Tasered UCLA Student Plans Lawsuit
The UCLA senior hired a high-profile civil rights lawyer who is accusing campus police of "brutal excessive force," as well as false arrest. Mostafa Tabatabainejad, 23, is of Iranian descent but U.S.-born, and had refused the officers' request to see his campus ID because he thought they were racially profiling him. Good for him. UCLA's reputation for a decade hangs in the balance of how it responds to this case.The UCLA senior hired a high-profile civil rights lawyer who is accusing the campus police of “brutal excessive force,” as well as false arrest. Mostafa Tabatabainejad, 23, is of Iranian descent but U.S.-born, and had refused the officers’ request to see his campus ID because he thought they were racially profiling him.
Watch the video of Tabatabainejad being Tasered. As of Friday, it has been viewed over 300,000 times.
Wait, before you go…Los Angeles Times:
The UCLA student stunned with a Taser by a campus police officer has hired a high-profile civil rights lawyer who plans to file a brutality lawsuit.
The videotaped incident, which occurred after the student refused requests to show his ID card to campus officers, triggered widespread debate on and off campus Thursday about whether use of the Taser was warranted. It was the third in a recent series of local incidents captured on video that raise questions about arrest tactics.
Attorney Stephen Yagman said he plans to file a federal civil rights lawsuit accusing the UCLA police of “brutal excessive force,” as well as false arrest. The lawyer also provided the first public account of the Tuesday night incident at UCLA’s Powell Library from the student, Mostafa Tabatabainejad, a 23-year-old senior.
If you're reading this, you probably already know that non-profit, independent journalism is under threat worldwide. Independent news sites are overshadowed by larger heavily funded mainstream media that inundate us with hype and noise that barely scratch the surface. We believe that our readers deserve to know the full story. Truthdig writers bravely dig beneath the headlines to give you thought-provoking, investigative reporting and analysis that tells you what’s really happening and who’s rolling up their sleeves to do something about it.
Like you, we believe a well-informed public that doesn’t have blind faith in the status quo can help change the world. Your contribution of as little as $5 monthly or $35 annually will make you a groundbreaking member and lays the foundation of our work.
Support Truthdig
In a troubling and unprecedented action, North Dakota has legalized police use of drones carrying “less than lethal” weapons. Warrants? None needed. Other states could follow unless laws are written to stop this chilling threat.
In some places in America, a black man holding a toy gun or a banana is more likely to be shot by the police than a white man with an actual gun. We live in a country of lethal fruit.
Many a protester -- and the occasional speeding grannie -- has faced off against Taser-wielding law enforcement officers The Man now has a new rapid-fire stun gun that multiplies all of the ethical problems of gaining "voluntary compliance" After the jump, a video of Taser employees zapping each other.
Pastor Steven Anderson of Tempe, Ariz., says he was Tasered, assaulted and denied medical treatment after he refused to submit to a search by Border Patrol officers at an immigration checkpoint east of San Diego. The ACLU has called the area a "Constitution-free zone" where such abuse has become commonplace.
In what seems to be an all too common occurrence across the U.S., an inmate has died in California after being shocked with a taser by sheriff's deputies. Jason Jesus Gomez is the latest casualty at the hands of the infamous Orange County Sheriff's Department.
There are currently no responses to this article.
Be the first to respond.