Shocking Video

There have been many outraged articles over the recent YouTube airing of Jared Massey being Tasered by Utah Highway Patrol officer John Gardner, back on September 14th. That outrage seems to be two sided as well. Those who believe in the ultimate authority of the state are claiming that Gardner did what he was supposed to do and that Massey was being confrontational. Those who believe that the police are servants of the people and not their masters (such as yours truly) know that what Officer Gardner did was unquestionably wrong, even though Massey was mildly agitated.

Over a conversation with a couple of friends of mine over this, the topic turned to the fact that Gardner was using lethal force without provocation. At first, that argument seemed a stretch to me - Tasers are considered to be non-lethal devices, but it was quickly pointed out that not everyone dies from gunshot wounds, or stabbings, which are also considered lethal force. To call a device which last year killed over 150 people in the USA alone, a lethal device, is no great stretch after all.Which leads me to several disturbing questions concerning this incident. First and foremost is why the Taser was ever pulled.Utah law allows the use of a Taser for the following reasons:

• When a person is a threat to themselves, an officer or another person.
• In cases where the physical use of force would endanger the person or someone else.
• When other means of lesser or equal force by the officer has been ineffective and a threat still exists.

Absolutely none of these protocols existed at the time of the incident. When Gardner talks about the incident with a fellow officer after the event is done, he states several times that the Tasered Massey because the man failed to comply with his instructions and demands. He actually threatens Massey several times with another dose of the Taser for not following instructions. When Massey’s wife asks the officer why he pulled the Taser (8:00 minutes in,) Gardner claims he did it because, “it looks like he was leaving to me”. He also did not inform Massey that he was under arrest until after he had already Tasered the man.

Sorry, Officer Gardner but that isn’t a good enough reason to use lethal force. Ever. That is the sign of tyranny in action.

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that he was wearing a brown shirt.

Among the other notable moments from the video, is how Gardner lies through his teeth to the other officer on how the event happened, claiming to have given warning that he was going to deploy the Taser (9:45) “turn around right now or I Taser you” and other recollections of the event that the video clearly shows did not happen. The three part unedited video shows even more of these lies than this clip does. (All available on YouTube as well.) This alone should be enough to remove Gardner from the Utah Highway Patrol.

Update: Jared Massey has now settled out of court for a $40,000 settlement.