Alone and Unobserved

Merrick Bobb, an independent expert of on police misconduct engaged by UCLA to investigate the computer-lab Tasering incident, has released his team’s report. Interesting highlights:

• The student involved in the incident, Mostafa Tabatabainejad, was leaving the library when he was accosted by police officers and told . . . to leave the library.
• One of the officers unholstered his Taser and held it against Tabatabainejad’s abdomen as they were escorting him out of the computer lab, before the student had offered any resistance.
• Tabatabainejad was lying on the floor all three times the Taser was applied; for at least one of the shocks, he was in handcuffs. At no time did he do more than shout and try to lie down on the floor.
• The officers claim a hostile, vocal crowd of students had gathered around them, adding to the urgency of the situation and prompting them to administer the shocks. Video from surveillance cameras and a handheld phone indicate that this was not that case.
• In all three instances, the Taser was used in close-range “drive stun” mode, which causes a great deal of pain but is less effective than the usual, longer-distance “cartridge” mode. Drive stun mode also increases the risk of second-degree burns and other medical complications.
• One female bystander was apparently threatened with a Taser when she asked an officer for his badge number.
• Despite the fact that the UCLAPD’s Taser guidelines are much too permissive, it is the opinion of the investigative team that the officers still managed to break policy by using a Taser on an unarmed, already restrained individual without trying other alternatives first.

Delightful, delightful stuff. As Merrick notes, these are police officers whose primary duty is to deal with recalcitrant, uncooperative students. They ought to be trained to use Tasers as a last resort, if at all. Go watch the video of the incident again, just for laughs.

[Via Towleroad]