Leonidas
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
I'm not doubting you, I'm just curious why it was never publicized that Massey had a gun.Jambo, look at the video again. When the officer put him on the ground and handcuffs him, he removes the gun and places it on the ground in front of his car. Also note how the driver points with his left arm trying to divert the officers attention and all the while keeping his right hand near his gun. Worrisome.
When that video came out I looked at it closely and did not like Massey's body language at all. At the time I thought it was his wallet that he had in his hand, mostly because nothing was mentioned in the news about a gun and the trooper made no comment. I guess everyone's reaction is different when encountering a weapon during a search, but my usual reaction was to at least comment something like "and what were you going to do with this?"
Massey was a complete idiot - full stop. Trooper Gardner did a crappy job in communicating with the guy, but I'm not sure that Massey would have listened to a better explanation in any case. Back in the day before tasers, I usually made an extra effort to talk people into compliance because forcing it meant I had to do some laying upon of hands, and that mean rolling around on the pavement with some idiot.
I also thought, somewhat OT, that Gardner showed some poor tactical awareness in taking his eyes off Massey and allowing him to get that close and behind him. At the time I first saw this video I remember thinking, "hand movements hesitant but nearly perfect for firearm assault - Gardiner's lucky this guy wasn't armed because it doesn't look like he sees that." I remember clearly thinking that Gardiner was definitely holding the wrong weapon in his hands and, and wondering what would be the best way to go from taser to primary weapon without being at a disadvantage.
The more I look at the video with the revelation that it was a pistol, the more I freak out about his body language. If that was a gun, that body language screams "I'm thinking about using it". The stance and off-hand movement is pretty close to all of the tactical gunfight training I ever received. You stay sideways like that if you're not wearing a vest to minimize your body mass as a target (plus it's a good strong stance for shooting or fighting), bring the non-gun hand up to draw attention away from where the real threat is, and then make your move. Even as he walks away his body language was still broadcasting that he had at least some lingering thoughts about doing something. I noticed all of that back two years ago when I first saw this video and thought it just weird because there was no mention of his being armed.
Reviewing the video in light of the "everybody carries in Utah" and "Massey had a gun", I notice that when the wife gets out of the car a similar looking dark object falls to the ground. She picks it up later when she gets back in the car.
Scary, scary, scary.
Edit to add: I remembered that I wrote a commentary on some other website back when it happened. Here were my comments then:
Anyway, the reason why Massey got zapped and found himself calling for his mommy was because he ignored Gardner’s clear commands to comply, and then stuck his hands in his pockets. There’s not a cop in America who doesn’t get very nervous when a suspect puts his hands in his pocket. When an uncooperative suspect puts his hands in his pocket, especially after you’ve drawn a weapon on him, your mind immediately runs through the possible inventory of what might be in that pocket. I’m not talking bubble gum, condoms and car keys; I’m speaking of guns, knives, sharp rocks and all other kinds of bad things that can hurt me. If they had allowed me to keep all of the weapons that I dug out of suspects’ pockets (sometimes with they nasty little fingers all wrapped around them) I would be able to open a huge discount gun store. Albeit one chock full of mostly cheap and crappy guns.
Massey was obviously kind of freaked out, and why he acted the way he did that day is a mystery. His reaction to Gardner’s commands give credence to my belief that he was ignorant (or in denial) on the nature of the relationship with a police officer who has stopped him for a traffic violation. It is custodial in nature, and until the cop says “You’re free to go, sir”, a violator is not free to do as he pleases.
Up to that point where he went a little batty, Jared Massey was just acting like a somewhat deluded or arrogant dimwit who wasn’t cooperating. When he refused to obey commands, ignored the obvious attempt to secure compliance with the threat of force (pointed weapon that he thought was a firearm), and then turned to conceal one hand while simultaneously reaching in his pocket with the other…well, that was just incredibly stupid.
People have been shot in similar circumstances.