A taser-wielding, power-tripping national park ranger terrorized a couple for overstaying their visit to the Massachusetts seashore by twenty minutes, tasering the man, then twisting his wife’s wrist backwards until he was convinced she was not armed, all in the name of officer safety.
But it was nothing but officer insanity as we can see in the 18-minute body cam footage from Federal Park Ranger Steve Glaser, showing a complete overreaction to what he even said was nothing put a parking infraction.
The incident took place on June 24, 2015 but the footage is just now surfacing.
Don Savage and his wife, Inga, were parked in a parking lot inside Cape Cop National Seashore, which attracts more than four million visitors a year.
The parking lot apparently has some exclusivity where the only people allowed to park there need to have special stickers. Savage and his wife were there to see the waves, then be on their way to a graduation party.
But they didn’t have the proper permit to watch the waves from that particular area of the federally funded national park. And Ranger Glaser was not going to allow them to get away with it.
Savage, owns and operates Don Savage Home Repair, is clearly a non-threatening man. He drives around with his name and telephone number on the side of his truck. He shows no indication of having anything to hide.
He does come across annoyed but wouldn’t be annoyed. A simple reminder that he needed to be on his way was all that was needed in this case.
“If the problem is that I should leave, then you should let me leave,” Savage told the ranger.
“Because we already asked you to leave and I understand you’ve been up here for a half hour,” the ranger responded.
And from there, Glaser continued to escalate the situation by not allowing them to leave.
“I want to leave, you’re telling me I need to leave, you’re telling me I can’t leave,” Savage said.
“I need you to have a seat on the ground right now,” the ranger demanded, pulling out his taser.
Savage laid himself on the ground but stood back up when Glaser began ordering his wife out of the car.
“Ma’m, I need you to get out of the vehicle,” the ranger parked.
Federal park ranger Steve Glaser
“No, no, don’t get out of the vehicle,” Savage said.
Savage stood up, which led to the ranger pouncing on him.
For 30 seconds, there is a struggle with the ranger appearing to have the advantage.
However, at one point during the struggle, Savage bit the ranger’s hand, which led to assault on an officer charges against Savage, which are still pending.
But the ranger had no right to touch him in the first place. Savage was never a threat. He was a harmless man with his wife enjoying a few moments on the beach before attending a graduation party.
Why shouldn’t he have the right to defend himself against a maniacal man with a gun thinking he is god?
The video was posted to YouTube under the username, Michelle Nicholasen, on Friday where it has less than 100 views at this moment, but that should quickly change.
Here is how they describe it on Youtube:
This video is from the police cam carried by National Park Service ranger Steve Glaser. This fiasco is an example of how a benign situation can escalate into something ugly. Surfers be aware that sharks are not the only hazard on the seashore.
Don and his wife Inga were on their way to a graduation party when they stopped at Coast Guard Beach and asked for permission to look at the waves. He can’t normally park at this parking lot, as it is reserved only for Eastham residents. But the guards let him drive up for 10 mins. Apparently, they stayed for 20. When a ranger came to ask Inga to leave, she said she doesn’t drive, and that her husband was on the beach. The video begins when Don comes back to the parking lot.
As the officer was pushing Don to the ground, his hand went into Don’s mouth. Don bit down on it. He was arrested for assaulting a police officer.
This is how police describe the incident.
So now he is still facing the federal charges of assault on a federal officer among other charges.
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