I think the guy had every right to ask his question AND also to have gotten an answer. I do not think the guys behavior was appropriate, but I also do not think the taser was the right answer, or at least used without a defining moment telling the fellow it would be used. Both of them were out of line.

As far as I could tell, poor sound quality and all, the officer asked him for his license and registration, he responded with his question, no answer from the officer-he asked the question again, actually several times, still no answer from the officer. Then the officer asked him to get out of the car, he complied. They argued further. When he turned to return to his car, maybe he was going to go and get the registration? Maybe he was really done trying to argue his point or get an answer out of the officer? It was a tough call on the officers part to use his taser, but since the fellow was NOT stopping, etc it kind of left him open to some action on the officers part.

I personally do not agree with the use of tasers UNLESS things are so out of hand there is no other choice. I also will go on to say that the officers other choice would have been to use his gun which this situation did not or would not have warranted. He did tell him to stop 3 times. Maybe he should have asked him where he was going, told him they were not finsihed and to stop, AND he should have warned him that he would shoot. Some people do not get it that when you point a weapon at them that you will use it, especially if you are law enforcement.

This incident will bear watching for the outcome. It will be a defining point of something, that's for sure.

CD

 

It appears that the officer finally got the guy's L&R , walked back to his cruiser to run the info, walked back up to get the guy to sign the ticket, and the guy refused to sign.
That's what precipitated the "Step out of the car" order from the cop.

Even if the cop did not answer the guy's question about the speed, the guy was a jerk.
Walking away from a LEO who has already drawn a weapon and is pointing it AT you, is a pretty dumb thing to do.

The cop is probably wondering "Why is this guy walking away?", "Is he hauling dope?", "Is he going back to the truck to retrieve a weapon?".

If he has an issue with the way the cop is handling the stop, the courtroom would be a MUCH better place to discuss it.

 

if the Officer was in the right or the wrong, i dont know. however the guy in the car should have signed and accepted the ticket instead of being a belligerent fool.

i dont know what was going on behind the car, however seeing as how the Officer was on a two lane road, it would not be hard to estimate a vehicles speed by how close it is behind you.

say for instance the officer was doing 45 and this guy was tailgating him (stupid thing to do any way), then it would be easy for the officer to determine that the other person was speeding based on the distance between the vehicles.

on the other hand there are or were rear mounted speed detectors that can detect the speed of the car behind.

Seal Beach Police, Seal Beach, Calif. had one in their Saleen Mustang that they had a number of years ago.

 

Has anyone ever been at the mercy of the police when they are wrong? I will tell you my story and you will see why I have no respect anymore.

I was renting 1/2 house when I was 20 yrs old with my pregnant girlfriend. It had a large bay window out front and I noticed a UPS truck rolling down the driveway (about 200' long) and come to a stop. I went over to the door and someone knocked then BAM the door came flying in with a swarm of DEA agents. They threw me on the ground and one of the DEA guys held me down by his boot between the back of my head and neck. It split my chin open and they would not let me up until they finished their search. I pleaded with them that I have never sold or had drugs in the house. After they cut my mattress apart and scattered all of my clothes around the house, they wanted to know where the drugs were at. At this point they cuffed me and put me in a chair. The guy picked me up by the cuff chain from laying on my chest on the ground. They got a dog in there that looked like it was a crack addict and searched everywhere. Finally the guy that was heading up the investigation came in with the warrants etc and had me read over them. Then I noticed they were supposed to be for the other side of the house, apt A. The doors were not marked I later found out, but I pleaded with them the whole time that they had the wrong guy. It has changed my outlook on the way I look at Police for the rest of my life.

I havent thought of this in a while, my hands are shaking a little as I type this. I never sued or anything and they did replace my mattress, but it was a tramatic experience that I will carry for a lifetime. They are just so hellbent that everyone they go after is guilty and scum of the Earth. And some of you want them to have more power??? Wait until you are on the other end of of the tazer and the Cop is wrong. Police are humans and WILL make mistakes. I just hope it ends up where they realize their mistake before it is too late.

Sorry for the long read.

 

Yup, you're absolutely correct,..... cops that don't do their homework make life miserable for citizens and make life profitable for lawyers.
There have been several cases in the news recently where entry teams have bashed down the wrong door shooting pets and people in the process of serving warrants.

On the other hand..........if the SWAT team phoned ahead to ask for permission, then knocked on the door and waited for someone to open the door before executing a search warrant, their job would be a lot harder.

