Tasered by Utah Highway Patrol

[Bob_VT]

Re: Tasered by Utah Highway Patrol

They are dangerous Bob, no doubt about that. That being said the kid shouldn't have reached in his pocket. If it had been me (9 years as a cop) I would probably still be upset because they carried him away in a bag. I can't say for sure because I wasn't there and it wasn't me. Here in Tejas if you refuse to sign the ticket you go to jail. When written a ticket, any ticket, you are basiclly being arrested. By signing the ticket you are being released on bond (personal recogninze) and agreeing to appear in court or make contact the court before the due date. Your right about him needing additional training also. Theres a procedure every cop should follow- The 7 step contact.
1- Hi, how are ya?
2- I'm Officer Brown from Freestone Co SD.
3- The reason I stopped you is because________
4- IS there a reason for the infraction?
5- get dl and insur info
6- Write ticket or warning
7- Thank them for there courtesy and allow them to leave

Lots of wrong on both sides of that fence.

Agree.

 

[Kenneth Brown]

Re: Tasered by Utah Highway Patrol

Another Utah Highway Patrol Traffic Stop May Have Saved A Life - The Story Of Trooper Terry Woodward
While the attention of Utah and much of the country is preoccupied with rogue Utah Highway Patrol Trooper John Gardner, a story about a very different UHP Trooper needs to be told. The full story, along with video, was broadcast on KTVX Channel 4 in Salt Lake City.

Recently, Trooper Terry Woodward noticed a Dodge 4X4 pickup truck veering in and out of its lane on Interstate 15 at Point of the Mountain in the southern end of the Salt Lake Valley. Upon stopping the vehicle and approaching the driver, a woman named Elena, he immediately found out why she was swerving. “She was obviously upset, the child was crying. She said she had a sick child and she was heading home to her mother's… in Price.”

However, Trooper Woodward then noticed that two-year-old Makayla was not in her car seat. Woodward issued a citation for a seat belt violation. "It's never a pleasant experience stopping them and giving them a ticket,” Woodward said, “but in this case it was a good thing the child was secured".

And why was it a good thing? Because an hour later, Elena and her daughter ran head-on into a tanker truck on U.S. Highway 6 (which has always had a reputation for being a dangerous road). The Dodge 4x4 was so smashed on the driver’s side that Elena had to be extricated from the pickup but little Makayla escaped with only bruises and a black eye. No details were reported as to who was at fault, but since Elena was swerving earlier, it's possible she swerved out of her lane at just the wrong time. I've driven U.S. Highway 6 down through Price - and regardless of how well the state maintains it, there is very little room for error on that highway. Price Canyon is simply rough terrain.

Uncanny - just an hour after that ticket was issued that same mother and daughter were involved in a head-on collision with a semi---and survived.

And Trooper Woodward got a "thank-you" from the family. "We're just very grateful. We feel she was very protected--that they were both watched over,” said Makayla’s grandmother, Joan Stout. Stout says her daughter, Elena, faces a long road to recovery but her injuries will heal.

“It will be a very grateful thanksgiving,” Joan Stout said in a voice choked with emotion, and she says her family has a dedicated trooper to thank for the life of their granddaughter. “We're very grateful he was out there doing his job and don't feel it was coincidence that he stopped Elena.” [Ed. Note: True, it probably wasn't a coincidence.]

The truth is that Terry Woodward is much more representative of the typical UHP Trooper than John Gardner. Woodward gave the lady a ticket, which seems "chicken****", but the lady buckled up her kid and saved her life.

By the way, here's another wrinkle. What made this even more meaningful for Trooper Woodward is that little Makayla is the niece of a Department of Wildlife Resource officer who trained under Woodward.

 

[SS MAYFLOAT]

Re: Tasered by Utah Highway Patrol

Growing up, if I questioned my mom and dads authority,,,,I paid the consequence.

In school, if I questioned the teachers authority,,,,I paid the consequence.

