The dipshit shouldn't have kept on putting his hands in his pocket. That's one of the biggest no-no's when being pulled over by a Police officer, especially when said dipshit is ignoring repeated requests to keep his hands out of his pockets.

He's lucky that all that happened was a simple tasering.

I was fully prepared to side with the cop on this one, as I had wathced the weenie that was arrested on CNN and thought he came across like a whiny pansy. Viewing this video, however, and putting asisde the techinical issues, I am shocked by how quickly this cop tasers the driver. THe driver is a jerk and seems to think he is in a trial instead of on the side of the road talking to a cop with an attitutde, but even so, he got tasered very quickly, with very little provocation. This cop needs some more training.

Btw, what was thisa stupid driver thikning? DId he think that belligerent non-ccoperation would persuade the cop that he shouldn't hand out a ticket? What did he think he could achieve by his behavoir? THe driver needs some common snese.

the driver was a moron, but the hp's reaction was laser fast and he needs more training.

I suspect a quiet talking to, would have prevented the event from escalating. It almost seemed as if the cop wanted it to escalate so he could play with his toy.

One of the regular posters on utefans is a cop (he goes by Officer Swoop). He posted the video there and titled it something like "When an attitude meets a bigger attitude with a badge."

He thought the cop handled it poorly as well.

Lesson learned for me: It's just best to comply with what the cop requests so he won't have a reason to taser me.

I agree. Regardless of the dickness of the driver, the cop is the one trained to deal with those situations, and responsible for a peaceful outcome. Cops should know how to de-escalate a situation, and should be nicer than the average person. "He started it" is not a valid argument.

You actually make a great point about the cop is supposed to de-escalate the situation. But I'll still comply just to be safe, ya know?

I certainly don't blame you, and tend to do the same, but being extra nice to cops so that you don't risk getting illegally assaulted isn't exactly how it's supposed to work.

I saw American Gangster this afternoon though, and despite all the taser abuse lately things seem better than they used to be.

There is a fine line between being nice to a dickhead cop and respecting his authority. I have the ability to walk that line. :)

Cops can search incident to an arrest.

http://www.lectlaw.com/def2/s010.htm

I'm not a lawyer.

Alhtough I don't deal a lot with cops, my partner handles police misconduct cases; needless to say, I don't have any sort of blind reverence for cops. I thought the driver was asking for it. You don't turn your back on a cop asking you to put your hands behind your back. He was ignoring the cop, walking back to the car - once he reaches the car, who knows what he's going to do?

I'm okay with the cop tasering a whiner like that guy. He's probably a Ute, anyway.