Another Out Of Control Cop With A Taser

[TheScotsman]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,312466,00.html

Yet another of the fine "boys in blue" proving they should not own anything more dangerous than a box of rubber bands, and one of those novelty rubber band guns.

If you listen the cop is clearly confrontational from his very first word, his demeanor and tone is intended to insult, and intimidate the motorist. Then he proceeds to make fun of the woman for crying. Notice how his whole attitude changes when there is another cop there to witness it all? What a man... I can honestly say I hope he gets hit by a bus in the near future, it would be doing society a favour.

One has to wonder how long it will take before there is some serious legislation limiting/eliminating the use of these things. Maybe we are going to have to wait until some congressman gets lit-up before they take this abuse of power seriously. All the cop had to do was write "refused to sign" and hand it to him, instead he decided he needed to suppress this affront to his manhood.

I think we are seeing a few cases a week at this point, now if it were regular people popping-away at each other there would be a reaction, why would you suppose they don't have a problem with the public getting shot by the cops?

[Geiseric]

Unfortunately, the cop was within his rights to act as such, and the guy asking for his right to be read to him was meaningless, the Miranda rights only have to be read if and when they decide to interrogate him. It is quite ridiculous, though, that he is allowed to inflict pain over so petty a situation. Say what you want about the possibility that the guy was planning to retrieve a weapon, run off, yada yada. It is not acceptable for everyday folks to use violence as a method of assuring someone they are in conflict with does not leave to retrieve a weapon... so why the hell is it ok for a cop? It is unfortunate that those of us who choose to work for our fellow citizens, whether it be police work, social work, etc., consider that our own well being is more important than those we work for. I see it all the time in my line of work (entry level social work, I'm not licensed yet) where we have policies that allow us to protect ourselves at the expense of our clients, which I tend to ignore, but it all roots back to this idea that because in some situations people may abuse the system, we must treat all others as potentially violent, and treat them as less then ourselves as such. Ugh. A disgusting topic.

[Scheetz]

Um, if you fail to follow the officers requirements then by all means you will be tased. When pulled over in a moving vehicle you MUST FOLLOW ALL INSTRUCTIONS. This is completely different then if you are approached on the street. What do you expect for walking away from an officer when given commands, he has every right to show an attitude when the man gives him one first. Officers don't survive every day by being a wimps. Even when they are in the wrong you best follow instructions, it can be sorted out after everything has be taken care of.

[TheScotsman]

Unfortunately, the cop was within his rights to act as such, and the guy asking for his right to be read to him was meaningless, the Miranda rights only have to be read if and when they decide to interrogate him. It is quite ridiculous, though, that he is allowed to inflict pain over so petty a situation. Say what you want about the possibility that the guy was planning to retrieve a weapon, run off, yada yada. It is not acceptable for everyday folks to use violence as a method of assuring someone they are in conflict with does not leave to retrieve a weapon... so why the hell is it ok for a cop? It is unfortunate that those of us who choose to work for our fellow citizens, whether it be police work, social work, etc., consider that our own well being is more important than those we work for. I see it all the time in my line of work (entry level social work, I'm not licensed yet) where we have policies that allow us to protect ourselves at the expense of our clients, which I tend to ignore, but it all roots back to this idea that because in some situations people may abuse the system, we must treat all others as potentially violent, and treat them as less then ourselves as such. Ugh. A disgusting topic.

He may have been within his legal right to use it, but from what the video shows it was not the prudent course of action.

The whole mess took place because the cop was pretty much our of line from the initial contact. If people are insulted, and demeaned from the onset, just how does he expect it to turn out? We have all run into enough pushy, rude cops to know just how that makes us feel, or act.

If society is brought down to the lowest denominator, then what separates our society from that of any other? We propose to create these great democratic governments around the world, talk about the lack of human rights in (insert your choice of nation) yet can not control the basic behavior of our own police. Completely hypocritical in every respect.