At work, if I questioned my boss,,,,I pay the consequence

I was taught that when you question authority, you will be in trouble. Our younger generation has not been taught that you do not question those in control. There is always a proper place and time to deal with problems. A person should know when those times and places is right. It may not be right to some, but that is the way I see it........SS

 

[JB]

Re: Tasered by Utah Highway Patrol

Too many LEOs are assaulted and injured. . .a few even killed. . .by resisting perps. They need to treat every resisting perp as a possible deadly threat until properly secured.

Is the TASER an appropriate tool? It is sure safer for the suspect than a 9mm and more effective than pepper spray, but it has killed people. I think it needs to be used as possibly deadly force.

Diplomacy is the best tool but the LEO did not have that at his disposal.

The misbehavior of one individual in one incident is never useful evidence with which to label a whole class of people.

 

[bjcsc]

Re: Tasered by Utah Highway Patrol

If you think the officer had an attitude problem, you didn't watch the video. This case will go nowhere. The officer did everything he could, and the kid should be glad he was tasered instead of shot. That officer saved that kids life. In my opinion, the wife was playing with fire coming out of the vehicle and approaching the officer even after instructed to stay in the vehicle.

If a police officer tells you you're under arrest, and you turn your back to them, hide one of your hands and put the other one in your pocket, what do you think is going to happen? Did anyone notice at the end of the video when the officer gave the kids possessions to the wife that they included a knife he had in his pocket??

I have no respect for people who do not respect police officers and no sympathy for those who then bear the consequences of their disrespect.

 

[OLDSPUD]

Re: Tasered by Utah Highway Patrol

I will give you the point that the Kid was arrogant and stupid. I think that is an X-generation way of acting. I was shocked that he did what he did.

My point is that the incident was not controlled by the officer, he let it get out of control. He would not answer any questions of the stupid kid, it should have never gotten to the point of deciding to use force. The wife was acting out of emotion, which women usually do, not thinking of the logical action to be taken.

 

[Mark42]

Re: Tasered by Utah Highway Patrol

I love it when a smart mouth brat gets a lesson in respecting authority. He should have kept his mouth shut and signed the ticket. The side of a highway is not the place to argue your position. That is why you go to court. "Tell it to the judge" means just that.

Hopefully, he won't have learned a thing from this episode, and will get tazed many, many more times in the future.

 

[penst8grad]

Re: Tasered by Utah Highway Patrol

Growing up, if I questioned my mom and dads authority,,,,I paid the consequence.

In school, if I questioned the teachers authority,,,,I paid the consequence.

At work, if I questioned my boss,,,,I pay the consequence

I was taught that when you question authority, you will be in trouble. Our younger generation has not been taught that you do not question those in control. There is always a proper place and time to deal with problems. A person should know when those times and places is right. It may not be right to some, but that is the way I see it........SS

Without getting off topic I strongly disagree with that statement. Our country was founded by a bunch of people who had a strong distrust of authority and that tradition continues to this day. It's even written into our bill of rights.

What we can agree on is that there is a time and a way to have a disagreement with authority.

 

[tommays]

Re: Tasered by Utah Highway Patrol

Well if you watch the news edited video it raises

"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ifEvD2PSd8"


But if you watch the ENTIRE video from the patrol car there is nothing to wonder about and short of letting him drive away littel else to do


"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMaMYL_shxc&feature=related"


Tommays

 

[wildmaninal]

Re: Tasered by Utah Highway Patrol

You all watch them caught on tape shows on TV? If so have you seen the one video taken from the trooper's car were he pulled over this man in the SUV. The trooper approached the vehicle and the driver seemed to be PO-ed from the trooper didn't raise his voice non that I recall to the driver. The driver threw every ticket out of the SUV, the trooper told him to get out and pick the mess up or else he will have one for littering. The man got out and picked up the mess got back in the vehicle still cursing. The trooper let driver go the man was never physically threatened. It's been a while since I seen that video but this goes to show you that the trooper was either having a good day or well mannered and no doubt was not going to let this situation get to him in any way.