They have to operate on info gathered by someone who might not be in the truck when they roll up to the scene.
Their job sux....it's a real life case of danged if you do, and danged if you don't.

No matter what they do, someone is going to be ticked off.

The legal system is designed to deal with the mistakes.

 

Matego, I feel for you. That is a crappy story. I have been arrested and had my car stripped searched for nothing... they pulled out everything I owned... tool boxes, spare tire, took my seat covers off, took my air cleaners out... looking for drugs. Turns out, the guy they were looking for had a similar car, and out plate #'s were close. I did not get manhandeled, tho, so I'm not trying to one up you.

Yes, I agree that was wrong. It should not have happened. My point is, when you resist...


Hey, I could be wrong, too... I've been... what's the word I'm looking for... 'strongly corrected/restrained' by cops before... but I deserved every bit of it.

 

I've had two instances, one of which I was asking a few questions on here about. One of them, they had a description of a "white male, 6ft, wearing sunglasses, jeans and a colorado state football jersey" In regards to the jersey keep in mind that I was at the colorado state football game when I was thrown into a wall and arrested for "throwing missles." Needless to say, I told them to get the video of where I was sitting, and during the time they said the incident happened, i was on the complete opposite side of the stadium sittin in my bleacher seat enjoying a beer. That was thrown outa court with a "well i'm sorry this happened." What is horrid about part of the legal system here is that I had to talk to a lawyer which wasn't cheap, then have to worry about conflict resolution at my college, then missed a couple of days at work because of everything. Can I sue for their mess up...NOPE, all in all I would say I lost about 600$ because of a cop's judgement mistake.
From what I have seen thus far, some police that I have encountered are the nicest, fairest individuals that you will ever meet, but there are also a few bad ones, and those are the ones that get noticed which ruins it for all the good ones

 

In the state of Ohio refusing to sign a traffic ticket gives the AO the authority to arrest.

 

They don't approach like that around here..... He was walking up like he was heading into a WalMart for gods sake. 99% of the time when they walk up around here they are standing back so far and so tight to your car you can't barley even see them. Hand on the Sig the whole time too, but me a regional thing....

 

Couple of thoughts after watching the video. The cop is a tool, that is for sure. BUT, he doesn't know what this guy is up to, I mean he didn't respond to one single command the whole time. Think of it this way, would the driver respond any differently if the cop had a 9mm pointed in at his chest? I don't know, sure didn't appear that way.

On the other hand, tasers are killing people at a huge rate (around here at least) they should be used with caution. I vote for the cop climbing all over his back, beating him about the back of the legs with a baton then doing the same to his wife. She looked like she needed it too.

 

Maybe I shouldnt have written I have no respect for them, because that is not true. I understand they have a job to do, and I am sure everyone says they did not do it. It just really sucks when you are wrongly accused. I am just trying to say wearing a badge does not make people perfect. I am now a very firm believer in innocent until proven guilty. I bet 95% of their cases are cut and dry, and cops do make the world a better place, but I just wish it wasnt me or anyone on the wrong side of the law.

 

Agreed......

 

Try listening to some old school lawmen, they didn't have to throw down on everyone that didn't get the picture. There are tools for gaining compliance far short of less lethal force (taser). Tasers are capable of killing and have. Is a death sentance appropriate for a passively resisting speeder? I know for a fact that the old man brought everyone around to his way of seeing things without lumping them up too badly. Only the aggressively resisting were dragged into emergency and very few looked into the wrong end of his sidearm. If a LEO can't physically handle a little guy like in video driving a SUV with his family aboard, maybe a job attached to a computer screen would be more appropriate.

 

No doubt.

The good news is, in my experience, the Judges are super lenient as long as you have a good record. I went to court in Baltimore (county) for an 84 in a 55. $285.00 fine and 5 points reduced to $65.00 with NO points.

Simply told the truth. I was a designated driver for 3 other people, if you've ever been the only sober one around a bunch of drunks, you'll know why I was in such a hurry.
Judge said he was a recovering alcoholic and not in the business of lining the insurance companies pockets by handing out points, dropped the gavel.

 

Mmm, agreed. Where I work out there are like no less than 10 or so State and local officers. That's usually the first thing I ask the ones that I know, "You throw anybody around today"? The get a kick out of it. (that is, me asking.....and throwing people around like rag dolls).