Man tased for getting out license and insurance too slowly

[951-Riverside]

Run time: 05:04 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8U1JRAJpr8   Posted on YouTube: December 02, 2007 By YouTube Member: Views on YouTube: 0   Posted on DU: December 02, 2007 By DU Member: 951-Riverside Views on DU: 7494

 
http://bp2.blogger.com/_KgBT8kIRgBo/R1GL8x70G7I/AAAAAAAABcI/xPPC4hLxKyM/s320/Officer+Oconnor.gif

Keep in mind Cpl. Thomas O'Connor begins yelling at this man 16 secs in and asks him to step out 27 seconds in.



(O'Connor's explanation) http://alt.coxnewsweb.com/statesman/pdf/09/0930video_affidavit.pdf
(3 day suspension document) http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/opm/downloads/TempSus_OConnor_06-635.pdf
(Other video) http://www.statesman.com/news/mplayer/other/32386

An Austin police corporal who pulled over a man along a busy highway on Thanksgiving 2006 for driving five miles per hour over the limit ordered the driver out of the car and then shocked him with his Taser stun gun as the motorist appeared to question what was happening, according to a videotape from the officer's patrol car camera.

Cpl. Thomas O'Connor's immediate supervisor and internal affairs investigators exonerated him of wrongfully using the weapon, saying he was justified because he "perceived a threat," dozens of pages of internal memos and other records said. In May, Cathy Ellison, acting police chief at the time, suspended O'Connor for three days in May for using force against Eugene Snelling and for violating a department policy requiring officers to "respect the rights of individuals and perform their services with honestly, sincerity, courage and sound judgement."

The dramatic traffic stop has now become a "black eye on the organization," according to new Chief Art Acevedo, who this week will begin using the video as a training tool to prevent future incidents.

Acevedo, who arrived in June amid a federal investigation into how Austin police use force against minorities, said he was troubled by the officer's quick use of his Taser on Snelling, who is black, and by internal affairs detectives' decision that O'Connor, who is white, had done nothing wrong by using the weapon.

Days after he took office, Acevedo first saw the videotape and a stinging memo from the Austin Police Monitor's Office, which summed up its response: "We believe that Corporal O'Connor was far too quick on the trigger."

"It was very upsetting to me," Acevedo said in an interview last week. "What I saw wasn't consistent with my expectations of the men and women of the Austin Police Department. Our job is to de-escalate stops, not escalate them. The way the officer conducted business, he absolutely escalated the situation."

http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/09/30/0930video.html

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. Several points

1.- This is IMPROPER escalation of force.

2.- This officer has some anger problems.

3.- I am happy the new chief will use this as a training tool

4.- Officers get six hours of taser training in the academy... this is a problem and what leads to improper use

5.- Contrast that with the hundreds of hours they receive in firearms.

Tasers have a role in law enforcement, but it is becoming clear as day that departments across the nation need training

As to this Corporal... I suspect he has other issues (racism) and should be dismissed from the force

[Mojorabbit]

2. Every other day there is a new

one. THis is getting ridiculous.

[rabies1]

18. What in the world did they do before tasers were invented?

I bet the police couldn't control anyone.

These things NEED to become illegal.

[bluestateguy]

3. A ticket for going 70 in a 65 mph zone?

Good lord. We have murderers running around.

[sss1977]

9. 18 more miles per hour...

and you would have seen some serious shit. Sure he was only going 5 mph over, but it's getting dangerously close to time travel territory. Tasers are always authorized in cases of preventing possible paradoxes.

[Lucky Luciano]

25. I think he also said

the rear license plate was missing...so I can understand why the person was stopped. Outside of that, the cop should be in prison.

[Lorien]

26. I was once ticketed for going 38 in a 35mph zone

I had just come out of a 40mph zone. The ticket cost $265.00. Of course this was in a very upscale town in Florida and I did have my anti-* bumper stickers...

[Truth2Tell]

29. He was clearly guilty of DWB

Driving While Black

[cboy4]

4. How does a hot head like that pass the departmental

background psychological test?

