFY tasering that young man.

This cop had an UNPROFESSIONAL AND AGGRESSIVE attitude from the GET-GO. His actions should have been a complete FAILURE AND EMBARRASSMENT TO LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS ACROSS THIS GREAT COUNTRY.

The cop also CONVENIENTLY TWISTED - "LIED" to his fellow officer when he arrived, regarding the details of what happened? -- check the tape beginning to end.

FIRE THE COP TODAY, NOT NEXT WEEK !! FIRE HIM FOR HIS LYING, AS MUCH AS BAD AND UNPROFESSIONAL JUDGMENT.

I'm glad this incident happened. I've watched the video numerous times and really enjoyed it. Perhaps we can get another taser video starring Brian Bernard at some point.

This trooper went over the edge on this one. He clearly abused his authority. There was no threat or hint of bodily injury occuring so pulling a weapon was clearly over the top. If this one goes to court the patrolman is going to come out looking bad as well as the Utah Highway Patrol. This cop needs to brush up on his people skill and resist the tempation to impress people with his authority.

The idiot driver was argumentative and not complying with the orders of the trooper. The idiot turns and is walking away, with his hand in his pocket no less, while the trooper is ORDERING him to stop. What was the trooper suppose to do? Fight the idiot by the side of the highway? Shoot him with his pistol? Let him get in his car and drive away? Or, zap his dumb butt? The trooper chose correctly. The idiot wasn't even hurt. He was up walkin' around flappin' his stupid mouth in a matter of seconds. The idiot got what he deserved. All this crap for a speeding ticket!!