Several University of California police officers brutally attacked a student who did not produce his identification in a university library computer lab last night.
CAUTION: The above video contains disturbing scenes of brutality.
The student nonviolently resisted the officers
In the six-minute video of the incident shot by a witness, you can clearly see the student nonviolently resisting the officers’ attempts to expel him. The police proceeded to taser him and taser him again while the student writhed in pain and cursed them.
The student was most likely incapacitated
Though the student was most likely incapacitated from the taser shots, two police officers insisted he stand up over and over again until they lost patience and, incredibly, tasered him a third time.
At this time the students who had been milling about and meekly asking the officers for their badge numbers became upset and moved toward the police officers, always in a nonviolent but demanding manner.
Any reasonable person
I can’t blame the students for milling around and not acting before the third taser shot. Any reasonable person would assume that with the brutalised student now calm, cooler heads would prevail and the incident would end without further violence.
When the most vocal witness to the incident asked the police officer for his badge number, the officer threatened to taser him if he did not exit the vestibule.
In fact it had not ended. In total I count what appear to be seven to nine taser shots in under six minutes, including at least two while he was clearly very much under control. Finally, two cops dragged the handcuffed student out of the building.
Violating their right to free assembly
To add insult to injury, one of the police officers re-entered the building and demanded students disperse out of the vestibule of the library, in effect violating their right to free assembly.
When the most vocal witness to the incident asked the police officer for his badge number, the officer threatened to taser him if he did not exit the vestibule.
3 replies on “A New Twist on School Violence from UCLA”
Glad to see others are noticing this – come talk about it!
Click here to read what’s been said by others and join the conversation!
I was truly shocked about the video and see that a lot of people in youtube were downplaying this incident so I stayed up the whole night creating a website for this and even registered a domain. Please visit http://whereisamericaheadingto.com to vote and express your opinion. We have to do something.
Hey:
Can you post a link on your blog to this online petition to ban the use of taser guns by UCPD + have a transparent and independent investigation of the UCLA tasering?
Here’s the link:
To read and sign petition, go to: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/stoptasersUCPD/
On Tuesday, Nov. 11, several UCPD officers arrested, handcuffed, and repeatedly electrocuted a UCLA student with a taser gun in a UCLA library because he did not show police officers his UCLA ID card and refused to leave the library.
For a video of the incident, go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3CdNgoC0cE
The incident shocked those who witnessed the abuse (as can be clearly seen in the video) and those who have seen the video. What happened to this student clearly shows how taser guns lend themselves to police abuse.
Taser guns are dangerous and cruel. Up until this day, over 189 people in the US have died as a result of being shot with a taser gun. In addition, taser guns cause great pain and muscular paralysis on those shot.
Imagine if UC police stopped and tasered every student who forgot to carry around their UC id!
If you are outraged about this incident and would like to do something to improve our UC communities, you can start by signing this petition addressed to UC President Robert Dynes, the UC Regents, and the UC chancellors asking the university administration to do the following:
1. Permanently ban the use of taser guns by the University of California Police Department.
2. Form an independent review board that will investigate the tasering of UCLA student Mostafa Tabatabainejad at Powell Library on Tuesday, November 14, 2006.
3. This independent review board should also review and recommend changes to policies regarding verification of student status by UCPD officers.
4. Consider setting independent review boards in every UC campus with the assigned role of independently investigating serious allegations of police abuse.
5. Extend a formal apology to UCLA student Mostafa Tabatabainejad for the physical and emotional harm done to him that evening.
Please join us in supporting these demands by:
1) Signing the online petition.
Again, to read and sign petition, go to: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/stoptasersUCPD/
2) Forwarding this email to as many people in the UC community as you can.
Thank you for joining our call. Together, we can make our UC campuses safer and more peaceful communties.