Man To Sue Highway Patrol After Traffic Stop Tasing
Last Update: 11/20 11:28 pm
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Man To Sue Highway Patrol After Tasing
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The man refused to sign a ticket for allegedly speeding and after that a Utah Highway Patrol trooper tased him in front of his pregnant wife and baby.
Now the man is planning to file a lawsuit against the Utah Highway Patrol.
Jared Massey may or may not have been speeding but he was arrested when he refused to sign the speeding ticket, not knowing he had to. Now you can see it all unfold on Youtube.
Massey says, I thought he was going to go after someone on the other side.
Jared Massey says he was already slowing down as he approached this 40 mile per hour sign in a construction zone outside of vernal on September 14th.
But then trooper John Gardner pulled him over.
How you doing, going kind of fast, license and registration.
Massey was asked how fast he was going. The two exchanged words we cant hear because of traffic going by but after about a minute trooper Gardner goes back to his car, and returns with a ticket.
Massey is asked to sign the ticket but refuses. Trooper Gardner asks him to exit the SUV.
At this point, Massey says he thought they would talk about the circumstances.
Massey fell flat on his back as he was tased. His pregnant wife, Lauren, came out of the car screaming.
I see this guy pull gun on me, says Massey. I thought it was a real gun.
Trooper Gardner had ordered Massey to turn around and place his hands behind him twice, and it is an officers prerogative whether to arrest someone for not signing a ticket.
Jeff Nigbur from the Utah Highway Patrol says, Its easy for us to say this is what he should have done, but other hand could have felt very threatened.
The Utah Highway Patrol tells us it will speed up the internal investigation based on a complaint Massey filed two months ago. They will also look at the use of the taser.
We take using taser very seriously, says Trooper Nigbur.
But for the moment Trooper Gardner is still on the job and Massey thinks his demeanor at the end of tape says everything people need to know.
Trooper Gardner is heard on the tape saying, He was over there jumping around...I said, naw, not going to play that game. I pulled out the taser, turn around right now or I tase you. I tased him.
If Trooper Garner is found to have acted inappropriately it is highly unlikely he will lose his job.
As for Massey, all charges except for the speeding ticket have been dropped.