If I could just speak to my lawyAUGHUGHBLAHGUNGHNHFURRRRR
In Salt Lake City, a 26-year-old man is suing Utah Highway Patrolwoman Corporal Lisa Steed in both personal and professional capacity for delivering a Taser “drive stun” into his arm during a routine traffic stop.
Ryan Wesley Jones was pulled over on March 28th 2009 and provided a valid license, registration and proof of insurance before Cpl. Steed asked for him to step out of the vehicle for a breathalyzer test. He refused the test, asking to consult with his lawyer first. In the words of Cpl. Steed, “that’s not an option.” Apparently, UHP officers only learn how to read Miranda rights without actually needing to understand them.
Steed, unmoved by Jones’ calm pleas for a moment to contact his lawyer, opened the driver’s side door and demanded that Jones exit the vehicle at point-blank Taser range. After repeatedly refusing (though still extremely polite) Steed plugged Jones in the left upper arm. Though he was coerced out of the vehicle, he still refused a breathalyzer, leading to his arrest. Now the Corporal is being sued in Federal court for violating Jones’ Fourth Amendment right to consult an attorney, and possibly the Fifth Amendment right to refuse submitting self-incriminating evidence. [Source; Image]