I agree with JB that the taser should be used in a potentially deadly situation.

 

[SpinnerBait_Nut]

Re: Tasered by Utah Highway Patrol

Always had great respect for LEOs.
I would not want their job at all.
I have always taught my kids to do as they ask if they get stopped.
The side of the road is no place to question the police.
99% of the time, you are in the wrong.
Grant you, there are some GI Joes out there for sure and I have seen a few of them, but still do as they ask and it will go a lot better.
Even if you are feeding their ego.

 

[SpinnerBait_Nut]

Re: Tasered by Utah Highway Patrol

You all watch them caught on tape shows on TV? If so have you seen the one video taken from the trooper's car were he pulled over this man in the SUV. The trooper approached the vehicle and the driver seemed to be PO-ed from the trooper didn't raise his voice non that I recall to the driver. The driver through every ticket out of the SUV, the trooper told him to get out and pick the mess up or else he will have one for littering. The man got out and picked up the mess got back in the vehicle still cursing. The trooper let driver go the man was never physically threatened. It's been a while since I seen that video but this goes to show you that the trooper was either having a good day or well mannered and no doubt was going to let this situation get to him in any way.

Yep, seen that one.
The guy tore the ticket up and threw it out the window.
Yea, that cop was cool under pressure.

 

[woodrat]

Re: Tasered by Utah Highway Patrol

police officers get my respect....when they give it. Just like everyone else.

around here, the state patrol officers are almost universally rude and disrespectful. The county sheriff's deputies, on the other hand, seem to have a much more balanced approach, and are generally very polite and respectful.

A couple of years ago, I was pulled over at night on my way home from a fishing trip, pulling a boat trailer. It was a county deputy and my trailer lights were all out, which I didn't know. I tried to fix the ground while he watched and held a flashlight for me, but coudn't get it working. He said, well, you're almost home, why don't you just head on home and fix it tomorrow. no ticket, no written warning, just a helpful, polite experience. That man knows how to be respectful.

last week, I was on my way home at night, and had a low beam bulb burned out in my car, so when i got off the interstate onto the dark state hiway where I live, I put the high beams on, so I could see better. There are deer and elk all over the place and I didn't want to hit one. My high beams weren't very bright either, but better than one low beam. I got pulled over by a state patrol officer who walked up to the car with an attitude the size of Texas (or maybe Utah?). Rude and aggressive right from the start, lecturing me angrily about how unsafe I was running with my high beams on. He had me there on the side of the road for almost ten minutes, and then came back with more angry and rude lecturing and a ticket for $124. I asked him how a guy was supposed to get home with a bulb burned out without being ticketed and he responded not by giving me an answer, but by loudly quoting the driver's manual. Steps 1, 2, 4 and 7 as outlined by kenneth brown above, were skipped completely.

You think I respect that man just because he is a cop? No way. Fear him and obey him, sure, but respect has to be earned, and a uniform alone doesn't do that.

Just like you can't say all cops are bad, because of one bad experience, all cops don't get to claim that they are all good, just because they are cops.

 

[1730V]

Re: Tasered by Utah Highway Patrol

I will give you the point that the Kid was arrogant and stupid. I think that is an X-generation way of acting. I was shocked that he did what he did.

My point is that the incident was not controlled by the officer, he let it get out of control. He would not answer any questions of the stupid kid, it should have never gotten to the point of deciding to use force. The wife was acting out of emotion, which women usually do, not thinking of the logical action to be taken.

None of us here can judge. I've been on Police ride alongs. They are scary. The Officer never knows what he is getting into. These are life and death situations. We pay them what $$$? Answer=squat, to put up with all our trash.

You want the job? My guess is-NOT!

If a smart ***** wants to prove his point, roadside ain't the place to do it. What an idiot.

