Scandal at UCLA
This is really disgusting:
"Student shot with Taser by UCPD officers"
"It was the most disgusting and vile act I had ever seen in my life," said David Remesnitsky, a 2006 UCLA alumnus who witnessed the incident.
As the student and the officers were struggling, bystanders repeatedly asked the police officers to stop, and at one point officers told the gathered crowd to stand back and threatened to use a Taser on anyone who got too close.
The video of the event: UCLA Student Tasered by Police in Library
I thank God this poor student wasn't killed (some are not so fortunate). I just can't help but worry, knowing that the way this country is headed, we'll be seeing more abuses of power like this in the near future.
The video doesn't show enough context to know whether or not what the police did was justified or not.
Reports from every news source I can read indicates that this individual was refusing to follow the direction of law enforcement and may have even been actively resisting - if that's true, police most likely were entirely justified in Tasing him in order to effect an arrest.
Matt
Matt: From the reports I've read, the student was just scared; he was already leaving when they confronted him, and when they grabbed him he freaked out.
But one thing is clear: when you have a person handcuffed, there is no need to taser them. Tasers are very dangerous and this student could have been killed. It's abuse of power and it's happening too much nowadays.
Being scared does not give you the right to resist law enforcement - looks like he refused to produce ID to them and then refused to cooperate when he was being questioned - and then freaked out on them. This is from what I read on the Daily Bruin's coverage. If his actions appeared threatening to law enforcement or if he was actively resisting, they were well within their rights to use a Taser.
And I do not agree with you - nor does the law - or most departmental policy - when it comes to Tasering someone who is handcuffed. A handcuffed individual can still be tasered - and this is a safer approach for all involved than using a baton or impact weapon in order to obtain compliance.
Matt
Matt: He didn't have his ID with him, so he was on his way out. He was trying to be responsible.
With all the racial profiling going on nowadays, I can't blame him for being nervous. Obviously what happened will only make him more nervous.
As for the law on tasering, it needs to be changed. Tasering someone who is handcuffed is excessive, especially when there is one student vs. multiple officers, and threatening to taser bystanders is unacceptable.
But I'm not willing to have a back-and-forth here about the details of this case; I don't trust the courts will serve justice either. All I intend is that people see this and think about whether they want situations like these to continue to occur. In my opinion, it will only get worse.
This article (of which the first page is available to visitors) has some more information on the event. It says that they tasered him multiple times and they refused to give their badges and ID numbers when citizens requested it (which is breaking the law).
And that's all I have to say about that. Things like this make me sick.
I think there's much you need to learn about what law enforcement officers go through before you can make this statement.
But since you don't want to have a back and forth - go right on living in your fantasy world.
Matt
Yes I agree with you, those policeman are very sadistic.
I wonder how the could get the job without any acctual screening of training.
Thank you for sharing this story with me !
I disagree that there is insufficient context to establish whether or not the use of a taser was appropriate.
Even if this kid had actively resisted the officers before the camera was turned on — which sounds unlikely, according to witness reports — the officers should only have used their weapons to protect themselves.
There are at least three officers in the video. The kid is on the ground, and he's unarmed. If the police felt threatened, they biggest pussies of all time.
The problem with tasers is that police aren't using them for their intended purpose, which is as an alternative to lethal force. You'd use it according to the same protocol as drawing a sidearm. Period.
A taser is too dangerous to use as a compliance weapon. People die from being tased. We've had a huge scandal here after cops used tasers to torture uncooperative prisoners. Stupid and abusive.
These UCPD flagrantly abused their authority. They should dismissed and possibly face criminal charges. The tased kid was probably in the wrong for not identifying himself, but was badly mistreated. He has grounds for a dandy lawsuit. So does the student illegally threatened by the UCPD officer when he asked for badge numbers.
I hope UCLA reviews their taser policy after this.
This is wildly inaccurate and not at all consistent with how tasers are used by law enforcement.
Matt
"Reports from every news source I can read indicates that this individual was refusing to follow the direction of law enforcement and may have even been actively resisting - if that’s true, police most likely were entirely justified in Tasing him in order to effect an arrest."
Even if I agree with that, then fine. But what about the next 49 times that he is being tasered? While he is screaming on the floor in pain.
Should they taser him because he won't stop crying, because he can't help but be completely incapacitated by their actions? Is it all right for them to continue to taser him, as well as others–who are justifiably asking for badge numbers and names–because as "officers" they have a "right" to act against those who are resisting arrest?
The kid is on the floor, probably writhing in pain, crying out for some kind of help and compassion, HANDCUFFED where is the need to tase him again? Because I strongly believe that every time he yelled out louder, and even though you could not "see" it, he was once again being hit with a "blast of justice."
Matt: The numerous eye-witness accounts as well as the video evidence disagree with your position. The officers are obviously in no danger from the student who is handcuffed and has already been tased.
He was on his way out (which is what the officers were there to accomplish in the first place). In addition there is no justafiable reason for threatening to tase the innocent bystander. That individual was legally and peacefully requesting information that the officers are required to provide and he was threatened in response?!? What is your defense of that?
"I think there’s much you need to learn about what law enforcement officers go through before you can make this statement."
It would be more productive for you to actually say something rather than make vague allusions to what others don't know.
"This is wildly inaccurate and not at all consistent with how tasers are used by law enforcement."
The point is to question how they are using the tasers, so it is moot to say that this is how they are used.
Police officers sign up for a very difficult and dangerous job, but it is there choice to do so. How were they protecting that students rights in this situation? How were they representing honor and justice with their actions? The witnesses and the evidence tell the story and those officers disgraced themselves and all law enforcement that day.
You can keep living in a world where the abuse of power is common and people shouldn't question authority, the rest of us are interested in freedom.