Link
Utah trooper accused of punching woman after traffic stop
From Rick Martin, CNN
January 23, 2011 7:35 a.m. EST
JMO
snipped just a little to save space!
I am on the side of the officer. I am giving him a bit of grace here, because I didn't hear her engine revving, and I did not hear any command to open her window or shut off the engine. But the bottom line is, a drunk woman was driving through town in such a manner that she attracted the attention of an officer who chased her long enough to get other officers involved in the attempt to stop her.
I am not crazy over men punching women, and truthfully, it disturbs me even when it's a police officer against a drunk female driver, whether she was 53 or 59---I wish they'd have shot out her tires or since he was sticking his arm into the car anyway, I wish he'd have grabbed the keys from the ignition. However, it is obvious to me that his punches aren't with all his strength, and that he was merely trying to gain control, not knock the woman into next Sunday. And I do appreciate that he did not use deadly force.
Here's another article;
http://www.standard.net/topics/utah/2011/01/22/utah-trooper-leave-after-assault-allegations-ogden
...Wright was booked into the Weber County Jail for investigation of charges that included eluding police, reckless driving, assault on a police officer and driving under the influence. But court records showed Wright was charged with just one count of third-degree felony failure to stop or respond at the command of police.
That the case was dismissed on Jan. 13.
Wright said she remembers the pain of being hit, an officer smashing her car windows and a "black glove coming through and hitting me ... just smack."
She said she wants the video of the incident seen so that individuals can decide whether Andrew Davenport's account of the incident is accurate....
She can't remember the whole incident and yet she says later in the article that it shouldn't happen to anyone again.
Here's how you could have stopped it from happening in the first place you dumb biotch.
1. Don't drink and drive
2. When the cops come up behind you and turn their lights on, pull over
3. Be respectful of the officer even though you know you're in a :censored: load of trouble. YOU CAUSED YOUR OWN PROBLEMS!!!
The sickest thing to me about this is that all of the charges against her have been dropped. :maddening:
I know from reading my local arrest records and comparing them to what happens by the time the case hits the court system that officers are prone to throw anything at the suspect that they think might possibly have even a slim chance of sticking! so I am not surprised to see multiple charges morph into one charge......it is surprising that the final charge was dropped completely.
My own experiences, which by far are not the sum total of anything, are that charges are dropped under few circumstances. One would be that the prosecutor knows they cannot gain a conviction. (I don't think that is the case here.) Another reason would be if the prosecutor wants to avoid negative feedback from the public (such as in the case of a highly popular suspect and an "iffy" arrest), and I don't think that is the case either. I'm left wondering if the charges were dropped in the hopes that the woman would not pursue lawsuits against the officer and department.
I stand behind the officer 100%. Tasers can be fatal, and properly administered closed hand blows are typically not. he was trying to stun her, not render her dead or unconscious, while also trying to protect the lives and property of others present. It appears that he accomplished all of those goals.
I support his actions.
I agree with you about the tasers! In fact she did not really respond to the officer's blows----things did not seem to be really under control until the other officer tased her through a back window!
I hate tasers being used as a "first response" tool, but I'm finding I don't always mind them being utilized when other avenues have been tried and exhausted. In this case, more than one officer was involved in the chase, which (at least in my mind) means the chase lasted more than a few seconds, the car was blockaded, the woman (if LE claims are true) failed to respond to commands to turn off her engine and lower the window, and even after the window was broken, did not turn off the engine or (according to LE) cease to rev her engine. That's a reasonable amount of effort on the part of LE, in my opinion, and I have no problem with the other officer pulling out the taser at that point.
Steely: Your list of how one might avoid these circumstances is right on target!
:violin:
