USC College Student Tasered For Fighting Police
The shocking YouTube video of USC Campus Police officers tasering a 23 years old college student is certainly making the rounds, both in the blogoshere and on TV. To be sure the actions of the officers need to be investigated as well as the actions of the student in question. What is equally shocking are the reactions of the USC student body who are giving this obnoxious USC student a free pass on his actions, but then castigating the officers for theirs. Before the video starts after the police had already asked Mostafa Tabatabainejad to produce his campus ID card. When he refused, he was asked to leave the library for the security of the other students. The officers then tried to force him to leave and that is when he started yelling and screaming at them. From what I saw from watching the video several times, Tabatabainejad was refusing to obey the officers’ request to leave and should have been charged with resisting arrest, inciting a riot along with the other charges.
The confrontation took place Tuesday evening after 11:00 p.m., when campus security officers were making their rounds through the library, checking students for identification as part of their normal security procedures. Mostafa Tabatabainejad, a student, did not produce his identification and was apparently asked to leave.
“I went back to my work, and when I looked up, I saw that [Tabatabainejad] was already LEAVING the library,” said Laila, a UCLA student via e-mail. Laila asked that her last name not be used. She said that she does not know Tabatabainejad and was just another student studying in the library. “He had his backpack on his shoulders, and was next to my computer (about 2 feet away) when he was approached by two [UCLA police] officers.”
Laila said that the officers grabbed Tabatabainejad’s arm and he began to shout for the officers to stop touching him.
There is some question whether Tabatabainejad was trying to leave the library. The officers said he was not trying to leave while some of the students in the library say he was. In any case he was being escorted out of the building when Tabatadainejad began to abuse and resist the officers. That much is certain from what is heard in the recording of the event.
According to a statement released by the University Police, the Campus police were simply trying to control an incident which was rapidly escalating out of control.
At approximately 11 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 14, a community service officer (CSO) employed by the library was performing a nightly, routine check to insure that all patrons using the library after 11 p.m. are authorized. This is a longstanding library policy to ensure the safety of students during the late night hours. The CSO made an announcement that he would be checking for university identification. When a person, who was later identified as Mostafa Tabatabainejad, refused to provide any identification, the CSO told him that if he refused to do so, he would have to leave the library. Since, after repeated requests, he would neither leave nor show identification, the CSO notified UCPD officers, who responded and asked Tabatabainejad to leave the premises multiple times. He continued to refuse. As the officers attempted to escort him out, he went limp and continued to refuse to cooperate with officers or leave the building. Tabatabainejab encouraged library patrons to join his resistance. A crowd gathering around the officers and Tabatebainejad’s continued resistance made it urgent to remove Tabatabainejad from the area. The officers deemed it necessary to use the Taser in a “drive stun” capacity.
Tabatebainejad was subsequently charged with resisting/obstructing a police officer. He should have been charged with much worse than that.
The student newspaper, the Daily Trojan, placed the blamed for the entire incident on the campus polices. The editorial is true liberal fashion is always ready to blame the authorities for perceived injustices and defend those who wantonly disobey those charged with carrying out the law.
And what a shocking view it is. Picking up just after the initial confrontation, we observe the handcuffed student being led out of the library, during which he is tasered multiple times. As he shrieks in pain, the officers command him to get up; when he replies that he can’t (something I did not hear on the video even one time, he refused and cursed at the officers)- a likely claim considering he was just zapped with an immobilizing jolt of electricity - they taser him again. A gathering crowd of students reportedly 60 large begs the officers to stop - to which one threatens to turn the device on any student who approaches too close. The brutality continues for several minutes before the student is finally removed from the library.
The cries of pain linger in the viewer’s head long after the video has ended. The overwhelming impression is that a student was just victimized beyond belief at the hands of arrogant police - all for failing to produce his student ID card.
Unfortunately, such events are all too common on the streets of L.A. - and the result is too often handwringing followed by inaction. But this was so public, and so blatant, that surely this will result in real repercussion for the officers involved. Right? (emphasis added by TRS)
Always blame others. Someone else is always to blame. Left out of their rant against police brutality is that Tabatebainejad can be heard to verbally refuse l lawfully given order to get up and leave the building. That’s the bottom line. The student who was threatened with the tazer had challenged the police who were trying to regain control of the library. The editorial staff are all too willing to see what they want to see and are too blinded by their own arrogant liberal superiority to blame Tabatebainejad’s for his actions.
The USC police may have over-reacted…some, but only time and a full investigation by the University and campus police will decide the matter. But to say that Tabatebainejad did not deserve any of his treatment at the hands of the officers is to be truly blind to the actions of a student who would not cooperate with the campus police. Hopefully the administration of USC will not kowtow to the whims of a bunch of ignorant adolescent moonbats looking for ‘justice’ while they are calling the episode in the library ‘a disgusting abuse of police power.’ In the words of John Stossel, ‘Give me a break!’
Hat tip: Michelle Malkin who has more include the reaction of our favorite group which hates America and love the terrorists: CAIR.
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