Based on the video, I myself wouldn't think him to be going after a weapon in any case. I might expect him to get in, and lock the door, sitting there in defiance.

[Raziel510]

He may have been within his legal right to use it, but from what the video shows it was not the prudent course of action.

The whole mess took place because the cop was pretty much our of line from the initial contact. If people are insulted, and demeaned from the onset, just how does he expect it to turn out? We have all run into enough pushy, rude cops to know just how that makes us feel, or act.

If society is brought down to the lowest denominator, then what separates our society from that of any other? We propose to create these great democratic governments around the world, talk about the lack of human rights in (insert your choice of nation) yet can not control the basic behavior of our own police. Completely hypocritical in every respect.

Based on the video, I myself wouldn't think him to be going after a weapon in any case. I might expect him to get in, and lock the door, sitting there in defiance.

You say the whole mess took place because the cop was out of line, but even if he was that doesn't give the driver the right to completely disregard his instructions. The reason cops are so adamant about you following certain instructions is because they have no idea what your doing or thinking. Sure you might expect the guy to get in and just lock his door, but what if he didn't. What if he went inside his car, grabbed a gun and started shooting? Cops see the craziest stuff sometimes and that can put them on edge (for good reason...their very lives are on the line) so if you deviate at all from their instructions, they have to assume your a threat and take you down. Everyone talks about the cop being a dick, but what about the guy? If he had a problem with the ticket he should have contested it in COURT because that's how it works. Even as you sign the ticket most cops tell you that signing the ticket is not an admission of guilt and that you can make your case and contest it in court. Was the cop a little out line from the get go? Maybe. But I feel the guy was being way more of an ass. After getting tasered his wife comes out and starts yelling and this guy tells her to run. What the hell does she need to run for? So she can get tasered too? Way to care for your wife man...

To sum it up I feel that the driver was trying to come off as some know it all jackass and after he got tasered, he saw himself as some victim of abuse or some vigilante and so that made him even more bold and even more non-compliant. I don't really think the police officer did anything wrong and I didn't see any abuse of power or brutality. It's a simple instruction...put your hands behind your head and get on the ground. If you keep walking away don't bitch about getting tasered later. Edited December 5, 2007 by Raziel510

[TheScotsman]

He may have been within his legal right to use it, but from what the video shows it was not the prudent course of action.

The whole mess took place because the cop was pretty much our of line from the initial contact. If people are insulted, and demeaned from the onset, just how does he expect it to turn out? We have all run into enough pushy, rude cops to know just how that makes us feel, or act.

If society is brought down to the lowest denominator, then what separates our society from that of any other? We propose to create these great democratic governments around the world, talk about the lack of human rights in (insert your choice of nation) yet can not control the basic behavior of our own police. Completely hypocritical in every respect.

Based on the video, I myself wouldn't think him to be going after a weapon in any case. I might expect him to get in, and lock the door, sitting there in defiance.

You say the whole mess took place because the cop was out of line, but even if he was that doesn't give the driver the right to completely disregard his instructions. The reason cops are so adamant about you following certain instructions is because they have no idea what your doing or thinking. Sure you might expect the guy to get in and just lock his door, but what if he didn't. What if he went inside his car, grabbed a gun and started shooting? Cops see the craziest stuff sometimes and that can put them on edge (for good reason...their very lives are on the line) so if you deviate at all from their instructions, they have to assume your a threat and take you down. Everyone talks about the cop being a dick, but what about the guy? If he had a problem with the ticket he should have contested it in COURT because that's how it works. Even as you sign the ticket most cops tell you that signing the ticket is not an admission of guilt and that you can make your case and contest it in court. Was the cop a little out line from the get go? Maybe. But I feel the guy was being way more of an ass. After getting tasered his wife comes out and starts yelling and this guy tells her to run. What the hell does she need to run for? So she can get tasered too? Way to care for your wife man...

