Police Brutality at UCLA, Stun a Student who was Handcuffed

Something that happened a while back(November 2006) but worth noting in this blog for future reference so it never happens again:

Unbiased Account on the Situation:

http://www.blakeross.com/2006/11/17/on-the-ucla-tasering/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I Quote:

* UCLA student Mostafa Tabatabainejad was working in the library when a Community Service Officer approached and asked him to show school ID as part of a posted library policy barring unauthorized persons after 11PM. Mostafa did not have his ID and did not leave immediately. It is unclear if he refused to leave and, if so, whether he was belligerent. The CSO contacted the campus police, which have the same authority as municipal cops.
* Multiple campus policemen arrived as Mostafa was apparently exiting the library. One of them put a hand on Mostafa, inciting him to shout angrily.
* An officer Tasered Mostafa using the “drive stun” setting (i.e. via direct contact instead of shooting).
* After placing Mostafa in handcuffs, officers continued to Taser Mostafa multiple times. Mostafa yelled that he was cooperating and that he had a medical condition. Officers ordered him to “stand up” repeatedly, which he did not do.
* At least two dozen students witnessed the event. Multiple students demanded badge numbers from the officers on scene and told them that they were out of line. At least one of the students requesting the information was threatened with the Taser directly.

ALL THIS HAPPEND TUESDAY, of this Week.

At UCLA, of all places, In the United States.

I'm shocked and Appaled.

This was the Most Heinous thing i've ever witnessed.

He was Handcuffed and yet he STILL was tazed....

That is wrong, even by the LAPD's Manual TAZER POLICIES (Click to read the policy yourself)

Amnesty International is looking into this.

P.s I highly recommend you read the Second link, which has an Eye Witnesses account of what happened.

http://www.blakeross.com/2006/11/17/on-the-ucla-tasering/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Comments on Digg about this:

Read all these comments guys, really incite full:

http://digg.com/videos_people/Student_tasered_at_UCLA_library_for_not_having_his_ID_11_14_06_11_30pm

"Kids have been getting kicked out of libraries since time immemorial; today they are tortured with electricity if they don't do it quickly enough."

Quote

Don't be caught without your papers, or the Gestapo will take you away.

Quote

Which one was that? Protecting or serving?

Quote

Innocent untill Proven Guilty, Not taze them to death

Quote

according to a study published in the Lancet Medical Journal in 2001, a charge of three to five seconds can result in immobilization for five to 15 minutes, which would mean that Tabatabainejad could have been physically unable to stand when the officers demanded that he do so.

Quote

Alex Trebek: Who said, "Almost all cases of police abuse are related to the person not being respectful. Police are people of authority. Didn't most people's parents teach to respect authority."

Contestant: "Who is Hitler?"

Quote

This makes me sick. They taser the guy, and then while he is incapacitated, tell him to stand up? That's like torturing for someone for information by removing their tongue, and then telling them if they don't tell you what you want to know, you'll start breaking bones. These cops are either criminally stupid for not knowing the effects of their own weapons, or criminally insane for wilfully torturing the guy.

Quote

How quick do you think you could get up after someone tazered you?

The fact remain, regardless of what the study said/yelled, police officers should only use the of force necessary to detain a suspect or prevent them causing harm to other people or otherwise violate the law.

Considering the student was laying on the ground (which means that he was incapacitated) the police could have safely waited until he recovered and then either arrest him or escort him out of the building. Waiting would have not caused any harm to any one.

** Note ** I am a firm believer that law enforcement should be allowed to use the appropriate amount of force (event deadly force if necessary) if someones actions could kill or seriously harm others.
What pisses me off (and it should piss you off, as well) is when police fail to exercise proper restraint.

Quote

I'll never understand why police officers demand compliance when the individual is unable to comply. And then punish you for non-compliance.
If you get tazed you really can't move because all of your muscles are in spasm. So, it's kind of hard to stand up.

Quote

I don't care if he was being disrespectful.
I don't care if he was instigating a confrontation.
And I don't care if he refused to leave (which he didn't, because you clearly hear him tell the cops he's leaving right before he gets tasered).

The point is, he was CLEARLY incapacitated after he was tasered, if not the first time, then the second time (or the third, or the fourth, or the fifth...) and at that point any further use of force by the police was unnecessary. What continued to unfold from that point on amounts to torture, and abuse.

Official Police report here:

http://www.ucpd.ucla.edu/ucpd/zippdf/2006/Taser%2011-15-06.pdf

UCLA response:

http://www.laist.com/archives/2006/11/17/ucla_students_demonstrate_against_ucpd_taser_use.php

http://ktla.trb.com/news/la-me-taser18nov18-pg,0,3890542.photogallery?coll=ktla-news-1&index=1

My take on it:

For the record, The kid didn't do anything illegal.
He wasn't even guilty of Resisting Arrest, as per the statement of a Judge.
HE cannot be tasered, for telling a cop to Get his hands off him.

People have been getting kicked out of libraries for years, now if you have a bad mouth, you get TAZERED!

That's illegal, but if you want that to be legalized, go lobby for it or something!

For the record, the cop grabbed his Shoulder, SO HE WASN'T ESCORTING HIM OUT!
Tee student slid the cops hand off, said get off me, another cop grabbed his other shoulder, and Stunned him.
None of the Stuns were warranted.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What are the cops guilty of:

Police Brutality
Key word there is "brute", they acted just like them.

~~Phoenix

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A few days later, the Media hush, and the propaganda started rolling.

My response to the propaganda and how some people blame the guy who got tazered for instigating things.

What i love about this situation is there are actually people who say the student was at fault

It really shows you how some people think, turning a guy like that whose being electrocuted to crisp, into the evil guy.


That's how we got into Iraq though, Propaganda, False media Propaganda that convinced us Iraq's leader was some kind of a threat to our security and we needed to kill his regime.

Now the majority consensus is we are less safe because of that war.
IF anyone hasn't witnessed the Media bias NOW IS THE TIME to see it.

The only channel i've seen to discuss this topic is MSNBC, on Keith olbermans show.
By discuss... i mean more than a minute.

And on top of all this, that poor guy is being blamed by the UCPD as an instigator of violence.
The media is a powerfull thing my friends, witness its power now.

I just hope Truth wins in the end.

P.s: After watching the video numerous times, i suggest everyone tune into 3:50 seconds into the video.

At this point you can't see the man, he's fallen down the stairs, on the floor a few feet away, and while he's handcuffed on the floor they continue to taze him.

He is screaming very loud, loud enough for you to hear him over the Crowd.

Witnesses have all said atleast 2 tazes took place while he was in the Foyer, on the ground, after having fallen from the stairs.
This is also confirmed by the Media and police.
(4: 12 seconds in, and 4:30 seconds into the video)

I've read up to 4 tazes took place there. (possibly because an officer was enraged after what happened).

I've found an extra one at (4: 45) seconds in.

At (5: 20) seconds in, the officers are consoling the man, possibly because he is visibly having trouble breathing.

(6: 35) Cop says to a protestor, back over there or you're gonna get Tazed too. (WTF is that, That cop should be socked in the face)

Review these parts and get back to me on what you think.

And i think we all agree, at this point, Even an Idiot would know tazing is unncecessary.

I bet when they talk to the officers about this, they'll just say

http://www.blakeross.com/2006/11/17/on-the-ucla-tasering/