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259 Comments
- hijacktheleft, on 11/24/2007, -3/+109@WestonP
The fact that it keeps coming up isn't the problem. The problem is that it keeps happening. Sure, there have been reports where the use of tazers is justified, but a lot of these stories, the tazers are not necessary. Just because it isn't lethal or doesn't cause permanent damage doesn't mean that it's not excessive force. Excessive force is only supposed to be used when the person poses a threat or is trying to escape. In a lot of these cases, the "suspect" is doing nothing more than being arrogant... sometimes not even that. That's the problem. - scenerio, on 11/24/2007, -3/+75I've argued with the police on many occasions, and even refused to let them search my car (which didn't work at the time, got arrested, but I won in court anyway). Anytime I argue with them, which is usually because they are trying to fudge the law and i call them out on it, I always keep my distance, never make any sudden movements and listen if they start to get agitated. The fact of the matter is most of these cops are on a power trip and not highly educated which is alousy combination. During an arguement or a dispute you simply can't make any sudden movements or act shady because they believe their safety might be in danger. Once they believe that then you are screwed. So next time your in a dispute, state your case calmly and if they tell you to sit down, do it, they have the gun. Nonetheless they are probably wrong and you will win your case in court, all the cops I know break the law. I live out side of Boston.
- Efilnikufesin, on 11/24/2007, -4/+56seriously, we need a Taser Section on
- wazzledoozle2, on 11/24/2007, -6/+53So you think its legal for a cop to make 'lawful orders' on top of an unlawful detainment?
- PiGuy, on 11/24/2007, -1/+34If you actually worked for Taser you would know how to spell the companies name correctly.
- scrappyvintage, on 11/24/2007, -14/+43I used to work for tazer, here in Scottsdale Arizona. Nothing was better than watching the training cops out in the yard getting tazed (you must in order get the license).
- CheeseburgerBro, on 11/24/2007, -0/+21The use of non-lethal weapons should be governed by the same strict policies as the use of lethal weapons.
From an officer's point of view, both should be thought of as immobilizing tools of last resort. One should taser only when one would otherwise use a firearm.
Tasers should not be viewed as an augmentation of the peace officer's arsenal, but a replacement for a tool which has led to too many causes of capital punishment without trial. - ck314, on 11/24/2007, -18/+39owned
- heartsblood, on 11/24/2007, -4/+24I have to disagree completely. I refuse to let anyone high on a power trip order me around because it makes him hard. When an officer has the delusion that he or she IS the law and not an extension of it, there is a serious breakdown in our legal system. The only reason the officer used his taser on that man was because of the attitude in the above post. Complacency is not something to be proud of. If the officer had been reprimanded for his behavior prior to this incident he may not have been so quick to pull out and use his taser. The officer now faces a mountain of legal trouble as well as his whole department, and his sheriff.
As you can see the officer didn't just screw himself, he screwed everybody around him not just from the media coverage but from the upcoming legal case. His department will be sued and it won't be a question of if they lose, but how much they'll owe the gentleman that got tasered. In the end you have to ask yourself, was complacency worth scores of policemen and women getting fired because the department can no longer afford them? - lordtyp0, on 11/24/2007, -0/+17This is actually wrong. In Utah at least you are not required to sign the ticket. It is simply a formality. The officer had proof the person was stopped and a citation was given. If he didn't show in court to protest the citation or pay it via other means, he would be screwed anyway.
- s14sh3r, on 11/24/2007, -8/+24Read the law again. The officer MAY issue the citation in lieu of custody. It doesn't say MUST. Big difference. You refuse to sign, they can take you to jail, end of story. I'll be dugg down, but only because there are lots of ***** idiots here who think they can get away with whatever they want. Guess what, princess? You can't. Get the ***** over it.
- Tenlow, on 11/24/2007, -3/+18The motorist did nothing wrong. The "lawful order" was given AFTER he was removed from the car for refusing to sign. So the guy walked away from a "lawful order" the police officer had no legal right to give in that situation.
- Pake, on 11/24/2007, -12/+27http://law.freeadvice.com/general_practice/traffic ...
Please read this before making yourselves look stupid. - Loonacy, on 11/24/2007, -2/+16He's comin' right at us!
- MWeather, on 11/24/2007, -1/+15That's cute. You think the cops will get there while the guy is still there.
- capiCrimm, on 11/24/2007, -1/+15Nope, I wouldn't call one. I would *love* to call an officer. They *can* have a very useful place in society. They don't though, because of bad laws and power hungry officers. Instead of a local army, they should be a helping force.