The driver is prolly lucky he wasn't shot with bullets.

[sam sarrha]

17. it is Texas, he will get written up for not busting his head open when the guy was on the ground

[razors edge]

37. The cop is lucky

we can't make out who he is, or he might get a taste of his own medicine.

[L0oniX]

5. War pigs in action again ...pffft

[whistle]

32. The new flag for law enforcement in Amerika

[jgraz]

6. Here's hoping that racist fuck gets sued within an inch of his life

That driver's gonna end up owning Officer Fuckface's double-wide AND the Chevy he's got up on blocks in the yard.

[Oeditpus Rex]

31. I live in a 'double-wide' and drive a Chevy — a '65

I see you live in Berkeley. Guess that means you bathe once a month and volunteer at the Free Store when you aren't hawking the Barb on the corner of University and Shattuck.

[jgraz]

33. Hey, I bathed twice this month!

Well, in truth the bong hits made me lose track of time.

[wundermaus]

7. That cop did a real good job of redistributing the city's wealth.

What an idiot. Lucky for him he knew which way to point it. He could'a put an eye out with that thing.

[gordianot]

8. I do wonder if the policeman was trained on the taser?

Most departments only allow an Officer to carry a taser if they were trained. Part of the training requires the Police to be tased before they are allowed to carry a taser. My son recently completed a local Sheriff's Academy and he was tased 3 times in training. His explanation from instructors; like using firearms most Officers will never be in a situation that the threat warrants a Taser. None of his instructors have ever had to use or even remove their Tasers. They also went through the same training.

[barbtries]

10. that cop

was DYING to tase somebody. there is no other explanation. this makes me sick.

and: FIVE miles over the speed limit?! give me a fucking break. i doubt he was keeping up with the flow of traffic at that speed

[pleah]

11. Cops all across the country

need to be tested for steroid use. All you have to do is look at some of these cops to see that they are on something.

[Veronica.Franco]

12. the message here ...

There are parts of Austin where some people cannot drive without this occuring ... Round Rock for one ... a suburb of Austin and other "red neck" areas ... the good ol' boys network is alive and well in Austin, Texas ...

Their old hotel downtown, The Driskill, is full of prostitutes in their bar and THEY can do as they damned well please ... but drive 5 miles over the speed limit on a red neck cop's beat and this is what happens ...

The message here is "get out of our town" ... same old southern bullshit ...

[L1A1Rocker]

13. 5 over?

That is just nuts. I was going through Austin on my way to Dallas for Thanksgiving in 2005. I was running 80 just to stay with traffic. When I came upon a motorcycle cop sitting on the sholder with radar gun out I hit the braks and almost got rearended (even got the horn and a finger).

I was running on a 5 or 6 lane freeway where everyone was running 80 and there were mortocycle cops on the shoulder of the road every 1.5 miles. It didn't take me long to figure out that as crouded as the road was there was NO WAY that radar would hit me in the left lane and there was really no way a motorcycle cop standing on the side of the road would be able to stow the radar gun safely be able to catch up to whoever just got busted. THEY WERE JUST FOR SHOW!!! and traffic was hauling ass.

[jph wacheski]

14. well people I do "perceive a threat", from the rising police state!

This and ALL the other incidents of taser use and all the taser DEATHS are indicative of a little more then just a few racist power tripping super-troopers,. this my friends is symptom of the militarization of the police services and the coming police state being created around america,. the culture is being shaped to separate all concern for the people they serve from the police FORCE,. they run themselves like territorial gangs, fck with one of them and they all fck with you,. we all know how they cover each others butts, but this goes deeper,. they think of themselves as separate and above the rest of us,. this is no place for a peace-keeper's mind to be! They are being groomed for the coming radical military/police take over of control of america,. coming soon the a hood near you! if you let it. In traditional wars it is relativity simple to instill hatred of the 'other' side,. in a military/police taking of control and suppression of dissent in America the 'other' is the guy across the street,. so gang style tactics are used to create a tight 'family' structure in the controlling gangs of thugs,. the police/military, so they can feel better and above the rest of us sheeple.
Do what you can to combat this tendency now,. before they go all "Show me your papers 'worker', this is a restricted zone." !