To sum it up I feel that the driver was trying to come off as some know it all jackass and after he got tasered, he saw himself as some victim of abuse or some vigilante and so that made him even more bold and even more non-compliant. I don't really think the police officer did anything wrong and I didn't see any abuse of power or brutality. It's a simple instruction...put your hands behind your head and get on the ground. If you keep walking away don't bitch about getting tasered later.

What if's don't hold water, except in the defense of the undefendable.

What if he sprouted wings and flapped off with the faeries?
What if he was having a reaction to some prescription?
What if the cop had just taken the time to not be an ass from the moment he exited his car? (hmm, there is a concept! the cop treats the guy they stop with respect!)
What if the cop goes to find a job. He is obviously paranoid, and it's affecting his judgement.

Any time I have had a chance to meet the constabulary over a traffic violation I have seen both, jackasses like this cop, I treat them like they treat me. Write me up, who gives a damn, my lawyer goes to court, here if he goes, I don't have to... I would rather pay him 1500$ than roll over for the jackboots anyway. So far every time challenged, the ticket has been dismissed, usually because the cop doesn't show, or didn't maintain the proper documentation to prove I was the person stopped. If I get a modicum of decent treatment I am happy to return the favour. "Just doing their job" does not give anyone a right to be a jackass, nor treat anyone inferior. You can not take the incident out of context, it has to be viewed from the very beginning as a single event.

People these days are under too much stress, all too often they are "just on the rim" of loosing it. The added stress of an encounter with the cops, the $ it is going to cost them, and the insult with being treated in a demeaning manor from the very first word is going to set a bad situation in motion. People do not trust cops, and stuff like this is why.

Oh, and by the way, my atty said NEVER sign the ticket, and call him if they require it. No matter what they say, your signature proves you were there, a key to being proven guilty. I never have signed one, heard the "I'll arrest you" BS, and never gotten the ride-O'shame.

[Raziel510]

What if's don't hold water, except in the defense of the undefendable.

What if he sprouted wings and flapped off with the faeries?
What if he was having a reaction to some prescription?
What if the cop had just taken the time to not be an ass from the moment he exited his car? (hmm, there is a concept! the cop treats the guy they stop with respect!)
What if the cop goes to find a job. He is obviously paranoid, and it's affecting his judgement.

Most of those what if's you listed are completely unrealistic and you know it.

What if he sprouted wings?
- Lets stick to realistic situations here...
What if he was having a reaction to some prescription?
- A reaction to a precscription is disobeying an officer when he says put your hands on your head?
What if the cop goes to find a job. He is obviously paranoid, and it's affecting his judgement
- When your faced with dangerous situations as regularly as cops are, it tends to make you a little fearful...

I'll state it again, I understand that the guy in probability wasn't going to do anything, but the fact remains that it is a PROBABILITY and it isn't for certain. If I were an officer I'd much rather not take that risk and put my life into the hands of chance, even if the odds are in my favor. Maybe I could understand your point of view if the cop shot the driver with a gun, but all the officer did was incapacitate the driver before he had the chance to do anything that might put his life in danger.

What if the driver got into the car locked the doors and drove off leading to high speed pursuit that would put other motorists in danger
What if the driver in a desperate bid to escape takes his wife hostage and holds her at gunpoint until he can get away?
What if the driver went into the car pulled out a gun from the glove compartment and shot the officer all because you say the officer should have trusted that the guy wouldn't do anything shady?

I'm sorry but my what if's are a lot more plausible than some of yours...

[entrailsgalore]

If a cop tells me to strip off my clothes and run backwards in a cornfield by all means I am going to do it. Why? I know how the political system works, and how laws work and I know who has the power to abuse these laws. Cops do. I'm sure a lot of people are harmed if not killed by the law for reasons such as this. I may not agree to it, I may not like it, but I know how it works. I am the bich and if I want lotions on the skin I will do as I am told by my buffalo bill.