Thursday, November 16, 2006

The Man

If you haven't yet seen this video of UCLA cops tasering the shit out of a Muslim student for no good reason, you should, because it could be you next.

Even worse is the fact that those same cops threatened to use their taser on a young woman whose only "offense" was to ask them for their names and badge numbers.

I give these students in the video credit. Some of them got right in those cops' faces and demanded accountability. In my America, cops can't use tasers on American citizens because they refuse or are unable to show ID. Just how these cops expected their victim to "stand up" after he had been immobilized by their taser weapons at least five or six times is unclear to me.
Posted by at

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Why did you write Muslim student? I didn’t read where he said he was a muslim. Why not Iranian-American? Besides, I don’t think he got tasered for being a muslim. Unless he was in the middle of his prayers in the computer lab I don’t think the cop even thought this guy was a muslim. He got tasered for not showing his ID, not leaving when instructed to and resisting the order of a peace officer. Not because he was a muslim. Now if you were a Christian in the middle east then you would probably by tasered, or worse, for being a Christian.

It won’t be me next, or anyone with any common sense, because when a police office asks to see my ID I am going to give it to them.

Failure to comply with an order of a peace officer and start shit with them is a good reason to get tased. Think about the old days. The cops would pull out their “Billy Club” and beat the shit out of you. See Chicago Democratic convention 1968.

When the police are in the middle of a situation the last thing they want to deal with is some bystander getting involved. Besides, you can only hear the conversation. Maybe she is getting up in their face? The problem with any of these videos is that you only see the end of it and not the entire event. So, you do not have all the information to draw a conclusion. Although, that doesn’t stop people from jumping to conclusions.

The great thing about the taser is that after 20 seconds or so the effects wear off. So he could have complied with the officers orders if he wanted to.

Your statement, “In my America, cops can't use tasers on American citizens because they refuse or are unable to show ID.” I agree with. However, that’s not what happened in this case

11/18/2006 1:12 AM
Anonymous said...

Z-Man, i won't argue that cops don't have a hard time of it with what they have to deal with on a daily basis.

I will argue, however, that it's not a crime to not want to show (or to not carry) ID in this country.

The question becomes, then, what does an ordinary citizen do when the "order of a peace officer" crosses the line of a person just going about their business? I guess, now that the cops have been issued "less than lethal" weapons and because of that label are much more willing to use them on the citizens they're supposed to be protecting, the answer is get zapped by a taser.

The effects wearing off doesn't make it right to indiscriminately hurt and threaten to hurt people just because you have a badge. The police were in fact in the middle of a 'situation', but it was a situation that they themselves created because they thought they'd get what they wanted by bullying someone rather than showing respect for the person they're supposed to protect, or god forbid showing some tact.

just because a person's a cop means they get whatever they demand of you, z-man? a cop is just a person with a job, no more and no less.

11/22/2006 11:55 AM
Anonymous said...

I will argue, however, that it's not a crime to not want to show (or to not carry) ID in this country.

No, it’s not a crime to not want to show your ID. However after 11 p.m. random ID checks are done and if you can’t, or don’t, show ID then you have to leave the building.
Community Service Officers had asked Tabatabainejad to leave after he failed to produce his BruinCard during a random check at around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday. UCPD Assistant Chief of Police Jeff Young said the checks are a standard procedure in the library after 11 p.m.
“Because of the safety of the students we limit the use after 11 to just students, staff and faculty,” Young said.
Young said the CSOs on duty in the library at the time went to get UCPD officers when Tabatabainejad did not immediately leave, and UCPD officers resorted to use of the Taser when Tabatabainejad did not do as he was told.

The question becomes, then, what does an ordinary citizen do when the "order of a peace officer" crosses the line of a person just going about their business? I guess, now that the cops have been issued "less than lethal" weapons and because of that label are much more willing to use them on the citizens they're supposed to be protecting, the answer is get zapped by a taser.

That’s not the question at hand. The question is when did it become acceptable to pick and choose which rules and laws you follow. Because there are few I’d like to throw out the door.

The effects wearing off doesn't make it right to indiscriminately hurt and threaten to hurt people just because you have a badge. The police were in fact in the middle of a 'situation', but it was a situation that they themselves created because they thought they'd get what they wanted by bullying someone rather than showing respect for the person they're supposed to protect, or god forbid showing some tact.

To say that the police acted indiscriminately is not true. The CSOs on duty in the library doing their job and following procedures of the university and checking ID’s got into a situation with a person with a chip on his shoulder called for UCPD officers to handle the situation. The police did not create the situation. The man did when he falled to produce ID and then leave the building when told to. You make it sound like when he was asked for ID and he refused the police hit him right then. When in fact the police were not even present the first time he refused. The showing of respect goes both ways. I know if I am not shown any respect the other person will not be shown any as well. That can be said for just about every person.

just because a person's a cop means they get whatever they demand of you, z-man? a cop is just a person with a job, no more and no less.

As long as what they demand falls within the scope of their job then yes. He was asked for his ID. Tolemite your last statement is a little troubling. “a cop is just a person with a job, no more and no less.” When is the last time any of your co-workers died doing their job? Shot at? Hit by a car? The job of a policeman is a lot more than most people’s jobs.

11/24/2006 7:32 AM

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)