 

[OLDSPUD]

Re: Tasered by Utah Highway Patrol

Roger that, but cops become cops because they want to, ya their underpaid, not my problem. I am tired of their actions for being undpaid, it is not an excuse to treat people like criminals. I will give you the fact their are some scary bad people on the roads, but I bet the majority of drivers are decent folks and even though they drive to fast doesn't make them criminals just speeders that should be fined not tasered but on the other hand be decent to the officers.

This incident is not isolated, maybe the tasering, but not the treatment by officers.

I chose not to be a cop, there is no money in it, I cannot figure the motivation of anyone to be a cop other than the power trip or if it is the desire to help people, if it is there, then help them. If they act stupid, educate them as to why they need to sign the dang citation, all he had to say, in a clam voice, by signing this does not make you quilty, and explain if they want to challange the ticket, the roadside is not the place to do it. If the kid still acted like an spoiled brat then tase him if necessary.

 

[Drowned Rat]

Re: Tasered by Utah Highway Patrol

Inappropriate use of the Taser. No doubt about it. Maybe it's the cops fault and maybe it isn't. Maybe it's a training problem, but the Taser is an alternate to deadly force and shouldn't be used to compel compliance like was demonstrated here. Those in charge need to rein in this technology now before it goes the way of Mace when it was first used widespread. Cops use Mace and pepper spray almost as an alternative to verbal commands these days, and it was touted as an alternate to deadly force too when it first came out.

The stakes are higher now because the Taser can actually be deadly.

Ask yourself this. If the cop didn't have the Taser, should he have shot this young man? If you answer no, then he shouldn't have used the Taser either. It's an alternative to deadly force only, not a tool to force compliance.

The cop was wrong.

 

[1730V]

Re: Tasered by Utah Highway Patrol

So, we get angels and pay them nothing. Great plan, too bad that's not the way it works.. Nobody wants to be one yet we will so frequently judge them. Seems a bit two faced to me.

I'm not defending the officer, I'm judging societies perception of law enforcement. It's pathetic, from what I read.

 

[woodrat]

Re: Tasered by Utah Highway Patrol

If the law enforcement community is so worried about our perception of them, then they should work a heck of a lot harder to weed out the jerks and the power abusers from their own ranks. Instead, they protect them from any consequences of their actions. Fact is, some people who are cops are there for all the wrong reasons, and are ill-suited for the job. They are the ones that give LE a bad name and yet the LE community almost always covers for bad cops to the bitter end.

Any cop who uses a taser to make up for his own lack of composure and his own loss of control of a simple situation either needs a lot more training or a new job. My guess is that this guy in question will get neither and continue to overreact and abuse power indefinitely.

And that sure is too bad for his co-workers who ARE good cops.

 

[1730V]

Re: Tasered by Utah Highway Patrol

If the law enforcement community is so worried about our perception of them, then they should work a heck of a lot harder to weed out the jerks and the power abusers from their own ranks. Instead, they protect them from any consequences of their actions. Fact is, some people who are cops are there for all the wrong reasons, and are ill-suited for the job. They are the ones that give LE a bad name and yet the LE community almost always covers for bad cops to the bitter end.

Any cop who uses a taser to make up for his own lack of composure and his own loss of control of a simple situation either needs a lot more training or a new job. My guess is that this guy in question will get neither and continue to overreact and abuse power indefinitely.

And that sure is too bad for his co-workers who ARE good cops.

They can do that and then we have how many? They are humans, humans make mistakes but we sure love to throw rocks at this bunch.

As I said, we are two faced on this whole missue.

 

[Drowned Rat]

Re: Tasered by Utah Highway Patrol

"They can do that and then we have how many? They are humans, humans make mistakes but we sure love to throw rocks at this bunch.
As I said, we are two faced on this whole missue."


Those in a position to take away one's freedom had best have their act together. There is nothing two faced about it. Nothing but the consummate professional has any business being a cop. That's a compliment to the profession, not a criticism.