Deseret News | Reader comments: UHP clears trooper in Taser incident

Reader comments
UHP clears trooper in Taser incident

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Roger | 4:29 p.m. Nov. 30, 2007

Good Job Utah Highway Patrol.

TN | 4:30 p.m. Nov. 30, 2007

Please tell me this is a joke. We've all seen the video. I guess you can't be too surprised, crooked cops always watch out for other crooked cops.

Milburn | 4:31 p.m. Nov. 30, 2007

There you have, non-compliance equals 50,000 volts in your back!

Comments continue below

TSP | 4:34 p.m. Nov. 30, 2007

Send a civil lawsuit the way of the cop. That'll teach him a little lesson about abusing his authority. What a joke. The officer crossed the line and used the taser completely unnecessarily.

Anonymous | 4:36 p.m. Nov. 30, 2007

I beleive they both over reacted to what happen that day. The trooper should have maybe acted in a different matter, but when order by an officer to stop you should obey. The way I read the law he did not need to sign the ticket but that the officer should have written it out hadded it to him if he refused to sign it and they could let the court decide if he was in violation of the law are not. I hope this will be a leason learned for all.

sg-webGuy | 4:37 p.m. Nov. 30, 2007

The officer mishandled the situation from the very beginning. The communication breakdown should be reason enough to cause the tasering to be unreasonable. How many people wouldn't flinch when they see a gun shaped object pointed at them? Boo to the UHP.

The UHP clears the UHP | 4:37 p.m. Nov. 30, 2007

Gee, hooda thunkit???

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.

Chris | 4:38 p.m. Nov. 30, 2007

I cannot believe after seeing the complete taser video, the UHP has found "justified use of a taser". I have seen the complete video over and over, and in my opinion Officer Gardner abused hi power as a police officer. Officer Gardner never communicated to Massey, he was going to place him under arrest until after the officer had already tasered Massey twice in the back!He never warned Massey he was going to taser him. The officer could have had a different outcome if he would have just told Massey he could arrest him if he failed to sign the ticket. The taser was totally unecessary. This is abuse by a policeman! It is wrong! Why on earth did the officer tell Massey to "hop out of the car"? The officer had an ego problem, and was going to taser Massey just to prove he was in charge, and not Massey. The officer needs to work on his communication skills. Jared is a good, upstanding citizen and he was violated by the policeman!

Ward Smith | 4:39 p.m. Nov. 30, 2007

1st point: Mr. Massey was partly at fault for his lack of cooperation by walking back to his car after being told to stop.

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"?

More needs to be done here. | 4:40 p.m. Nov. 30, 2007

I certainly hope something is done about the lack of investigation and TERRIBLE communication skills. This officer needs some serious communication improvement. I think the taser was justified, but I would expect all officers to show some level of adequate communication.

Bernie | 4:42 p.m. Nov. 30, 2007

Unbelievable! Doesn't the UHP have any sense of proportion? That office should be fired, given a minimum of 6 months of additional training, and/or given police duties that do not require handling a weapon of any kind (or requiring any communication with the public).

Trial by YouTube | 4:44 p.m. Nov. 30, 2007

You gotta love our new culture of "Trial by YouTube".

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".

jboxe77 | 4:44 p.m. Nov. 30, 2007

What a shock! What a surprise! Who could have seen this coming? (dripping with sarcasm) The Trooper could have stopped this at any time before tasering by simply treating Massey like a human being instead of a sub-human who doesn't deserve a response to a reasonable question. We should require higher standards of self-control and patience of those who have the power of life and death over us... with little or no accountability, apparently.

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?

Andrew T | 4:45 p.m. Nov. 30, 2007

I'm sorry. If the use of that taser was justified then I want the lawmakers to get involved and change policy. Tasers kill people. If a police officer uses force that could kill someone, he should have a better reason than a man walking back to his car.

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.

Yikes! | 4:45 p.m. Nov. 30, 2007

Mr. Massey will have Lawyers at the door lining up to make him very rich. UHP missed an opprtunity to resolve this the right way. By "clearing the officer in question" That should serve notice to all of us that "The officers never make mistakes" and will never be found wrong. Anybody with common sense can see that this officer went farther than he needed to issue a ticket.

