source: UCLA's Daily Bruin
video: http://youtube.com/watch?v=AyvrqcxNIFs
UCLA community gathers to protest Taser incident, campus violence
Protesters demand additional investigation be made into officers' actions by an outside organization with help of students
|
DAILY BRUIN SENIOR STAFF
jerlandson@media.ucla.edu
apesce@media.ucla.edu
Meyerhoff Park was electric Friday afternoon when more than 400 students, faculty, staff, parents and community members gathered to protest the use of a Taser multiple times on a UCLA student in Powell Library on Tuesday night.
Student leaders stood on the steps of Kerckhoff Hall, leading the crowd in chants that included "One, two, three, don't Taser me," and "U-C-P-D, you disgust me." After about an hour, students began marching to the university police station, where about 200 students gathered in front of the building.
More than 50 student organizations sponsored the rally, during which students demanded that an independent investigation be conducted into the officers' actions.
According to a statement released Wednesday by UCPD, the incident in which Mostafa Tabatabainejad was stunned with a Taser several times for failing to produce his BruinCard or leave the library upon request is currently under internal review.
But students at the rally said they wanted an additional investigation to be conducted by an outside organization, adding that they wanted students to be involved with the investigation as well.
"The chancellor should appoint students who will be able to make sure the investigation is transparent," said Combiz Abdolrahimi, chairman of the National Iranian-American Council at UCLA, which helped organize the event. "We're also calling for a temporary suspension of the officers."
Affad Shaikh, civil rights coordinator for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, also demanded to be provided with UCPD's policies governing the use of Taser guns.
|
At a separate press conference later in the afternoon, Police Chief Karl Ross announced that UCPD is planning to conduct an independent investigation into the incident, in addition to their internal investigation.
During the same press conference, Interim Chancellor Norman Abrams said a number of eyewitnesses have already come forward to participate in the investigation.
"I am confident that the review process that is being undertaken will allow us to reach a fair, appropriate and just conclusion," Abrams said.
Several eyewitnesses also spoke to the crowd during the rally, though some declined to give their names.
UCPD has maintained that the UCPD officers could not have known at the time that the student was not a threat; Ross said the officers used force because they felt they were in danger.
But some witnesses said the response seemed to be inappropriate for the situation.
|
Organizers repeatedly stressed that the rally was in response to violence on campus in general.
"These police were way out of bounds," said Samer Araabi, a general representative on the Undergraduate Students Association Council. "Do you feel protected by the police?"
The crowd roared back with a resounding "No."
After the rally was over, just before 1 p.m., protesters began marching to UCPD's station on Westwood Boulevard, though organizers had said at the beginning of the rally that they had no plans to do so.
Organizers asked the crowd to remain peaceful as they marched, still chanting, to the station.
"Let's stay nonviolent, because we are marching against violence," said Sabiha Ameen, president of the Muslim Students Association and a rally organizer.
Protesters gathered on UCPD's front lawn, chanting that they wanted to see the chief of police.
By the time students arrived at the station, the front door of the station was locked and most of the lights downstairs were turned off. Berky Nelson, director of the UCLA Center for Student Programming, said the chief of police was not available to speak with protesters because he was meeting with the chancellor.
As a Los Angeles Police Department helicopter circled briefly overhead, the crowd refused to disperse.
"Hell no, we won't go," they chanted.
After students had been at the station for over 45 minutes, they left voluntarily.
Nelson said police would listen to student input.
"There will be student input," he said. "Their voice was heard, and they were received with all due respect."
Though the crowd was overwhelmingly opposed to the police officers' actions, a few students in attendance questioned the student's actions as well.
"If you've been told to leave, you need to comply," said Christo Rose, a fourth-year computer science student. "(Police) have no choice but to respond."
But Rose added that he believes the use of force in the situation was excessive.
4 comments:
This is a classic case of a set up to get publicity for the Mullah’s through thier agents, NIAC being one of them, watch other puppet organizations on Mulla’s payroll like IABA, NIPOC and IMAN to follow . I wouldnt be surprised if IAPAC , folks like Amirahmadi, Titra Parsi, Houghoghi and Babaie to jump on board. This is as free of advertising as it comes.
