<p>Strykur,</p>
<p>Again, remember that UCLA has problems with transients and assaults. In an effort to provide students with a safe environment at late hours, it's important to enforce the ID rules. I can attest to the fact that the safest areas on the campus have also been the ones that have had the most "ID oversight," so to speak. Highrise dorms with Access are significantly safer than suites without, for example.</p>
<p>That stupid facebook group completey mischaracterizes the situation by claiming that it stands against the "attempted murder" of the man. As far as I understand it, the police would be guilty of attmpted murder if they did prepatory acts and during them had intent TO KILL. Not only is it exremely unlikely that the police intended to kill, if they had such intent I doubt anybody has demonstratable proof of it. Tell that dumb group to change its description.</p>
<p>Secondly, does anybody at all have any reason to believe that the person's being Iranian or mulsim (in so many descriptions) had anything to do with the police's actions? It'd be nice to see evidence of it instead of just baseless speculation by so many.</p>
<p>Lastly, why does this group have so little to do with UCLA students? It was started by three random people, a high schooler, someone in Palestine (however facebook defines that) and somebody from Orange County. And, not surprising, the most common groups members of this group are in are promoting Islam.</p>
<p>The police should be fired because the line they blurred was the line between appropriate force to ensure safety of themselves and innocent bystanders, and inflicting punishment. The role of the police is not to mete out punishment - that's for the courts. When the student went limp, they should have just grabbed his ankles and hauled him out. Tazering is to subdue, not to punish.</p>
<p>The tipoff is when the policeman threatened to tazer the student who demanded to know the officer's badge number. That's why the police carry a badge number, for pete's sake. They are supposed to identify themselves, not threaten the public. </p>
<p>Next some of you guys will be suggesting that an umpire with a ballplayer in their face should whip out a tazer in case the player has a gun. Geez, guys, these police overreacted and should be held accountable. Did the student try to assault them? Did he claim to have a weapon? Did he appear to reach for a weapon? If not, the police exercised poor judgment. Their job is to deal with issues like this in an appropriate way. It's their job, and they're trained to do it. If they can't do it, they shouldn't have the job.</p>
<p>Well, according to the Latimes the guy is going to sue. </p>
<p>Why he's an damned moron:
1. He refused to show his ID after 11 because he thought that he was being picked on for looking Middle Eastern. Hey, the rules don't apply to me because I'm a minority that's had to put up with a lot of injustice over the years.
2. He took his sweet time leaving, and when the police refused to let go until he actually left the building, he threw a hissy fit and hit the ground because, again, he's a minority.</p>
<p>Why he'll win:
1. The guy was taking his sweet time, but he was leaving. As long as he didn't actually refuse to go for breaking the rules there was no reason to rush him, especially since in this day and age it'll bring a lot of bad press.
2. If he was truly just being a non-violent protestor, handcuff him and drag him out. A cop should be able to do this instead of resorting to multiple taser shots.
3. A bunch of cops over-reacting and tasering a Middle Eastern kid? Every civil rights group in the country will be all over this.</p>
<p>DRab- Yeah, the Iranian thing doesn't fly with me. I'm pretty sure the same action would have occurred if the student was white, or black, or asian, or whatever and was resisting/making a scene. A lot of the media covering the story have been very quick to point out the student's ethnicity and some even reported that the student was an Iranian exchange student rather than an Iranian American. It's quickly dissolving into a racial issue when it really isn't. I know that the guy is saying that he thinks he was targeted for being middle eastern, but come on. Also, I still don't really get what the Patriot act has to do with it and why someone would be thinking of it in the midst of being dragged and tasered. </p>
<p>And I just think a lot of people (not so much on CC, but on campus and other UCLAish internet gathering places) are judging the situation on a strictly emotional basis. There's too little logic involved. To say that the guy wasn't at all at fault (and many people are) is ignoring the fact that he broke the failure to comply rule in the first place. Like Ari and others have said, BOTH parties were at fault and I just don't think that's being acknowledged. I still think that 4 or 5 taserings is excessive (especially once he was handcuffed), and I still think that threatening bystanders is messed up. But I don't think dude should be getting off scot free, either. </p>
<p>And I'm really nervous about the rally today. I really hope it doesn't get bad and end up embarrassing the school further. Glad I'm not on campus today.</p>
<p>well aubstopper he quotes henry david thoreau and he refuses to get a job.
perhaps in objective terms the reaction from the ucpd was a bit harsh. but an example needed to be set. all these college students think its cool to hate on cops. then if some stuff goes down, say you're raped, or your car is stolen, or you have a stalker, who you gonna call? yep, those "pigs." cops have every right to fight back and prove they have the authority, not some whiny kid.</p>
<p>ari are the suites unsafe? nothing ever seems to happen here, although i suppose there is more potential to. all the disapperances/bad stuff on campus seems to happen in the high rises.</p>
<p>Is it true that " Police are only required to give badge numbers if the person who is being arrested requests. The students interfering were obstructing the police from doing their job, which is illegal."?</p>
<p>Ben- here's another item that has since been removed from his facebook profile:</p>
<p>"i like to take simple problems and find the most difficult way to do them. i have a talent, what can i say.