Shameful!

Eric Schmidt | 4:45 p.m. Nov. 30, 2007

If you live outside of Utah and were planning to ski attend a convention, please cancel your plans. Money talks and it is the only thing you can do to help those of us who have to live in Utah with these oppressive, abusive and dishonest police.

No suprise | 4:51 p.m. Nov. 30, 2007

I agree that both the driver and officer did things wrong, but it doesn't suprise me that no action will be taken against the officer. I have yet to challenge a ticket or any officer and have the facts looked at. Yes the driver should have obeyed the officer, but the officer is the the reason it was escalted. He should have been less aggresive, and LIED when the other officer asked what happened.

Anonymous | 4:51 p.m. Nov. 30, 2007

No justice in Utah, just bullies.

Phil | 4:52 p.m. Nov. 30, 2007

Law of the Taser. Shoot first. Give not criminal ticket second. No communication period.

not surprised... | 4:53 p.m. Nov. 30, 2007

..that the UHP would protect their own. What a dissapointment. The report says they were investigating three main issues.

"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.

Massey I hope you sue. | 4:53 p.m. Nov. 30, 2007

Massey I hope you sue. I want to be on that jury.

Ooops | 4:53 p.m. Nov. 30, 2007

Make that "ignoring it for nearly 6 weeks" not months.

Andrew T | 4:54 p.m. Nov. 30, 2007

I'm sorry. If the UHP determined that the taser use was justified, then the problem is larger than just the one trooper. This is a systemic problem in the UHP.

Tasers kill people. For a trooper to use this force, other less forceful options must not be possible. Not true in this case. The trooper could have called for backup and waited for backup to arrive. The trooper could have checked with his supervisor and learned that not signing a ticket does not mean a person should be arrested.

I believe lawmakers should get involved. UHP policy needs to be changed. Please, write your representative and request action. It may be entertaining to watch this on YouTube. It will not be entertaining when a taser is pointed at you.

Awesome | 4:58 p.m. Nov. 30, 2007

Glad to see they made the right decision and stuck by the trooper. Maybe things could have happened differently, but everything that did happen was legal and within reason. Massey brought it on himself by not complying.

Jank | 5:04 p.m. Nov. 30, 2007

And so we see why so many Americans cannot trust the Police Force to curb it's own excesses. The Thick Blue Line protects another hot-tempered egomaniac from the consequences of his own short temper.

Tasers are cheap power, the perfect torture device - they can be used with little fear of killing, at any time, for any reason including "convenience", and with virtually no repurcussions for even the most blatantly-overbearing of deployments. Cheap power, perfect for those who demand to be obeyed no matter how unreasonable they're being.

Power corrupts... but cheap power corrupts faster.

Vernalite | 5:10 p.m. Nov. 30, 2007

Not surprising they came to this conclusion. When an organization investigates itself, the organization will rarely be found "guilty" of doing anything wrong. Would you want to give yourself a black eye?

Kyle | 5:12 p.m. Nov. 30, 2007

Dear Mr. Massey,

As I watched the video you posted on U-tube I realized how little respect you have for the law. I also believe the Police Officer over reacted perhaps due to the fact that he is only 5-8 and about 165 lbs. From the way you were acting, he felt justified. In the end you both made fools of yourselves. If I were you I would refrain from posting things on the web that come back to bite you in the rear. Like a spoiled little child, you got the public spanking you deserved.

What the is wrong with you? | 5:12 p.m. Nov. 30, 2007

Sorry, but I don't get it. Pointing a taser gun at someone just because they are being argumentative, and that's OK with UHP? Even if Massey didn't sign the ticket and had driven off, the state would have had enough ammo to take additional legal action against him. I don't see why the officer had to escalate the situation right then and there. I saw no reason for him to use potentially deadly force. There was no way the officer could have argued he did it for his or other's safety. I can't imagine this being OK most other places in the civilized world; maybe that's just how you do things in Utah. If so, I'll make a wide berth next time I'm heading out west.

