Straight-up Jackbooted Thuggery

It occurs to me I'd like to see that campus cop checked for roids.

Need one be a Jew in Dachau to sense a certain wrongness there?

Aw, nemmind. I sense a waste of bandwidth in further response.

Ah, you're not a cop, you don't really know what's going on then.

Police need to be accountable for their actions. They are there to serve and protect.

Everyone needs to be accountable for their actions. The kid was in the wrong, had ample opportunity to comply, and chose to resist. Those demanding badge numbers while the incident was still in progress (and showing the potential to escalate dangerously since the cops were out numbered) were essentially obstructing justice. I'm neither a cop nor a lawyer and I've never been tased... but it seems to me the kid had the choice to leave the easy way or the hard way and chose the latter.

I'd actually like to be a fly on the wall in campus police conversations right now. They make speak in defense of this guy, dunno, but I think by and large they've been more controlled and temperate folks. Would have to look at various archives to see if that's true, but it's my take on it as someone around campus a long time.

I agree the kid was in the wrong, and was on the cops side after I read about his recalcitrance, until it escalated. Then I read more and saw the video. This is ridiculous.

source

The guy didn't have his id and acted out lippy..

I can agree he probably didn't like the patriot act and didn't like authority.

Taser him 4 to 6 times??

It appears to me the kid started out in the wrong, but, after a point, the police actions were criminal. Simply not wanting to leave is trumped by savagery.

I think there could be an argument made if the cops had tazed the kid, and then picked him up and carried him out of there civil-disobediance style.

But they didn't. They continued to use the tazer on him while he was on the ground. And then they picked him up, and did it some more.

Demanding that a cop stops abusing someone isn't obstruction of justice, not in the slightest. Demanding that they identify themselves isn't either. I'm really surprised to see you write this.

Cycloptichorn

Those people in the library were reactive to the situation, not the cause.

As you can tell, I'm invested here: those guys have been protectors of myself and a couple of hundred thousand others or multiples of that over the years.

Not sure about past controversies, there must have been some, but this one's outta whack. Question is, why?

The campus cops are of course a division of the LAPD

It isn't a stretch to say that this is an organization with some problems

Cycloptichorn

As you can tell, I don't know about those situations on campus. I bet the Bruin could fill me in, or could it?

I didn't start out looking for that in this case. I've been a night blind woman taking night classes at UCLA for four years, in the early eighties, and made it through with no problemi at my most vulnerable. I was glad for whatever probably-too-late campus cops were around.

And before that I got a degree, staying late at the library, walking to the bus, etc., with my same eyes, back in the sixties.

I was there working when Reagan shut down the university, and went in to change the dialysis fluids on our lab experiments - so, gee, this present guy could have been me.

Whatever, this culture of stop and stomp is way out of place.

I'm aggravated since it's in my old library that this happened in, but it shouldn't happen anywhere.

I couldn't tell by the video how much resistance to being carried out civil-disobedience style the kid was putting up; but could tell by his words that he was clearly playing to the crowd and perpetuating his own problem. They must have told him to get up 50 times in a five minute span. I've had authority issues all my life, but you wouldn't have to tase me 6 times to get me to comply. I don't think tasing can be considered barbaric (isn't the opposite the reason they use them now?) and since there is no accusation of any other type of abuse, I can't consider it like a malicious beating.


If a single tase was acceptable in the face of resistance, why wouldn't additional tasings be acceptable in the face of continued resistance?

Perhaps you misunderstand me. Interfering with police in the process of arresting someone (or acting in any official capacity) is considered obstruction of justice. While they're in the process of arresting someone who is obviously resisting, is the wrong time to start demanding their attention for any purpose save a more compelling need for police assistance. Were I a cop in that situation, I'd probably be weary of any superior number of people who were closing in and getting agitated. Who knows what kind of experiences they have had in similar situations with angry crowds? While a demand for an investigation is most certainly reasonable, interference while the situation was still in progress, IMO, is not. I can only assume that a cop, being human, will have his adrenaline pumping to the max as soon as a situation starts to spiral out of control. Making the necessary threats to prevent further escalation seems quite reasonable to me. Indeed, the situation didn't spiral out of control... and beyond the use of what authorities will decide is excessive force (or not)... the situation was handled without further incident... and the only person who was tased after much warning brought it on himself with his own actions. Unless further evidence is brought to bear, I don't see wrong doing here by anyone but the offender himself.

Yeah, but some say he was already moving out and various other fractionally agreeable maneuvers, pre taser. The deal is, though, that after tasers you can't alway just jump up.

I'm sure this guy was spunky anti authoritarian - I'll stipulate so, and so what. That makes him a typical student to me. No 4 to 6 tasers, really, this is SOOOOO inappropriate.

Yes, I see he didn't have his i.d.

I guess I need mine to go to the mailbox?

I am clearly in disagreement, O'Bill, but delighted to see you back.

dear-oh-dear, only white people would be surprised at this.

That was my response exactly, kuvatz.







Someone mentioned Rodney King....