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Trooper Caught On Tape Tasering Motorist Officials Speed Investigation Into Trooper's Behavior After Clip Appeared On YouTube Videos
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(CBS/AP) Authorities are expediting an investigation of a state trooper who zapped a motorist with a Taser after video of the incident was posted on YouTube, the Utah Highway Patrol said Wednesday.
"It definitely put a little bit of conflict out there. We definitely have received a lot of feedback on it, calls and e-mail," said Trooper Cameron Roden, a spokesman for the highway patrol.
The video, taken from Trooper John Gardner's patrol car, shows him using his Taser after Jared Massey refused to sign a speeding ticket Sept. 14 and walked away from the officer on U.S. 40 in eastern Utah.
Massey shrieked and fell after he was hit and then asked Gardner, "Officer, I really don't know what you're doing."
"Face down! Face down! Put your hands behind your back," Gardner said.
When a woman emerged from Massey's vehicle, the trooper ordered her to get back in - "or you're going to jail, too."
Moments later, when another officer arrived, one of them said, "Oh, he took a ride with the Taser."
In an interview with CBS Early Show Co-Anchor Harry Smith, Massey described the sensation of being zapped by the instrument.
"Fear, panic - it's the scariest moment of my life," he said. "I get tasered, and I hit the ground, and I really, to be honest with you, thought that my life was ending. It's the most horrific thing that's ever happened to me."
Utah Highway Patrol Spokesman Sergeant Jeff Nigbur told Smith that he could not comment on whether the trooper's conduct in the video was standard operating procedure.
"We have an internal review process happening right now," he said. "We are going to look into whether the officer's actions were appropriate or not."
Tasers use compressed nitrogen to fire two barbed darts that can penetrate clothing to deliver a 50,000-volt shock to immobilize people.
"I can't speculate on what was happening in the trooper's mind," Roden said. "We have an internal investigation going on. ... With it coming out on YouTube, we have expedited the investigation."
The 10-minute video landed on YouTube after it was released to Massey under a public-records request.
Signing a speeding ticket is not an admission of guilt, Roden said. He described it as a promise that a motorist "will take care of the citation."
Under UHP policy, a Taser can be used if someone is a threat to themselves or others and other means of control are unreasonable, the spokesman said.
Massey has filed a complaint with UHP, said Roden, who didn't know the status of the speeding ticket.
Authorities are expediting an investigation of a state trooper who zapped a motorist with a Taser after video of the incident was posted on YouTube, the Utah Highway Patrol said Wednesday."It definitely put a little bit of conflict out there. We definitely have received a lot of feedback on it, calls and e-mail," said Trooper Cameron Roden, a spokesman for the highway patrol.The video, taken from Trooper John Gardner's patrol car, shows him using his Taser after Jared Massey refused to sign a speeding ticket Sept. 14 and walked away from the officer on U.S. 40 in eastern Utah.Massey shrieked and fell after he was hit and then asked Gardner, "Officer, I really don't know what you're doing.""Face down! Face down! Put your hands behind your back," Gardner said.When a woman emerged from Massey's vehicle, the trooper ordered her to get back in - "or you're going to jail, too."Moments later, when another officer arrived, one of them said, "Oh, he took a ride with the Taser."In an interview with, Massey described the sensation of being zapped by the instrument."Fear, panic - it's the scariest moment of my life," he said. "I get tasered, and I hit the ground, and I really, to be honest with you, thought that my life was ending. It's the most horrific thing that's ever happened to me."Utah Highway Patrol Spokesman Sergeant Jeff Nigbur toldthat he could not comment on whether the trooper's conduct in the video was standard operating procedure."We have an internal review process happening right now," he said. "We are going to look into whether the officer's actions were appropriate or not."Tasers use compressed nitrogen to fire two barbed darts that can penetrate clothing to deliver a 50,000-volt shock to immobilize people."I can't speculate on what was happening in the trooper's mind," Roden said. "We have an internal investigation going on. ... With it coming out on YouTube, we have expedited the investigation."The 10-minute video landed on YouTube after it was released to Massey under a public-records request.Signing a speeding ticket is not an admission of guilt, Roden said. He described it as a promise that a motorist "will take care of the citation."Under UHP policy, a Taser can be used if someone is a threat to themselves or others and other means of control are unreasonable, the spokesman said.Massey has filed a complaint with UHP, said Roden, who didn't know the status of the speeding ticket. © MMVII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A taser, although this is an M26 military-grade taser, the one used by trooper Gardner probably looked similar

On September 14, 2007, Jared Massey was pulled over by Utah Highway Patrol (UHP) trooper John Gardner for speeding on U.S. Route 40 near Vernal in Utah, United States. Trooper Gardner issued a citation which Massey refused to sign. After some debate about where the sign posting the speed limit was, trooper Gardner asked Massey to step out of his vehicle.

Massey, a 28-year-old telephone company employee, appears in the video to be under the impression that he and the officer would walk back to the nearby traffic sign. Trooper Gardner appears to be under a different impression. He orders Massey, who is still pointing at the sign, to stop and then draws his taser at Massey. Massey turns and begins to walk back toward his vehicle, turning his head toward Gardner, who is now behind Massey. Massey says, "what the heck are you doing?" and Gardner orders him to "turn around and put your hands behind your back." Massey does not and replies, "what the heck is wrong with you?" Shortly after, Gardner fires his taser.

Allegedly, Gardner triggers the electrodes a second time while Massey is on the ground, but this is not entirely clear from the video. Massey's wife emerges from the vehicle, clearly distraught, but Gardner orders her to return to the vehicle under threat of "going to jail, too."

Massey filed a complaint against the UHP and obtained the video footage, which was recorded from the trooper's vehicle, in a public records request under the process of discovery. 

On November 19, Massey posted the video on YouTube, when he felt that the UHP's internal investigation was not progressing. "There's been no response, no action, no notifying us 'Hey, we're looking at this'," Massey told ''Vernal Express''. "To us it seems like they're stonewalling it; trying to brush it under the rug so that nothing would happen."

The posting on YouTube encourages people to call the UHP and express their displeasure. However, many have posted online death-threats against the trooper.

This is an unintended consequence, says Massey. "I wish people would have some common decency every once in awhile ''sic''," he said in an interview with Fox on Monday. "When I posted the video it wasn't to vilify the guy, demean him or destroy him, and that's one of the things I hate about this."

"I wish people would realize and think about this: Trooper Gardner is a real person, he's got a real family. Real lives are being affected," he added.

Under Utah law, one has to sign a citation to acknowledge receipt, whether or not one protests its validity.

The stated purpose of the taser is for it to be used under circumstances where use of lethal force would be the alternative. However, its use by police departments, in cases where non-lethal force would normally be used (pre-taser era), has resulted in some deaths, thereby leading the use of the device to be controversial.