UCLA Taser Victim Sues University

[RoyGBiv]

LOS ANGELES -- A UCLA student who was shocked with a Taser gun by campus police after refusing to show his identification card sued the university Wednesday, claiming his civil rights were violated.

Mostafa Tabatabainejad, 23, alleges University of California, Los Angeles, campus police officers used excessive force by repeatedly shocking him with the stun gun Nov. 14, according to the lawsuit filed in federal court.

Tabatabainejad refused to show his student ID to a security guard during a check at the Powell Library because he believed he was singled out based on his Middle Eastern appearance, the lawsuit said. He is Iranian-American.

Tabatabainejad had agreed to show his card on the condition that the guard check the IDs of other students in the library, but the request was denied, according to the lawsuit.

More ...

Sorry if this is a dupe. I searched for it and didn't find anything, which I find odd. In any case, I'm not finding a lot of mainstream press stories either, even though the AP seems to be the original source.

[nebula]

1. Good for him

Simply refusing to show an ID card isn't grounds for getting tasered.

[pnwmom]

2. I agree. The university had a written policy allowing

their police to use tasers on nonviolent protestors. There's no excuse for that, IMO.

[rock]

4. What'd you in for Lefty?

I didn't show my ID card. Now back off or I'll do the same to you!

[pnwmom]

3. Here are a couple more links.

All the articles mention that he has bipolar disorder, and that is why he decided to go limp when the officers grabbed him. Also, that he told the officers that he had the condition.

http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/109564.html

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-011707taser,0,6813210.story?coll=la-home-headlines

[RoyGBiv]

5. Morning Kick