The video is at the end of the article.
UCLA students march to police station in response to library taser incident
Hundreds of UCLA students, faculty, staff and community members gathered in Meyerhoff Park Friday afternoon to protest the multiple uses of a Taser on a UCLA student by university police.
A Taser was used five times on Mostafa Tabatabainejad, a fourth-year Middle Eastern and North African studies and philosophy student, in Powell Library Tuesday night after he reportedly failed to comply with police officers’ instructions to leave the building in a timely manner.
Tabatabainejad failed to produce his BruinCard during a random check after 11:00 p.m., a university policy intended to ensure that only UCLA students, faculty and staff can use the facility late at night.
Tabatabainejad did not present his identification because he believed he was being targeted because of his Middle Eastern appearance, said Stephen Yagman, Tabatabainejad’s attorney.
UCPD maintains that officers used force because Tabatabainejad repeatedly refused to comply with officers’ instructions and physically prevented police from escorting him out of the building.
In a statement released Nov. 15, UCPD said Tabatabainejad also “encouraged library patrons to join his resistance.”
Following a press conference organized by more than 50 student groups, more than 400 people gathered to listen to eyewitness accounts as well as student leaders’ opinions on the incident, which has drawn international media attention.
Students led those in attendance in chants including, “one, two, three, don’t Taser me” and “UCPD, you disgust me.” Protestors wore signs reading “I’m a student, don’t Taser me” and “I’m studying, don’t Taser me” in protest of the incident, which some protestors labeled as police brutality.
“I personally couldn’t sleep that night,” one speaker said. “This was majorly excessive. There was no reason for (police) to do this once they had complete control of the situation.”
Protestors marched to the campus police station, filling the streets of Westwood Boulevard and the entire front lawn of the station and shouting, “Hell no, we won’t go.” The building was locked and the lights on the first floor were turned off as police inside the station put on their riot gear.
Acting Chancellor Norman Abrams announced in a separate press conference that there will be a UCPD internal investigation into the incident as well as an independent investigation conducted by Merrick Bobb, a veteran law enforcement watchdog.
Students at the protest overwhelmingly opposed the police officers’ actions, and The Daily Bruin has received hundreds of letters from concerned parents and community members. Some letters from parents and prospective UCLA students say after reading about the incident and watching the video footage a student captured of it, they have dropped UCLA off of their list of prospective colleges.
The incident has attracted both the attention of students across the country as well as international news media outlets. Students at other universities have written submissions and editorials for their campus publications regarding the incident, and UC Berkeley students are planning a protest for Tuesday.
The Turkish Press reported Mohammad-Ali Hosseini, an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, condemned the use of the Taser on Tabatabainejad, who is U.S.-born but of Iranian descent.
“Iran is quite serious about protecting the interests and rights of its citizens and will spare no effort at upholding their reputation and dignity,” he said, asking that the police officers involved be disciplined.
Still, some members of the UCLA community have questioned how much Tabatabainejad himself is to blame.
“If you’ve been told to leave, you need to comply,” said Christo Rose, a fourth-year computer science student, who added he thought the use of force in this situation was excessive. “(Police) have no choice but to respond.”
A number of Facebook groups in support of the officers’ actions have also been created since the incident, in addition to groups expressing alarm about the officers’ actions.
3 Comments
November 22, 2006 at 8:14 pm
This is an interesting video.
The first question is whose fault is this. I think that when you’re in a college library, the use of this kind of force certainly isn’t necessary when the person you’re trying to apprehend isn’t using any force. The police are definitely to blame for their hard-charging tactics allowing the situation to escalate to the point it did.
That said, why couldn’t the kid just get up when asked? I think his calling out of “This is your Patriot Act” was unfair. Even at Loyola, I was well aware that I needed to have my ID card on me all the time, especially late at night.
One thing I’m not clear on is what prompted the police to ask him for his ID in the first place. If he obviously looked like a student and was sitting at a computer, or carrying books around, then I’d be ready to admit that racial profiling was going on. In that case, the cop wouldn’t have a logical reason to stop him. If he was trying to get into the library, however, when asked for his ID card, I think it is reasonable that he should have to show it.
Ultimately, I think this is an example of how aggressive police tactics are ill-suited to deal with many situations.
November 22, 2006 at 10:05 pm
Okay, so when I posted the video, I was at the Columbia library so I had no speakers to listen to the video. Now that I have watched it in full, this situation is horrendous and awful.
It is obvious that the teenager is not a threat to the campus cops or to anyone else. He explicitly says that he was trying to leave. The whole situation escalated because of attitudes – the student who believes he was racially profiled and the cops wanting to keep their authority.
I feel sorry for the student because I am sure that he has faced much discrimination post 9-11, and I am sure it is even more degrading in a respectable educational institution. Personally, I would not have let it evolve to such because of fear. But, I am sure the student felt enough is enough.
It makes me cringe to hear him scream in agony. Did the cops really need to taze him 5 times?? From the video, it is apparent that he is not doing anything except sitting on the floor. Would someone feel fatigued after 5 electric shocks? I am sure no one would be peppy and energetic. And, once an audience formed, why did the cops think tazing him more was appropriate? Other students are screaming at the cops to stop and that their actions indicated police brutality. I hope the campus cops are penalized heavily.
October 27, 2009 at 6:26 pm
I can not believe this. This is just horrable, I also do not see no reason why the police officers had to tazer him 5 times when he was already on the ground in the first place. And the fact that he was leaving, and did not disturb or cause any harm makes no since to ask him for ID. I would agree that they was discriminating on him. I hope they get introuble for this. Its Not Right.