Amazing.

name | 5:19 p.m. Nov. 30, 2007

Ultra ego problem. Should be fired. Failed to state in violation of what law, failed to Marandaize, excessive force, and ullawful search without a warrant or probable cause.

Whatever | 5:20 p.m. Nov. 30, 2007

Crossed the line? Towards the end of the confrontation what was the officer supposed to do, let the man get back in his car and leave. The young man completely disregarded a police officers command to put his hand behind his back, not sure what country you live in but in mine you are obligated by law to obey this command from the officer. If you don't like it take it up with the judge. In my book the officer handled the situation wrong, however, the most relevant point is at the very end when the officer orders him to put his hands behind his back, the man failed to comply. The officer then had to either have a physical altercation, pull his gun, or let him walk away. In my book, the taser was justified. Justice Served!

Yee-haw! | 5:20 p.m. Nov. 30, 2007

The wild, wild west cowboys strike again!

Boy's in Blue | 5:23 p.m. Nov. 30, 2007

The law enforcement will always protect their own. Face it, unless there is an egregious act of stupidity or blatantly illegal conduct, law enforcement will always get the benefit of the doubt. However, we do have the civil courts as a means of remedy. If I were Massey, I would be on my way to my attorneys office right now!

sad, sad, sad | 5:29 p.m. Nov. 30, 2007

And months later we'll get to hear another sad story about another policeman physically abusing his wife.
Too much power.

Craig | 5:32 p.m. Nov. 30, 2007

I will not be visiting the state of Utah and I have written the governor of Utah to let him know. That's too bad. It's one of the more beautiful states surrounding mine (Colorado) and it's also on the way to L.A. and Las Vegas. I'll be driving through New Mexico and Arizona from now on whenever I need to go west.

Another duh moment | 5:32 p.m. Nov. 30, 2007

Let's still not give Massey any fault for not complying. I watched the You Tube video too and I several opportunities where if he would have just done as he was asked he wouldn't of been tasered. Too many people think that just because they are mad they can do or say whatever they want to the law.

Massey was a spoiled individual who should have stayed in his car, signed the ticket and then talked to the judge.

The officer could use some training on rapport with the public, but still Massey's arrogance did not help him any.

USC | 5:33 p.m. Nov. 30, 2007

THIS IS AN OUTRAGE. The UHP has become a rogue operation full of reprobates and misfits. In the last year we've had the commander of the UHP DUI task force... busted for DUI after crashing his unmarked police cruiser into a concrete barrier. Then we have the UHP officer that shot an unarmed suspect in the back claiming that he saw the suspect reach for a weapon... he then changed his story saying that his gun accidentally discharged.

This taser happy UHP officer should have been fired.

Who is running the show here?

BL | 5:33 p.m. Nov. 30, 2007

If he was cleared by the department a civil lawsuit would not affect the individual officer but the state. I don't agree with this use of a TASER. There was no crime, just a traffic forfiture. Even if he could be charged with a crime, there was no threat of violence or injury. The Trooper could have forwarded charges to the prosecutor. I feel TASERS are great if used appropriately. That being to stop a situation that is escalating towards a physical confrontation. Instead of both the officer and suspect getting hurt in a brawl why not end it with the suspect incapacitated for a few seconds and cuffed. Why should the officer risk injury over a violent suspect. FYI although a TASER puts out 50,000 Volts, it also only puts out .029 Amps. Ask any electrician what that means for the suspect.

My two bits | 5:34 p.m. Nov. 30, 2007

I just saw the verdict on the 5 o'clock news and am in total dismay of the UHP. So, they clear this trooper and send him back out there to taser someone else? The quote was "we want to gain the trust of the Utah public again" Well, they certainly didn't by clearing the trooper and said the taser use was reasonable. Now it makes me scared to get pulled over at all. I have taught my children if a cop is alone, you roll your window down a tiny bit and tell the cop to call for backup. That's how it's going to be in Utah from now on. Shame on UHP for not firing him. Way to go Massey for posting it on YouTube, or no one would ever know what sick things go on. And may Massey continue to fight!!!!