Think about how you feel when an ambulance or firetruck goes by you, now imagine it was a police car that turned on it's lights behind you. - empraptor, on 11/24/2007, -4/+18The video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMaMYL_shxc
The officer's incompetent. He's not a kid. He should have better reason than "you will respect my authority" for arresting someone. - cowboy86, on 11/24/2007, -5/+19You already look stupid. A general law cannot put into catergory every situation. This officer did not follow proper procedures in the first place. He must give the person a warning before tazing him. He had not resisted arrest at any point. The website you list does only works in certain states. NOT UTAH. Where they are to write "refusal to sign" or just "refused" on the ticket. Please before you post again learn something that's not off of a website. Don't assume you know something because you read a book about it. I don't go around pretending to be a lawyer even though I took 3 years of law school just to do something else.
- skylarsutton, on 11/24/2007, -2/+15While he may have "nothing to gain" by not signing the ticket he has ever right to do that. The ENTIRE situation could have been avoided if the COP had understood the laws and not jumped to conclusions. The driver was certainly uncooperative - but the situation that unfolded was not his doing, it was in fact, the cops doing.
- crapmatic, on 11/24/2007, -5/+18I'm sure the lawyers are beating down his door to represent him. This will likely work itself out in court and justice will be served from a $$$$$$ payout. Thankfully no one got killed this time.
- InkyHLV, on 11/24/2007, -7/+20Take it like a bitch or stand your ground like an *****, decide for yourself and stop criticizing people who don't choose the same as you.
- Wavicle, on 11/24/2007, -3/+15Which lawful order, prior to detaining, did he refuse?
- Mindzai, on 11/24/2007, -1/+13It's clear that you are the one who needs to grow up. Apparently you don't understand the scope of the argument people are making here. The abuse of power is uncalled for in so many of these cases and the cops walk free.
- reed311, on 11/24/2007, -4/+16Wow, you're pretty awesome. If you're going to be a grammar douche, then at least you should type in complete sentences.
- edeliz, on 11/24/2007, -1/+12The Article is stating that a police officer has the discretion to cite someone in lieu of arresting them, so although the man doesnt have to sign, the discretion can then change to the opposite, and the suspect being taken to jail.
- JonParker, on 11/24/2007, -1/+11Jynx, I'm digging you down not because I hate the po-leece, but because I hate whiny-ass "go ahead, digg me down" comments.
- SavageBlackCat, on 11/24/2007, -2/+12Vids or it didn't happen.
- inactive, on 11/24/2007, -0/+10Wow I'm sure that's a realistic tasing.
- scabbers, on 11/24/2007, -13/+22Just for the record, my advice is to just sort this ***** out later, and if you're under arrest for ***** reasons, don't give them the excuse to shoot/taser/beat you.
- Efilnikufesin, on 11/24/2007, -1/+10I think you mean Axel Rose
- heystoopid, on 11/24/2007, -1/+10Why would they want to bust one of their own doing a burglary when they could be out and about having more fun by tasering allegedly speeding motorists , threatening unarmed pregnant women or hapless seven year old children instead who cross their path ?
- derrickgossman, on 11/24/2007, -14/+23I've got a foolproof way of avoiding getting tazed by the cops -- you ready for this?
All you have to do is to manage to not act like an ***** when interacting with them, and follow any directions you're given.
Works every time. - inactive, on 11/24/2007, -5/+14not signing the ticket is not something that an officer can arrest you for
what people don't realize is that when they're pulled over for speeding, they're actually under arrest (well in some states anyways, including the one where this incident took place). Signing that ticket means the officer doesn't have to take you to jail, but you promise to sort it all out. - kuzotz, on 11/24/2007, -5/+14Cops have always done what the poster above said this isn't new. What is new is that they are doing it to white americans now so all of the sudden its a big issue..
- TriZz, on 11/24/2007, -6/+15Actually, I think the author of this article is missing the point. The point of signing the citation is to say you have accepted the citation. If you do not sign the citation, then you've committed a crime (as the article states) and are subject to arrest (for committing a crime and refusing the 'easy way out'.
It's not against the law to not sign the citation (as the article states), but signing it has it's benefits - like accepting the citation and not going to jail for such a small crime. - HawkBurn, on 11/24/2007, -5/+13There was a similar incident like this in Dallas a while back. There wasn't a taser involved, but an old woman was arrested and put in jail (for an hour or so) for not signing the ticket. The main reason the person is arrested is for not acknowledging the offense and the officer involved. When you sign a ticket, you are signing and agreeing to the fact that you received it in your hand, kind of like signing for a package. Signing is by no means a guilty/innocent plea, and does not affect the outcome in court in any manner.
