(no subject)

[novapsyche]

Keith Olbermann did a segment about the UCLA taser incident. There are several pieces of this on YouTube. The video is very disturbing.

I know that if this had happened on the campus of my alma mater, I would not have felt safe anywhere, anytime.

LA Times article on the subject.

Comments

[bonerici.livejournal.com]

I think Tabatabainejad was really egging the officer's on. He screamed at the police, "Get your hands off me!" and later he screamed, "Here's your patriot act, here's your fucking abuse of power." I've been in some confrontations with police and they like it when you say "Yes, sir, I'll do whatever you say." When you confront them, or even worse challenge their authority (I definitely think Tabatabainejad was challenging their authority) they will often taze your ass.

Now, of course, they shouldn't haved taze this guy, but I file this story under dog bites man.

[novapsyche.livejournal.com]

Read some of the responses in this DailyKos diary.

One comment in particular seemed especially important:

Taser is being used offensively, not defensively

That's the real story here, aside from bigoted police.

It's one thing to say stop moving, get down on the ground, or I'll tase you.

It's something else entirely to say get up and do what I say or I'll tase you.

They might as well just have a bullwhip. Obey! Crack!

It's not being used as a weapon to subdue or defend against an active form of resistance, it's being used for real-time punishment to coerce active obedience.

Big difference.

[bonerici.livejournal.com]

one more thing, i think the big story will actually end up being the racism not the tasering, especially if the local mosques start holding protests.

[dionysus1999.livejournal.com]

There's no good guy here. He was being belligerent, you don't want to do that to a cop, they are dangerous people by definition.

The only "safe" way to resist police action is pacifism. You might still get beat up, but I think they take pleasure in beating people who resist them.

That doesn't excuse the use of excessive force, those cops should be fired. I know most police officers go through multiple trainings on the correct use of force.

[novapsyche.livejournal.com]

He was lying on the floor when they tasered him. If that's not pacifistic action (despite what he was saying), I don't know what is.

A taser is used in the place of a gun in the case of a threat to the policeman in question or someone else. The student was not a threat. He was not inciting others to join him in his resistance, as the police claim: that much is obvious from the tape. The police could have contained him until backup came and then picked him up and put him in a car. No. They tasered him because he didn't comply. There is a difference between resisting arrest and refusing to comply.

Consider also that the initial reason for them being there was for him to leave. He was leaving as they came back in, then they grabbed him and told him to stay. Does that make sense? You have someone in a bar and the staff wants him out. The bouncer for some reason can't get him out; the police come, then the complies with the order to leave. The police presence itself has done its job. Why did the officers grab him and order him to stay?

They taser him and then command him to get up? The reason for tasering someone is to subdue them--they often can't get up. This is worse than when a parent back in the day would tell their child, "Come here so I can whoop you." It's insane, it's illogical, it's unethical, it's wrong.

[rikhei.livejournal.com]

I don't know how anyone can watch that video and listen to Tabatabainejad's cries and not be absolutely mortified.