The campus police was wrong but they were lured into this by a very carefully planned conspiracy. Watch the details get investigated over the next few weeks. How come there was only one student recording? How come the recording did not start from the begining of the incident? Did you hear the student swear at the police? tell them fuck your patriot act? How come his attorney is a 2 time disbarred attorney who was the only attorney trown out of the Federal Court?
Things are never what they seem.
It is absolutely ridiculous to assume any wrongdoing on the part of the UCPD officers that apprehended this Iranian-American student.
The officers are being accused of singling out this student because he was Iranian and using excessive force.
Let's look at the facts:
First of all - the police officers did not single out this person. They responded to a call for service at Powell Library. The call for service was initiated by a CSO (Community Services Officer) which is in fact a student "security" employee of the University. The officers did not choose the person they had to detain and remove from the library - the CSO identified the person as one that could not prove that they belonged in the library and thus this person was in violation of University policy and a probable threat to student safety.
The officers verified that what the CSO stated was true - the person was unable to provide a photo identification that proved that he was in fact a student and had a reason to be in the library at that time.
The officers verbally instructed the person to leave the building several times.
The individual made the choice to not comply with the lawful order of a state police officer. The officer at that point had cause to detain and if neccessary arrest the individual. Anyone with any common sense knows that when you are instructed to do something by a law enforcement officer - you comply first and then you can enter a dialog with the officer if you choose to do so - but you comply first.
When faced with obvious non-compliance, the officer has the legal right to use whatever force is reasonably neccessary to gain compliance. The individual made efforts to not comply - he let his body go limp and attempted to prevent the officers from removing him from the building. The officer called for backup, and several other officers - including a sergeant - arrived to assist with keeping other individuals from becoming involved. The individual began to attempt to garner support from others that had gathered around in resisting the officers attempt to remove him from the building. The student began to behave beligerently, he used inappropriate and extremely disrespectful language, he applied physical force against the officers that attempted to remove him from the building.
The officer's attempt to use the "drive stun" function of the Taser was a reasonable force option. He could have used physical force - which would have likely left lasting damage in the form of cuts or bruises on the student's body. Instead he used a light pain compliance force option that would leave no lasting damage to the individual. The "drive stun" function of the taser is not something that would quickly disable someone. It is intended to deliver a shock to the individual in the effort to cause them to comply - or "drive" them in the direction that you want them to go - sort of like a cattle prod. They did not actually shoot the student with the Taser. If they actually shot him using the Taser cartridge he would likely have been immediately disabled and unable to walk on his own.
The officers used reasonable force and only that force neccessary in an effort to gain compliance from an individual.
What are students protesting? That a student is not above the law? That they too must comply with the lawful order of a law enforcement officer? Are they protesting that the UCLA Campus has a policy in place that requires University identification be carried if a student, staff member, or faculty member desires to be in any library building after a certain hour in the evening?
A note from Canada (way North): At least this student did not have an ID on him (big crim these days when your color of skin is not too whitish in USA) . In 1979, I was finger printed, questioned and photographed like a delinquent simply because I was an Iranian student at a state university. That was the time which I decided to leave the land of freedom. Do not be surprised because you will see more and more of this everyday in the jangle which is usually refer to incorrectly as the leader of free world. In a little while, it will be the day that all of you Iranians will be in the camps with walls around you, the same as Japanese 60 years ago since not much has change in last 100 years in U. S. of American.
This was EXCESSIVE FORCE no matter how you look at it, and to suggest that it was a conspiracy, Anonymous, if you can even spell, is preposterous. We do not know all of the facts, yet there are numerous videos of this event captured by students who witnessed this police force and comments made by witnesses who were present all over youtube, and the fact that he was tasered while in handcuffs is outrageous. You obviously seem to hold some prejudice against Muslims or people from the Middle East, or perhaps against people of color in general, or in examining the simple facts that we do know, you couldn't possibly agree that what happened was just behavior. We are seeing rising racial tensions and excessive aggression against Americans of color throughout the country right now and to encourage police brutality is a mistake. You should remember Pastor Niemoller's famous poem and think hard about what it might mean for you. I don't think that you would have liked to have been in this position nor one of your friends or family members. I can tell you, people of color get sick and tired of the constant battle with racial profiling, and perhaps the student, as some have suggested, oveerreacted in the beginning, calling attention to himself because he had had enough already, but luckily he did, so people could whip out their cell phones and capture this excessive force on film. It's got to stop!
Publicar un comentario