Thursday, November 16, 2006
UCLA Police Taser Student in Powell
Comments:
Soooo, what happened after all this? No follow-up? Gautam, get off your butt for 3 seconds and post the damn article! You got me all interested and junk...
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/11/16/ucla_taser_incident/
This is the article about the incident. There isn't much more I can say about it than what it said there and in the video. They are still doing a follow-up investigation as we speak.
This is the article about the incident. There isn't much more I can say about it than what it said there and in the video. They are still doing a follow-up investigation as we speak.
Well, we didn't see what happened originally, so I can't say whether he deserved the original tasering. But I think he deserved the rest, since he didn't comply with their orders.
Well, as the article describes, the student originally was leaving the library per request but got all uppity when they then tried to escort him. Personally, if I were already in the process of leaving the library, I would be POed if some cop then went to walk up beside me and grab me by the arm to walk me out. It's a little undignified.....seems like an unnecessary display of authority, particularly when it's all because he forgot his student card. I'd probably call the cop a giant douche. On my blog.
hahah .. "On my blog"..
This is a toughie. Leave-or-get-tasered is a stupid law. If anything they could've dragged him out by his limbs on his butt since he only went limp and wasn't being aggressive. What stood out as ..different.. for me was how the guy, even through the cloudy haze of his pain, knew exactly what to say to take full advantage of his awful situation to make a political statement (many statements in fact) that incited his peers and now much of the world.
This is a toughie. Leave-or-get-tasered is a stupid law. If anything they could've dragged him out by his limbs on his butt since he only went limp and wasn't being aggressive. What stood out as ..different.. for me was how the guy, even through the cloudy haze of his pain, knew exactly what to say to take full advantage of his awful situation to make a political statement (many statements in fact) that incited his peers and now much of the world.
Gautam and I talked about this extensively already.
If you watch the video carefully, he starts screaming quite vocally and then gets tasered for what I believe is the first time.
Now I had agreed with Gatuam that tasering is a pretty harsh reaction to general beliggerence, but after watching him take a political stance instead of complying with security, I couldn't help but feel somewhat vindicated. Keep in mind that I made some assumptions about his personality on the way he behaved and instantly disliked him.
I think that if he'd gotten tackled down, I'd have felt just as vindicated as if he got tasered. Call me a monster, but some people just deserve their comeuppins (still assuming he's one of those people) and that's what I saw -- until they tasered the fuck out of him towards the end.
I think it's part "lazy cops abusing power," and part "asshole in the library".
There are a couple of questions one could ask regarding the preceding events:
- Why did Campus Security Need to call the cops?
- Why did the guy start screaming instead of realizing that by doing so he's going to be considered a threat?
I guess I'm wondering what people would think if we saw all the events unfold before us. If we didn't just see/hear a guy get tasered repeatedly. You know, in all honesty, maybe the guy was just frustrated, having a bad day, and chose to lash out at the wrong time. He's also Muslim, apparently, and maybe percieved discrimination is another factor.
That or maybe he's a politically charged, attention-whoring asshole.
I prefer the latter. I'd rather trust the police than doubt their intent.
If you watch the video carefully, he starts screaming quite vocally and then gets tasered for what I believe is the first time.
Now I had agreed with Gatuam that tasering is a pretty harsh reaction to general beliggerence, but after watching him take a political stance instead of complying with security, I couldn't help but feel somewhat vindicated. Keep in mind that I made some assumptions about his personality on the way he behaved and instantly disliked him.
I think that if he'd gotten tackled down, I'd have felt just as vindicated as if he got tasered. Call me a monster, but some people just deserve their comeuppins (still assuming he's one of those people) and that's what I saw -- until they tasered the fuck out of him towards the end.
I think it's part "lazy cops abusing power," and part "asshole in the library".
There are a couple of questions one could ask regarding the preceding events:
- Why did Campus Security Need to call the cops?
- Why did the guy start screaming instead of realizing that by doing so he's going to be considered a threat?
I guess I'm wondering what people would think if we saw all the events unfold before us. If we didn't just see/hear a guy get tasered repeatedly. You know, in all honesty, maybe the guy was just frustrated, having a bad day, and chose to lash out at the wrong time. He's also Muslim, apparently, and maybe percieved discrimination is another factor.
That or maybe he's a politically charged, attention-whoring asshole.
I prefer the latter. I'd rather trust the police than doubt their intent.
The problem that I have with the situation--contrary to what some others might think--is the fact that university cops, that have evident restrictions when compared to city police, seemingly take advantage of a situation to abuse their powers. As far as anyone's story goes so far, the brat didn't offer any resistance to the situation. He was even on his way out, and when he pulled his arm away from the cop, whilst using profane words and proceeding out of the library, a bunch of power-hungry cops decided that to abuse their power, since they probably wouldn't have gotten a better time to do so.
This is what I believe. Regardless of what the guy did prior to that, does NOT warrant tasering. What's worse is tasering a guy when he's on the ground. Whether or not he's faking it, doesn't give anyone the right--let alone reject cops--to repeatedly taser someone. If they pulled that shit in Canada, they'd get owned. Though I still presume they'll get their just-deserved punishment.
There's a vast difference between tackling somebody down--which is something I'd fully agree with--than tasering them repeatedly, even after the guy is cuffed and offering little resistance. I hope he sues and wins.
This is what I believe. Regardless of what the guy did prior to that, does NOT warrant tasering. What's worse is tasering a guy when he's on the ground. Whether or not he's faking it, doesn't give anyone the right--let alone reject cops--to repeatedly taser someone. If they pulled that shit in Canada, they'd get owned. Though I still presume they'll get their just-deserved punishment.
There's a vast difference between tackling somebody down--which is something I'd fully agree with--than tasering them repeatedly, even after the guy is cuffed and offering little resistance. I hope he sues and wins.
So he had enough sense about him to say "This is your fucking patriot act!" But not "Stop! I can't get up!"
I doubt it. He was standing up to them. And this is what happens when you fuck with the police.
I doubt it. He was standing up to them. And this is what happens when you fuck with the police.
HAHAHA. Jamieson, you crack me up. I've already discussed this with Reuben. Do you honestly believe that they would've listened if he said, "Stop, I can't get up"? He even said, "I've got a medical condition". The cops just didn't give a fuck, dude.
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