Remember cops and robbers with toy guns? I was born in the 70's. Back then, little boys could still run through the streets getting high on little jolts of testosterone by gunning down the "bad" men... and saving the invisible people in their fantasy world.
Ever wonder if all that "happy" came from the benevolence of saving the invisible people or from the sick trip of conquering the prey? I wonder too...
Fast forward to Utah in 2008. Those little boys are big men and some are cops. The job is real. The "bad" guys are made of real flesh. And the "practice" shoot-em gun is the almighty taser.
In this incident, a father named Jared Massey (driving with his wife and infant daughter) was pulled over for speeding. Assured that he hadn't done anything wrong, Massey refused to sign the ticket. Apparently, Massey had been confused by road work zones and placement of speed signs. Without yelling and without aggression (from the video's perspective), he simply said, "I'm not signing anything."
Officer Bruised Ego (aka Trooper Gardner) ordered the suspect from the car. You be the judge when you see the story/video, but this macho act alone precipitated the event. Why? Because Massey was not required to sign a ticket for the ticket to be issued!
As you'll see, Massey left his car expecting that he could point out the discrepancy with the speed limit signs. Instead, Gardner was flashing-back to a childhood of cap guns. Like Little 9-year Old Johnny from down the block, Goof Trooper pulled his taser from the six shooter holster on his hip. The frightened Massey turns to walk back into his vehicle, only now Trooper Gardner wants the him to "put his hands behind his back." Massey keeps walking scared, because like me, I'm never expecting the cop to pull the trigger over a stinking speeding ticket.
Only -- Trooper Trigger Happy does deploy the taser. The next thing you know, daddy is lying on the side of the road dangerously close to the white line.
Worse, Massey is asked to "turn over" while on the side of the road. Naturally, not a single muscle in Massey's body is in Massey's control. Duh. So for not turning over, Massey gets capped in his a** tased again.
Questions for the Comments:
1. Who gets the award for Most Unreasonable?
2. Is this was you expect from well-trained cops who should know how to handle ACTUAL dangerous situations?
3. Did Massey simply "buy that" when he refused to comply and simply walked back to his car?
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