Student TASERed For Not Showing I.D: Yet Another Example of Abuse of Power?

A cell phone captured video of a 23-year-old student being administered multiple Taser shocks by UCLA police on Tuesday.





According to the Daily Bruin, the student did not show ID to community service officers who were conducting a random check. UCLA police said the student was released by police after he was cited for obstruction/delay of a peace officer in the performance of duty.





The paper reported that the student complained when an officer was escorting him from the lab and put his hand on one of the students arms. He allegedly yelled, "Get off of me," according to the paper. He was then shot with the Taser.





The Daily Bruin reported that after he was hit, the stdent yelled, "Here's your Patriot Act, here's your f---ing abuse of power."





Police said they thought he was not harmed in the incident. "If he was able to walk out of here, I think he was OK," the sergeant said.


You be the judge.


(video)


http://www.nbc11.com/news/10328455/detai...

Student TASERed For Not Showing I.D: Yet Another Example of Abuse of Power?
Every UCLA alumnus should call the UCLA President's office (310-825-4321) and let Pres. Robert C. Dynes and Chancellor Norman Abrams know that you will withhold all contributions until the police officers are fired.





A university is usually far more tolerant and respectful of students' rights, and far more restrictive on police brutality, than outside the university gates. In Mexico, police are not allowed on a campus at all unless requested by the Chancellor. Having worked in universities for the past 20 years, I can safely say the behavior of the UCLA PD as exhibited in the 6-minute video (not 10 seconds) is inexcusable. They could have dragged the guy out, let him scream all he wants. If he resisted phsycially, they could have handcuffed him -- for 200 years our police did not need tasers or pepper spray to handcuff people. (Maybe he was already handcuffed when they Tasered him, which is even less excusable.)





There is a big difference between being tased once (often by a low-voltage) in a test situation and having it done to you multiple times in a row in a hostile situation. There have been 73 deaths associated with tasers between 1999 and 2004. Even police officers in five states have sued Taser International claiming they "suffered serious injuries after being shocked with the device during training classes." http://orlando.injuryboard.com/defective...
Reply:That's why the Republicans lost the midterm elections. Because America is getting tired of Nazi behavior like this. Repeal the patriot act and teach the police some civility for a change.
Reply:Soon it will be illegal to refuse to confess to any crime you are charged with and torture will be allowed to secure a confession .


Do not forget about the retired 65 year old black school teacher who was beaten by police in New Orleans and the reporter who was shoved and cursed at by police .


We live in a police state that is just not evident to most people .


In fact most of them like it .


80% of Americans would want drug dealers and rapists interrogated by any means to gain a confession .


What does that tell you . This means only 20% of the people are still free in their mind and the rest are already victims of the police state mentality .
Reply:The terms you are using would indicate there was more than one police officer, therefore they were not justified in tasering the student even if he probably was a terrorist based upon his name. How do you like the way i condemned the police while at the same time engaging in racial profiling.
Reply:The Constitution has been abused and this is going to be common place in America.
Reply:Well, all I can say is that UCLA police will be out of a million dollars in the near future. The training in these officers was lacking. A taser shot can incapacitate a person from 5 to 15 minutes. When, he did not get up from the floor they tasred him again. While he was handcuffed, they tasered him 5 times. In anyone's dictionary this would be excessive. Yes the kid had an attitude but this still was excessive.