i am currently having a early life crisis. i cant seem to make decisions. it'll pass, i hope. i need to play soccer, when i dont i become another person. its like Dr.Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, weird i know."</p>
<p>so uh. </p>
<p>who knows.</p>
<p>FYI- I saw the taser incident on the main Yahoo page today. How embarassing. </p>
<p>From the article: "Yagman said his client declined to show his school ID because he thought he was being targeted for his appearance. His family is of Iranian descent." </p>
<p>Is that not the most ridiculous thing? Hey, I'm Asian and the cops are trying to pull me over, but I feel like they're targeting my ethnicity so hell, I'm just going to keep driving. I don't see how someone with legal training could be making this argument.</p>
<p>Yeah. I seriously HATE that this is turning into a racial issue. HATE. There are tons of Persian people at UCLA. It's not like he was a lone Persian sheep in the midst of big bad white UCLA. He was asked to show his bruincard because THAT'S THE RULE. Not because he was Persian. And also, the UCPD really had nothing to do with the bruincard in the first place. The CSOs asked for the bruincard, UCPD only came to usher him out. The whole story is getting progressively more twisted as it gains more coverage. </p>
<p>And it IS embarrassing. </p>
<p>I'm feeling more and more like dude brought it upon himself. Not that I agree with what UCPD did, but god. He's hard to feel sorry for.</p>
<p>I'm definitely starting to feel the same way allie :rolleyes:</p>
<p>Ok, I just saw entire video. Definitely, the police did the right thing. Not only did he disobey police orders; he was encouraging other students to join his resistance. After they grabbed his arm, he fell on the floor and went limp. He could've easily left the library and avoided any harm. But instead, he decided to be a rebel and he got tasered. Now, he's apparently filing a lawsuit (against the university I presume) for so-called police brutality, even though the officers were only following LAPD guidelines for handling these types of situations.</p>
<p>
[quote]
A student who was shocked by a campus police officer's Taser gun after he refused to show ID at a UCLA library thought he was being singled out by the officer because of his Middle Eastern appearance, his lawyer said.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Yeah, right. A majority of the student body at UCLA belong to minority groups. There are probably thousands of Middle Eastern students on campus (I am one of them). To say that the police acted based on the fact that he was an Iranian is ridiculous, to say the least. The ID policy adopted by the university was enacted solely for the safety of UCLA students. We should be grateful that the university is so concerned with our safety that they are willing to have policeman patrol the library checking for Bruin cards. Today, there's supposed to be some sort of protest against the supposed "police brutality." I think that all UCLA students should stand in solidarity with the UCPD for their work in enforcing the rules and ensuring that us students are able to study and attend classes in a safe environment.</p>
<p>Yup. Definitely an embarassment - the whole incident and the protest today. What's with all these protests these days (all in one week in fact)? None of them are clearly noteworthy causes.</p>
<p>It is indeed unfortunate that defying authority, breaking rules, being anti-government, etc. is "cool" these days.</p>
<p>CC bruins have so much more common sense than the rest of the school :rolleyes:</p>
<p>
[quote]
even though the officers were only following LAPD guidelines for handling these types of situations.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Didn't realize threatening someone who asks for your badge number with tasering is in the LAPD guidelines. One more reason never to move to LA, I guess.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Again, remember that UCLA has problems with transients and assaults.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Quite odd, since Cal has tons of transients who reside in the city limits surrounding the campus and residence halls, yet the number of crimes on campus property, let alone in the library, is practically nonexistent. What's going on here?</p>
<p>Strykur,</p>
<p>Who knows. I just know that it's not a huge deal to produce a BruinCard when it's asked of me.</p>
<p>I don't see why we are debating this. Both are at fault and neither side backed down.</p>
<p>My thoughts:</p>
<ul>
<li>This incident looks like it would have happened to any ethnic group, though it certainly didn't help that the student was a minority</li>
<li>The police used multiple tasering after the student was handcuffed and threatened other students with it - clearly an abuse of power</li>
<li>The police cannot expect someone that has been tasered to stand up right afterwards</li>
<li>The student knew what he was getting himself into, and it did not help that he became loud and defiant</li>
</ul>
<p>It's hard to defend such a student, but the ultimate biggest fault has to go to the UCPD because they have the higher authority and they are abusing it.</p>
<p>allie,</p>
<p>I whole heartedly agree with you. Why turn this into a race issue when in fact his Iranian descent had nothing to do with the reasoning for the CP tasering him.</p>
<p>he's turning it into a racial issue cuz its easier to get $$$ from it if he wins the lawsuit.</p>
<p>tasers won't hurt so much after you win a couple million.</p>