[stlsaxman]

15. this happened a YEAR ago- 2006. not news in itself. glad the new Police Chief is aware...

and using it for training.

Despite the horror of the overwhelming use of force- i thought the victim of the tazing was AWESOME!

"This is uncalled for... i have lots of friends in the police department... "

"You have what-?"

"I've never seen anybody act like that... Wow! I"m sorry you're having a bad day on Thanksgiving..."

"We're done. I'm done talking to you."

"Your Sargent coming down here? Lieutenant?"

"Nope"

"Well I think somebody needs to come by here so I can talk to them. Or have one of them call dispatch..."

With every word the guy said from the ground you could hear the cop thinking...

"Oh fuck- i'm in deep shit!" You could almost hear the cop shitting himself.

3 days off w/o pay?

[FASTJAG]

16. Pouchy cheeked pig punk

I would have stood an applauded up right here at my desk if a truck had come by and hit that chickenshit chicken hearted pig.

This 'percieved threat" is clearly nothing more than a built in excuse to abuse human beings.
It is also clear that these scumbags are jealous of us human beings as, we are almost all more decent and higher life forms.

Check out the pig punk's pouchy cheeks.
This is where he got them~~

http://www.break.com/index/woman-pissed-about-new-butt-implants.html

[BlueJac]

19. Taser happy cops............

Only in Bush World!

[galileo3000]

20. Sickening over reaction.

As someone who has been protected by the Austin Police Department, I'm disgusted that this loose canon has damaged their reputation with his temper and lack of judgement.

[stlsaxman]

21. i had always heard that the APD was the exception in Texas...

is this correct? any other Austinians attest to this?

Inquiring minds and all that shit.

[jph wacheski]

28. It ain't no "One Bad Apple" - No way!

This is a serious threat, the rising police state,. it is not just another case of "one bad apple" it is SYSTEMIC! and if it is not addressed more will die needlessly and the lines will be drawn further and further apart,. then its a class based system of oppression once again,. . so sad people will let stuff like this go down to the old stand by,. "Its just a few bad apples" ! not so!

[Ricki]

22. snelling should totally sue for harrasment

he's lucky that officer didn't just decide to pop off a few rounds of bullets too. how scary.

[superkia]

35. Too much paperwork for firing off some shots, easier to taze his...

ASS!

[moblsv]

23. cop was right

This kid was wrong in everything he did. How many times have we seen videos similar to this one end up in a shootout? The cop has no way of knowing the kids intentions and does not have the luxury of screwing around with a potentially deadly situation like this.

The kid should be charge with resisting arrest, as far as I'm concerned.

---- EDIT ----
Sorry, wrong video. I just got through arguing about the kid in Utah who got tazed and assumed this was the same video. This cop was a jerk and appeared to be in the wrong.

[A HERETIC I AM]

24. I honestly think the only reason guys like that become cops is because it is

the only way they were ever going to get anyone to call them "Sir".

He loves the idea of being able to tell people what to do. Give him a badge and a gun and he just becomes a bigger, more dangerous ASSHOLE than he was before he became a cop. One thing for sure - he has always been an asshole.

[1620rock]

27. The cops are going nuts again like they did in the 60's, only this time it's worse.

[muryan]

30. i can tell you right now that it would take me longer than

16 seconds to pull out my license and registration.

[delt664]

34. This is just further evidence

Of the police state we now live in.

I have learned 2 things from all these Tasering incidents.

1. Never get out of the car for an agitated police officer. If I ever get pulled over and an officer starts yelling at me, I am locking myself in my car and calling 911.

2. Always carry my own taser.

[MindMatter]

36. You are better off getting tased

If you lock the door and roll up the windows, they'll just shoot you through the glass. They will be exonerated after they explain they thought you were going for an object that looked like a gun.

[Stump]

38. I'm always the first to defend the officer...

However, in this case there is no defense. Umjustfied, end of discussion.

[oasis]

39. Whaaaat th...

:wtf: