[BREAKING NEWS]: Student shot with Taser by UCPD officers

hi guys.. looking at the vast number of LEOs we have here in the forum.. would like to share the above piece of news with everyone, as well as to hear your views on the matter.. whether it was handled correctly..

Link to UCLA daily bruin

Footage of the incident

Keith Olbermann interviews tasered UCLA student Mostafa Tabatabainejad's lawyer, Stephen Yagman

tagged for later broadband viewing!

I feel the student was certainly wrong for not producing his ID - anyone using the school resources or on school property should submit to that for security reasons.

HOWEVER, how many times did they tase him? Torture is unacceptable. I've seen trained officers move people that weren't willing to be moved...seems those UCLA security guys need some training or "refresher"...I could go on - but I wasn't there and am only speaking my opinion from what I saw on the videos.

Additionally, how do we know it wasn't a "setup" on the "student's" part?

Sigman said:

I feel the student was certainly wrong for not producing his ID - anyone using the school resources or on school property should submit to that for security reasons.

HOWEVER, how many times did they tase him? Torture is unacceptable. I've seen trained officers move people that weren't willing to be moved...seems those UCLA security guys need some training or "refresher"...I could go on - but I wasn't there and am only speaking my opinion from what I saw on the videos.

Additionally, how do we know it wasn't a "setup" on the "student's" part?

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I agree with you that the student was wrong for not producing his ID, be it refusing to because he thought he was the subject of racial profiling, or the ID card was'nt with him at that point of time.

But tasing him even after he was handcuffed?

in the footage it seems the few of them could easily dragged him out even if he was limp. Why couldnt they do it in the first place without tasing him so many times?

in the footage the student said clearly he had a medical condition, what if he meant he had a pacemaker?

in the last part of the video, the officer said to a student who was trying to help "back off right there before i taser u too"
the subtitles for this part is in the interview video. from the behaviour of the officer i think it's more of a abuse of authority than being "set up" or tuanted.

This is the link of the officer in the the limelight, looks like its not his first time.

That definately looked like abuse of authority.

I kind of wish the mob that had gathered would have kicked the snot out of those campus cops.

Many opinions can be made as to why he refused to show ID and why he wouldn't get up as instructed after they asked him to stand up a few hundred times. If he couldn't get up I never heard him say, "I can't get up" or anything of that nature. He had no problem repeatedly saying, "I was leaving before..." and he had no problem going into long tirades after he was tased. It leads me to believe he decided to make a point using civil disobedience and accepted getting tased as a means to make his point and incite the crowd and media.

Should they have tased him so many times, I don't think so. Seems like they should have just picked him up and hauled him away. But, a point can be made that they shouldn't have to carry a healthy person and with actions come consequences. I promise you I would have stood up after the first threat of tasing but to me this guy looks like a wanna-be martyr.

Again, like all others I only offer an uniformed opinion.

First of all, the young man was of no threat to anyone present, his right of civil disobedience and protest was violated. He didn't resist arrest as he was already handcuffed. Taser-ed repeatedly because he won't or more accurately, CAN'T get up? An initial taser discharge will bring down a full-size male bull. A 200+ lb in shape law officer was tasered during a demonstration. He wasn't able to just stand up as a result, and I don't think a 'kid' will do better.

Abuse of power by a few bad LEOs, the desire to jump to conclusions in order to justify escalating the use to force of any type, is unacceptable.
Just ask the parents of the poor girl killed by a rubber bullet through her eye as she sat watching the Red Sox fans celebrate their championship.

Appalling. A picture is worth a thousand words.

one interesting comment from youtube.

would a blonde hair blue eyed female get the exact same treatment if she did exactly what the kid did ?

sometimes it seems more like selecting your target and abusing your power, thinking that you'll be backed..

Without commenting on this specific tasering...

I can not imagine being a police officer at a university, and having to do a frequently very difficult job, surrounded by young know-it-all punks who are all out to change the world and right every wrong, when they haven't the age or experience to have any idea how to judge what right or wrong looks like yet.

I'm just glad it didn't get really ugly - it certainly had the potential to, with a large number of angry students and a small number of police officers in an enclosed space.

DieselDave said:

Many opinions can be made as to why he refused to show ID and why he wouldn't get up as instructed after they asked him to stand up a few hundred times. If he couldn't get up I never heard him say, "I can't get up" or anything of that nature. He had no problem repeatedly saying, "I was leaving before..." and he had no problem going into long tirades after he was tased. It leads me to believe he decided to make a point using civil disobedience and accepted getting tased as a means to make his point and incite the crowd and media.

Should they have tased him so many times, I don't think so. Seems like they should have just picked him up and hauled him away. But, a point can be made that they shouldn't have to carry a healthy person and with actions come consequences. I promise you I would have stood up after the first threat of tasing but to me this guy looks like a wanna-be martyr.

Again, like all others I only offer an uniformed opinion.

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i would'nt disagree that his acting like a wanna-be martyr, kids of that age are rebellious/defiant by nature..

I think he did say a few times ("I can't") he can't stand up.

Let's assume he did it on purpose to make a point using civil disobedience and incite the crowd and media

he did mention he had a medical condition, did that stop the cops from tasering him 2-3 times after handcuffing him?

No.

mchlwise said:

Without commenting on this specific tasering...

I can not imagine being a police officer at a university, and having to do a frequently very difficult job, surrounded by young know-it-all punks who are all out to change the world and right every wrong, when they haven't the age or experience to have any idea how to judge what right or wrong looks like yet.

I'm just glad it didn't get really ugly - it certainly had the potential to, with a large number of angry students and a small number of police officers in an enclosed space.

