He wouldn’t show his ID, and he wouldn’t leave on his own. So THEY SHOT HIM WITH A STUN GUN!
23-year-old Mostafa Tabatabainejad is my hero-of-the week.
The arrest was recorded on another student’s camera phone and showed Tabatabainejad screaming while on the floor of the computer lab. The video also showed the student shouting, “Here’s your Patriot Act, here’s your [fuckin’] abuse of power…”Here’s the cell-phone vid of the incident posted to YouTube:
< ---LATimes.com photo gallery – Friday protest.
Here’s the AP account from Thursday:
“As the officers attempted to escort him out, he went limp and continued to refuse to cooperate with officers or leave the building,” [UCLA Police Department Spokeswoman Nancy] Greenstein said…. Tabatabainejad encouraged others at the library to join his resistance. When a crowd began to gather they used the stun gun on him.
Click here for the Daily Bruin article.
Henry posted photos at LAist from Friday’s rally like this —>
And more suspended-in-disbelief commentary from Martini Republic, LAObserved, and UCLA LJ forum
From the L.A. Times 11/21: Terrence Duren, an 18-year veteran of the UCLA Police Department, tased Tabatabainejad five times. A 2001 UCLA officer of the year, Duren has been the subject of other use-of-force complaints and previously recommended for dismissal. In one previous incident, Duren shot and wounded a homeless man in a University building, a case that went to trial. Duren has stated all of the past allegations against him regarding police misconduct and use of excessive force were investigated by the UCPD and proven false.[8] Prior to joining the UCPD in the late 1980s, Duren was fired from the Long Beach Police Department.
I like Reuters’ angle on the issue, including an interview with the founder of Cop Watch LA.
Keith Olbermann discusses with Daily Bruin‘s Sara Taylor here.
FOUR NEW VIDEOS
The Daily News reports:
four new videos surfaced online Thursday, showing Los Angeles police clubbing two young people as they videotaped the arrest of a third during a [July 8 Minutemen rally] in Hollywood.
Welcome Boing-ers, Cory and others dig up a bit more dirt here. The Small Print Project is still in effect — help me out here.