Tase Early, Tase Often - Column
The shocking truth about speeding busts: sometimes a ticket is not the worst part.

BY PATRICK BEDARD
May 2008



The camera looks forward through the windshield of a police car in Austin, Texas, recording a traffic bust. We see the back of Cpl. Thomas O’Connor as he strides forward on the driver side of the sedan he just stopped on South Mopac Expressway. O’Connor speaks hurriedly. He sounds angry as he identifies himself by name and department and finishes the sentence with a demand for a driver’s license and proof of insurance. Five seconds have elapsed since he left the patrol car.

In the next nine seconds he tells the driver, Eugene Snelling, 32, that he was stopped for 70 in a 65 zone and for having no license plate on the rear of his car. In the next five seconds, O’Connor demands “driver’s license and proof of insurance” two more times.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” the driver replies. His mother is in the car—he’s driving her to Thanksgiving dinner—and she’s talking, too.

The policeman demands “driver’s license and proof of insurance or get out of the vehicle.” Twenty-four seconds have now elapsed.

The driver’s mother nags her son from the passenger seat. At 29 seconds, the policeman yanks open the driver’s door and orders, “Step out of the vehicle.” As the driver fumbles with his seatbelt, the policeman draws a TASER from his belt holster. We’re 33 seconds into the bust now, and the mother is still telling her son what to do. At 41 seconds, the driver’s feet touch the pavement, and he stands up. The policeman shoves the door shut, hitting the driver in the shoulder and knocking him off balance. That’s followed by a hard push with an order to “get to the back of the vehicle.”

“I have no idea why—” Snelling begins, but the officer shouts him down: “Get to the back of the vehicle, put your hands on the vehicle.” The driver obviously doesn’t understand why he’s being treated so roughly when he’s said nothing provocative. He hesitates, looks at the policeman in disbelief, and the policeman fires his weapon at him. Zero to TASER: 48 seconds from the time the officer stepped out of his patrol car.

Another camera, this time in Utah. We follow as an SUV eases onto the shoulder. Trooper John Gardner walks forward on the driver side. His greeting is matter-of-fact. The driver, in a polite voice, asks how fast he was going, but the officer ignores the question and asks firmly for his license and registration.

“No, I’m serious, I’m just wondering,” says Jared Massey, 28. We can’t hear the conversation that follows, but 35 seconds after the officer first appeared at the window, we hear him ask, “How fast do you think you were going?” There’s a discussion about passing a sign. No raised voices. It all sounds like a well-modulated back-and-forth. After 73 seconds at the driver’s door, the officer returns to his cruiser to write a ticket.

When he returns to the SUV, we hear Massey say, “You’re giving me a ticket, but you won’t tell me why.” The driver wants to go back with the trooper to see where the 40-mph sign is.

“You’re gonna sign this first.” Massey refuses.

“Okay, hop outta the car.” Nineteen seconds have elapsed since Trooper Gardner reappeared with the ticket. The driver complies quickly and walks back in the direction from which he had driven, pointing toward something. He’s not aggressive toward the trooper, is not even facing him but, rather, looks down the road pointing. The officer draws his TASER, points it at Massey, and says, “Turn around and put your hands behind your back.”

The driver recoils. “What’s wrong with you?” he asks. He starts to walk the other way. Gardner fires at the driver’s back.

Zero to TASER: 32 seconds after the Trooper’s return.

Tom Smith, co-founder and chairman of the board at TASER International, says 4000 law-enforcement agencies now equip all patrol officers with a TASER electronic control device, which he likens to a Star Trek phaser. “It fires out two probes, like jumper cables,” he says. “They attach to an individual by wires up to 35 feet away. It sends an electrical signal into the body.” The result is “an immediate loss of the person’s neuromuscular control.”

Statistics tossed about by TASER supporters proclaim it to be the most effective close-range neutralizer since Davy Crockett brought down a bear using only his grin: “Officer injuries down 80 percent; suspect injuries down 67 percent; use of lethal force down by 78 percent,” they say. Just one little problem. Law enforcement hasn’t agreed on where TASER use is appropriate, where it should be placed on the use-of-force continuum.

This is cop talk for how much force to use in a given situation. Every department has a standard, but there’s no standard standard across the country. One approach divides officer response into six levels, with deadly force being Level Six. On this scale, pepper spray, baton blows, and the TASER are Level Four, appropriate when the suspect is “violent or threatening.” Some California agencies put the TASER at Level Five. Sheriff’s officers in Orange County, Florida, use it against “passive resistance” (Level Three).

In the videos described here, the drivers weren’t resisting—at worst, they were less than instant in their compliance. That calls for Level Four force? Following the Austin incident, the department’s Internal Affairs office saw no problem, but then acting Chief Cathy Ellison ordered Officer O’Connor suspended for three days. In Utah, “We have found Trooper Gardner’s actions were lawful and reasonable,” said Highway Patrol Superintendent Lance Davenport.
To your list of highway hazards, better add itchy TASER fingers.

http://www.caranddriver.com/features/columns/c_d_staff/patrick_bedard/tase_early_tase_often_column

There's good and bad, but you have to remember your history. Tyranny always shows up at your door in a uniform.

Things just aren't the same as they used to be. I'm not that old, but I can remember cops that used to patrol my neighborhood as a kid, they knew all the kids and used to stop to talk to us about things like how we were doing in school. I just don't see that now, instead I see things changing from "Cops", who served the interests of the communities they served, to "Law Enforcement", who serve as enforcers and revenue generators for the state.

I will leave this with, just when I start to think they're all bad, I end up meeting one who is out there doing the right thing.

The worst part is the general public is still under the opinion that "if you can't trust a cop, who do you trust?". When it comes down to who to believe in court or most any situation, a cop will always be trusted first. This belief is as much a tool to them as a taser, allowing them to often manufacture a case against you when there is none. Video cameras have caused them grief many times in court cases, and not just the ones in their cruisers.

I'm sick of hearing "walk a mile in their shoes..."! They are armed, trained, computer equiped, networked for rapid response, paid, and not drafted into this position. It is not the public who is giving them a bad rap!

They have a tough job, YES! It is the "few" who cause the problems for the most part, but less and less is done to hold the line against abuse of power, and the Patriot Act now pretty much gives them a fail safe. We pay huge taxes to provide them with the best tools and armament to do that job. If they can't stand the heat, they need to leave the kitchen! Abuse of power is not acceptable because you wear a uniform!

I know plenty of law enforcement. Out here at least, they are genuinely good people. Even back when I was young and getting arrested or having run ins with them..they were cool. (I realize that I haven't met every cop)

However....every last damned one of us knows that if a cop tells me to do a backflip..I got two seconds to fully comply before thier trained in aggression will kick in. (don't matter that I can't do a back flip)

Yes, they are above the law....since when has it ever been different?

I have rights which I fought for. Not even a police officer will take them from me without GOOD cause, and even then not without some confrontation! I don't ask for trouble, usually don't get any, but I won't give up my rights to promote a personal power trip for anyone, EVER!