Both were wrong | 5:50 p.m. Nov. 30, 2007

The first thing, is that you should obey a police officer. By getting out of his car, Massey was making a threatening, if not intimidating move. I would have stayed in my car, thanked the officer, and not sign the ticket.

The officer could have used another tactic first, perhaps the night stick if Massey had come at him with no weapon. Then, you ratch it up with force if needed. It does seem that the officer was too quick to jump to a taser right off, especially since it involved a family, not some delinquent.

John | 5:51 p.m. Nov. 30, 2007

The tasar use was justified. It was just everything that led up to it and everything after it that was questionable. Doesn't the Highway Patrol investigate an allegation in total? I'm afraid my Chief would have sent me down the road on this one.

cjp | 5:55 p.m. Nov. 30, 2007

I listened to the UHP side at their news conferance and I understand why they are standing by the officer (even if he communicated poorly ???).

From the citizens standpoint I am still horrified that the UHP Officer would Tazer someone WITHOUT WARNING over a traffic ticket ? ? ---- WE DESERVE BETTER ! ! !

Anonymous | 5:57 p.m. Nov. 30, 2007

Isn't it amazing how paranoid people are today?

There are those so frightened about everything they are totally submitting to any form of authoritarianism so long as it "keeps them safe."

Brooke | 5:59 p.m. Nov. 30, 2007

I agree with Ward Smith. Utah Highway Patrol officers need better training or those who are in charge need to be removed from their jobs. This was clearly a mean man with a badge, a gun, a tazer and out to prove he's in charge. This officer needs to be removed forever as a law enforcement officer. I will avoid Utah in the future. I did view the tape 3 times. Good Luck and Best Wishes to Massey and his wife. Let's all stay out of Utah!!!

put your own life on the line | 6:00 p.m. Nov. 30, 2007

For as long as I have been driving (32 years) it has always been known that if you DON'T sign the ticket you will go to jail. You fight the ticket in court, not with the officer. Mr. Massey was totally out of line. He was argumentative and, while the officer may have been able to handle it differently, he is NOT AT FAULT. Why is Mr. Massey reaching in his pocket while walking away??? The officer does not know if he is pulling a gun out. If you walk away from a taser pointed at you, you DESERVE to be shocked. She the men and women that protect us some respect for being willing to take a bullet for us. Mr. Massey, you need to grow up. If you had just signed the ticket and then gathered your evidence for court, we wouldn't be having this stupid argument. If you should sue anybody, it should be your driver's ed teacher for not teaching you to SIGN THE TICKET.

Trial By | 6:02 p.m. Nov. 30, 2007

To "Trial by You Tube"

I prefer trial by You Tube to no trial at all -- just instant judgment and corporal punishment meted out by Taser on the side of the road. An angry trooper on an ego-induced power trip vs. pregnant wife screaming hysterically, that's bad enough. The entire UHP administration unwilling to stand up and admit when one of its own made a mistake, that's worse. Bad on ya' UHP.

OOP! | 6:18 p.m. Nov. 30, 2007

Just when I finally had convinced my friends to give Utah a try for their upcomming vacation, we have the UHP officer end my argument for Utah by "tasering" some guy. I can just see the travel council try to spin this latest bit of living and vacationing in Utah. Thanks UHP!

Two words | 6:19 p.m. Nov. 30, 2007

Cover up.

rjj | 6:22 p.m. Nov. 30, 2007

Listened to the UHP news conferance.

Last time I felt like this was when I listened to the O.J. Simpson verdict.

Respect for the law? | 6:24 p.m. Nov. 30, 2007

Some have commented that Massey has no respect for the law.

Perhaps the problem here is that Trooper Gardner views himself as "the law" not as a humble enforcer of it.

pablo | 6:32 p.m. Nov. 30, 2007

Wow, I sure hope there is a good lawyer out there who is as dumbfounded and outraged as I am. From the comments posted here I have faith that a jury would find this maniac guilty and award Massey a huge judgement. This is the only way that our legislators will be forced to deal with the UHP and the fascist tactics that they deem "reasonable". This video should frighten any American who cares about his civil rights.

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