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one of the cop definitely stopped that from happening..he threathen a kid who was just trying to help, to back off or get tasered too.. (subtitle in the interview footage)

Maybe the student wanted this to happen so he could file a nice lawsuit? While he may not have planned to get tased, he may have deliberately been defiant hoping that the security guards would do something they weren't supposed to do so he could sue. And it seems he got his wish. Some bleeding heart jury will probably make him a millionaire now.

While the security guard's behavoir may have been unprofessional remember that he can't be held to the same standards as a trained LEO. Positions like that typically pay $6 an hour and you know the old saying-you get what you pay for. While the term rent-a-cop may be degrading it is sadly a more-or-less accurate description of hired security these days. The whole industry needs to pay better and to train personnel better if it wants to change its image.

My late father worked for the HRA Police. The HRA Police were charged with keeping security in welfare centers. My father was trained and had full peace officer status although he was never allowed to carry a gun. Shortly before he retired in 1992 he said they were phasing out the HRA Police and replacing them with hired security personnel. He mentioned how things were going downhill fast as a result. All the city saw was that it was saving money. Things in the private security industry have only gotten much worse since.

A fathead loser gets whats coming to him. I call that a happy ending.

I'm sure the university will try to settle out of court.

These weren't $5/hr security guards, but actual police officers.
Very large campuses have a dedicated police force trained to deal with campus life and crimes.

As another mentioned, such a police officer must have special training and patience when dealing with colllege age individuals.
But too many in the forces have the "I need to beat some reality and common sense into that smart-mouth liberal wealthy weasel (or slut)."

I returned to college in my late 30s and was surprised by the attitudes of some campus police.

Yes, I met my fair share of those who the above statement would describe them well, but that doesn't justify it, or lumping the rest of us student population in for a dose of excessive use of force.

The funniest thing though was being carded to see if I was of legal drinking age. My reply was usually 'you're shitting me, right?'. They take it the wrong way at first until they figure out my age and crack a smile.
They probably do this so routinely, they wouldn't realize if they carded the Dean.

WNG said:

The funniest thing though was being carded to see if I was of legal drinking age. My reply was usually 'you're shitting me, right?'. They take it the wrong way at first until they figure out my age and crack a smile.
They probably do this so routinely, they wouldn't realize if they carded the Dean.

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That reminds me of when we were getting some of my father's financial affairs in order after he passed away in March. I was the beneficiary of one of his bank accounts and had to fill out some papers. Anyway, the woman asks me my age as she's filling out the form. I figure no big deal, but I'm surprised that they even ask since they already have my Social Security number and could just look it up. After she gives me the form to sign I see the reason why. There was a yes-no question asking if the beneficiary was over 18 but nothing asking my age. That made my day during a very sad time in my life. I'll be 44 on November 30. Now I've had people tell me I could pass for 15, sometimes even 20 years younger, at least when I get a decent night's rest, but I told my mother that the woman must need new glasses, or maybe all the 18-year olds she's seen look older than their age. Anyway, given what happened to me, your story doesn't really surprise me.

First thing that comes to mind here...and I apologize if this sounds like a rant and I mean no offense.

If I understand the video's and interviews correctly, he was asked to show a student ID card or leave the computer lab. I'm not sure how that campus works, but any universities I've ever been to, you're required to have a userID and password to even get on the computer period, so if he was using the computer that means he is a student or was a student who is now alumni that still has access (which is normal). He was later confirmed to be a student after the incident.

I've been at 4 different colleges/universities and have never seen or heard of such a thing. I have had my card asked for before upon entry to a computer lab and I see nothing wrong with that, but they ask everyone who comes in. But never any sort of "spot check."

Yagman also said Tabatabainejad intentionally went limp when the officers grabbed his arm because he did not want to participate in racial profiling.

The UCPD has described this as an act of resistance, and has said at this point the officers could not have known whether the student was a threat.

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I can understand going limp as an act of resistance, however, once a person is limp you can drag them wherever you want. How is he a threat when he is limp and on the ground? How is he still a threat when he is handcuffed and tasered repeatedly? I counted at least 5 times.

Which brings me to the point of the fact that the officers thought someone could "stand up" (500 times or so) after being tasered repeatedly, and then that oh, let's taser him again and see if that makes him stand up is absurd. According to the articles the officer has been on the force for 20 years or so, he should know better. Tasers have also been known to kill on more than one occassion if I recall when used repeatedly. I can picture that one now...student tasered to death infront of other students begging them to stop after being asked to leave.

Also, after handcuffing him, why not just pull his wallet and check his ID? Oh right, they tasered him already, can't do that now...not with all the other students around.

The school will be out a few million on this one easily. Big mess.

Sorry for the rant!

Wolfen said:

And that is what he will call it when he cashes his settlement check.

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Sadly, that's probably what will happen. This guy's an idiot for not cooperating. Any normal person, with any amount of brain matter, would've listened, when told to stand up. How many times did they tell him to stand up, hundreds of times? He got what he deserved.

use of force abuse. He was restrained and complying. Him stating he had a medical condition should have made them treat it as such, not cattle probe him to move.


They will be sued... I can see it now

I agree that he was an idiot for acting defiantly in whatever way he did, but that doesn't justify officers tasering him repeatedly! I find it very hard to believe that, with three large officers there, a taser was required to restrain a single college kid. If those officers weren't tasered in their training, they should have been. Maybe then they'd realize the seriousness of tasering a suspect.

I'm disgusted by the whole thing, the way the officers acted, and how most of the kids just stood there watching. Unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable.

EDIT: I'm kind of annoyed by the inevitable lawsuit, since I believe both parties (the student and the police) have something to learn from the incident, and I don't think the one who wins the suit is going to learn anything. The police need to learn that such actions are excessively brutal and cruel, and the student needs to learn that in situations like this, it's better to just show your I.D. and avoid a confrontation like the one that resulted.