A student at UCLA's Powell Library was tasered after refusing to cooperate with security officers on Tuesday, Nov. 14th, 2006. Of course CAIR is all over this and demanding an investigation and perhaps that will answer some of the questions that are being asked about the incident. Hat Tip to Stop the ACLU for the email.
I will show the video below and you decide for yourself, but here is how I see it.
According to a campus police report, the incident began when community service officers, who serve as guards at the library, began their nightly routine of checking to make sure everyone using the library after 11 p.m. is a student or otherwise authorized to be there.
Via LA Times.
Campus officials said the long-standing policy was adopted to ensure students' safety
Personally, I would say that is a good thing. Nothing wrong in assuring that anyone using the facilities is authorized to do so... if something had happened in that library from someone that did NOT belong there, people would be crying out that security was too lax.
So, for me, asking for ID or making a person leave if they cannot produce the ID, seems reasonable. Good policy.
When Tabatabainejad, 23, refused to provide his ID to the community service officer, the officer told him he would have to show it or leave the library, the report said.
After repeated requests, the officer left and returned with campus police, who asked Tabatabainejad to leave "multiple times," according to a statement by the UCLA Police Department.
"He continued to refuse," the statement said. "As the officers attempted to escort him out, he went limp and continued to refuse to cooperate with officers or leave the building."
Now, my question here is why didn't the student either produce his ID or just leave? What makes him different than any other student that is asked to show proof that they have the authority to be there after 11 pm? This is a symptom of a much larger problem and that is students, children, deciding that they do not have to follow the rules, they are "above the law" so to speak.
Either their parents are doing a lousy job or these are simply spoiled little brats that think they can do anything they wish, whenever they wish and if it doesn't go their way, they can cry foul, claim "abuse" or say their "rights" are being violated.
"Tabatabainejad encouraged library patrons to join his resistance," police said. "The officers deemed it necessary to use the Taser."
Now HERE is where my thinking is far different than those claiming this kids rights were denied and he should not have been tasered.
Have we all forgotten that University kids can get out of control and having someone deliberately try to incite a riot could be a very dangerous thing?
Now CAIR is demanding an investigation and as I said, there is nothing wrong with that.
Even CAIR acknowledges that the camera phone that caught this incident showed that this student was refusing to cooperate.
A camera phone captured Tabatabainejad being stunned repeatedly after he allegedly refused repeated requests to show his student I-D and would not leave a campus library.
If I were in the officers shoes, I am not sure I would have handled it too much differently. A man refusing to cooperate and also calling on other students to "join his resistance", trying to incite a riot, gives officers a limited amount of time to get a situation under control or risk it spiraling quickly.
What strikes me as amusing is that although this policy of checking ID's is long standing and for the students safety, this student, Tabatabainejad, starts screaming about the patriot act, which has nothing to do with the whole situation.
Now a spokeswoman for the UCLA police department states:
'This is a long-standing library policy to ensure the safety of students during the late-night hours,'' said UCLA Police Department spokeswoman Nancy Greenstein.
She said police tried to escort Tabatabainejad, 23, out of the library after he refused to provide identification. Tabatabainejad instead encouraged others at the library to join his resistance, and when a crowd began to gather, police used the stun gun on him, Greenstein said.
Watch the video for yourself and see what you think.
My take is that students better get themselves under control and realize that they are not above the rules and policies set in place to protect them, otherwise, incidents such as this are going to occur.
Then we have people like this that simply ignore those little pesky things like FACTS. Example: how about mentioning that this poor, innocent "disobedient" student was trying to incite a riot!!!
Others posting:
Michelle Malkin.
Say anything.
OTB.
Patterico's Pontifications has a few comments from an officer with LAPD.
Church and State.
Right Wing Nation and Riehl World View with "Punks on Campus"
Moonbattery shows the lil spoiled brat that got tasered is planning to sue. Anyone surprised?
OPEN TRACKBACKS
Linkfest Haven.
Conservative Cat.
The Crazy Rants of Samantha Burns.
The Bullwinkle Blog.
Dumb Ox News.
Adam's Blog.
Third World County.
Pirate's Cove.
The Clash of Civilizations.
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Troublemaking Muslim student gets tasered, police- from Tel-Chai Nation...