Lord L is being a racist. Logger, if u think logically, tasering someone 5 times who is alread handcuffed is excessive. You would probably be ok if they killed him because he is young and bratty. Thomas E, he was on his way out when they tasered him. He was protesting because one policeman put his hand on the student's arm. Most likely, he did not liked being touched. The student was obviously stupid but that does not justify tasering a naive brat for 5 times while he was handcuffed.
Reply:All he had to do was show I.D. - is that so difficult? Possibly an abuse of power - but definetly an abuse of freedom by the 'student'. Freedom isn't free, and as far as I am concerned, if you aren't blond haired and blue eyed in southern California, you damn well better expect the police to ask you to prove you are here LEGALLY. If the same thing happened in Iran, Iraq, Syria, China, Russia etc, would it be considered 'abuse of power'? No, it wouldn't. Only in the USA is it considered 'big brother' - grow up - geez, to think I am a liberal saying this.
Reply:Law suit extraordinaire. This is why we need stricter guidelines for these rent a cops. Certain personality's shouldn't be allowed to have positions of authority. These second class mentality's need jobs like green glass sorter or led paint tester.
Reply:The taser is becoming just the latest way cowards on the force pretend to be tough. True.
Reply:POOR GUY,THANK GOD HE WASNT A BOOK OVERDUE
Reply:How close ARE we to being "V For Vendetta"?
Reply:It's okay, Bush said it was alright.
Reply:Wrong - certainly.


Anyone interested in considering the other flip of the coin? Understaffed campus police trying to maintain a minimum level of security identify a student(? - as they would see someone w/o ID) who is surely and at least verbally abusive. Hmmm - it really does take 2 to tango and to tangle.
Reply:POLICE SHOULD NOT HAVE THE RIGHT TO ELECTRICUTE SOMEONE. THEY DO NOT KNOW THE LONG-TERM EFFECTS OF TAZER USE ON PEOPLE BECAUSE IT HAS RECENTLY BEEN ADOPTED BY POLICE DEPARTMENTS.





I SAW THE VIDEO AND WAS HOPING THE OUTRAGED STUDENTS WOULD OF GANGED UP ON THE POLICE AND KILLED THEM FOR THIS CRIME AGIANST HUMANITY.





JUST BECAUSE SOMEONE REFUSES TO COOPERATE WITH YOU DOESNT MEAN YOU GET TO ELECTRICUTE THEM. FOR GOD SAKES WE USED TO KILL PEOPLE THAT WAY.





AS IF THE STUDENT WAS THAT MUCH OF A RISK TO THE COPS HEALTH. WHAT A BUNCH OF ******* TAZING SOMEONE FOR REFUSING TO SHOW ID. WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO JUST PUTTING SOMEONE IN HANDCUFFS. WHY DIDN'T THIER FAT, DOUGHNUT-EATING AZZES JUST PICK HIM UP?





I AM ONLY 22 AND I AM TERRIFIED OF MY GOVERNMENT AND ITS UNRELENTING POWER. THINGS NEED TO CHANGE. OR THERE NEEDS TO BE ANOTHER REVOLUTION!!!!!!
Reply:oh yeah i totally saw that so not right in many ways a lot of cops are unfair..i dont think they did a right thing they should get punished...but then again its their job to keep people safe of weird suspicious people
Reply:its merely a tickle now, but i still dont like it
Reply:I have heard this story and believe the officers were in the right. They had asked the young man to please show his school ID. He said he didn't have one on him. They request that he leave the premises. He did not. They ask a second time. He stays. They call campus police and they ask him to leave. He doesn't comply. So they used a tasser weapon to take him down. They were doing so in the best interests of the students. They should be praised for their reserved manner.
Reply:I don't agree. After viewing the recording on the link, Mostafa Tabatabainejad (the student in question) was asked for his ID (the computer lab being a controlled access area). Upon failure to produce the ID, it was security's job to escort him out of the controlled area. Mostafa resisted. Mostafa received motivation to leave the lab area. The lab security team has a responsibility. The rules they are there to enforce are well known. There are a lot of other Mostafa's in the world who aspire to be a bomb. Those Mostafa's wouldn't have ID badges either.
Reply:What does that have to do with the Patriot Act? They kid did not show ID, and plus, a few police men were doing things like that before the Patriot Act.





The kid broke the law





Funny how you libs think the law should be allowed to be swayed, then you say Bush committed all of these crimes, because he swayed the laws





Hypocrisy at its finest
Reply:all over an ID why didnt the guy show the ID? why was he being escorted from the lab? no ID? why didnt he just go with them or show the id if thats all it was about. he was being stupid and ignornant to get a response like he did. you think he might have a few brian cells hes in college.
Reply:he had it coming