- ghee, on 11/24/2007, -0/+8...Digg.
- skylarsutton, on 11/24/2007, -1/+9Doesn't matter - you don't have to sign the document. You will be required to contact the court regarding the offense and acknowledge that you have been charged with it... but that is not required to happen on the side of the road.
- dinostabOMG, on 11/24/2007, -1/+8This may be the biggest case of RTFA I've come across in a while.
- death2newbs, on 11/24/2007, -0/+7Excessive force is never supposed to be used, that's why it's called excessive - meaning that it is more than needed, you know, like punching a guy in the head after he has been restrained, digg that!
- cowboy86, on 11/24/2007, -1/+8Um, no actually in I believe it's 43 states the officer is just to right "refusal to sign." Yes, that's including Utah.
- AriaStar, on 11/24/2007, -0/+6Trauma for being tazed without cause is permanent damage. The voltage of these things can also kill.
- jellygraph, on 11/24/2007, -0/+6To follow up with that, I especially think that this guys reluctance to follow orders bothered the cop, because it was coming from a guy who was so mild mannered and non-threatening. Even after he got tasered, the guy was trying to reason with the cop and the cop just kept giving justifications to the tune of, "I'm sorry, you did this to yourself..." and repeating that crap to his wife, like he was the good ol' cop just doing his duty and regretting it, but he brought it on himself. It really goes to show... theres something funamentally wrong with the whole thing.
- TheMidnight, on 11/24/2007, -2/+8These guys need to work on their Googling. Utah has a law that says that signing the ticket is required to be released from arrest. It took me a while, but if you're going to make a huge stink of a blog post about it, you should do the same research. Here is the Utah law and a link:
Found it.
http://le.utah.gov/~code/TITLE77/htm/77_09025.htm
77-7-24. Notice to appear in court -- Contents -- Promise to comply -- Signing -- Release from custody -- Official misconduct.
(1) If a person who is arrested for a violation of Title 41, Chapter 6a, Traffic Code, that is punishable as a misdemeanor is immediately taken before a magistrate as provided under Section 77-7-23, the peace officer shall prepare, in triplicate or more copies, a written notice to appear in court containing:
(a) the name and address of the person;
(b) the number, if any, of the person's driver license;
(c) the license plate number of the person's vehicle;
(d) the offense charged; and
(e) the time and place the person shall appear in court.
(2) The time specified in the notice to appear must be at least five days after the arrest of the person unless the person demands an earlier hearing.
(3) The place specified in the notice to appear shall be made before a magistrate of competent jurisdiction in the county in which the alleged violation occurred.
(4) (a) In order to secure release as provided in this section, the arrested person shall promise to appear in court by signing at least one copy of the written notice prepared by the arresting officer.
(b) The arresting peace officer shall immediately:
(i) deliver a copy of the notice to the person promising to appear; and
(ii) release the person arrested from custody.
(5) A peace officer violating any of the provisions of this section shall be:
(a) guilty of misconduct in office; and
(b) subject to removal from office. - vclortho, on 11/24/2007, -2/+8So the dude's dad told him you don't have to sign the ticket, he reads a couple of Utah laws and misunderstands them, and this makes it to the front page of digg? You guys are dumber than hell. Buried.
- jgzman, on 11/24/2007, -2/+8A cop has no authority to give me "lawful orders." That is a phrase used in the military. I am a private citizen, and except in extreme circumstance, Police Officers do not order me around.
- spectre_25gt, on 11/24/2007, -0/+6I think the problem is that there's probably another law stating what serving a citation entails. Signing the citation may very well be part of that. Refusing to sign the citation does not constitute a crime as far as I can tell, it just means that you are arrested for the previously committed crime instead of receiving the citation.
- dinostabOMG, on 11/24/2007, -0/+6Unfortunately I am not sure about that. The law is biased toward cops; the judicial process isn't as separate from them as it ought to be.
- jacquesm, on 11/24/2007, -0/+6"Perhaps if you would stop doing things that make you appear guilty you wouldn't get a second look from law enforcement."
you had me up to there, there is no such thing as 'appearing guilty'.
In the US I've been pulled over for:
- obeying the speed limit
- exceeding the speed limit (+2 miles)
- towing a trailer
in none of the cases there was anything remotely warranting pulling me over, other than probably appearing to be guilty of something, probably because of my Canadian license plates. I'm lucky I'm not black or I would have appeared even more 'guilty'. - derrickgossman, on 11/24/2007, -4/+9There's a big difference between not acting like an *****, and kissing ass.
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