A motorist who became an internet celebrity after video of him being stunned with a taser by a Utah Highway Patrolman appeared on YouTube will receive $40,000 as part of a lawsuit settlement with the state, the Utah attorney general’s office said Monday.

Jared Massey claimed in civil lawsuit filed in January that his civil rights were violated because Trooper Jon Gardner fired his taser before telling Massey he was under arrest. The confrontation was widely viewed on the internet after Massey obtained a copy of the video taken by the cruiser’s dashboard camera.

The video has been viewed on YouTube at least 1.7 million times and shows Gardner drawing his stun gun after the 28-year-old Massey refused to accept a speeding ticket and was ordered out of the vehicle.

Massey’s attorney, Bob Sykes, said he’s pleased with the settlement offer.

“They made what we consider to be a very fair offer of a significant amount of money,” he said.

The Highway Patrol said the trooper’s use of the taser was justified, but that his attitude was a problem. They put Gardner on administrative leave for a few weeks and said he received training in conflict resolution. Gardner was primarily put on leave for his own safety after state officials received numerous complaints.

Sykes said state attorneys offered to settle the lawsuit before ever officially responding to it, probably because of the video evidence.

“It’s pretty damaging,” he said. “The force used under these circumstances was nothing less than outrageous.”

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Brandon Nichols was driving home from an early lunch in Bluff City, TN in November when he was pulled over for driving 60 mph in a 45 mph zone.

Nichols hired a lawyer and managed to work out a deal in which he avoided racking up any traffic violation points on his license. He had to take a driver education course and pay the $59.75 fine and court costs associated with the ticket.

But the process proved to be more difficult than Nichols thought because he had problems finding a lawyer willing to take his case.

“Most of them just laughed and acted like it was a regular thing,” he said after pleading guilty to the ticket and paying the fine in traffic court on Tuesday. “One lawyer said [Bluff City] was known for being a speed trap.”

Bluff City’s 3.6-mile section of U.S. Highway 11E is one of Sullivan County’s 14 speed traps, according to the National Motorists Association’s Speed Trap Exchange Web site.

The 12 people who have posted comments to the city’s entry on the Web site gripe about the constant police presence on this section of the highway, the sudden drop in the speed limit as the road enters the area of the Piney Flats crossroads, and the amount of money they claim the city earns from tickets each year.

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