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January 18, 2007
UCLA Taser Student Files Suit
It was roughly 2 months ago when Mostafa Tabatabainejad was repeatedly hit with a Taser gun after failing to initially comply with UCPD officers in an on-campus library. He is suing UCLA, UCPD, as well as the officers involved in the incident. The suits allege that the officers used excessive force, illegally used their Taser equipment, and violated the Americans with Disabilities Act -- Tabatabainejad's lawyers claim that the officers were informed and therefore aware of his bipolar disorder.
This case will not be so clear cut, since UCPD policies do not restrict the use of Taser guns when a person is handcuffed. The conflict rests on both sides of the law however, since according to Tabatabainejad's counsel, the Constitution will describe how the use of Taser gun on a "passive subject" is illegal.
Photo by Henry David for LAist
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Yes UCPD used excessive force and yes they should have used enough common sense to know when they passed the line of appropriate and judicious behavior, but were the civil rights of this student violated? Should bi-polarity beconsidered a disability in this sense?
I think its a sickening case of exploitation of the situation and it's sad that it has reached this point-- even sadder for the students pictured above who protested for the student and whose money will now be going to fund the case.
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I agree. He should not be suing UCLA, only the UCPD and the officers.
Why should the students suffer? This makes no sense.
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What does his Bi-polar have anything to do with this ? Should UCPD carry around a list of names of everyone that has special needs? I know let's put a little scarlet B on his chest so everyone will know he has special needs, how about that? Get real people.
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Since the police officers worked for UCLA, he can only sue the school directly. They were under UCLA's employment. And this case was sick. They tortured this poor kid. I hope he wins 10000000000 dollars so no idiotic cops think they can get away with murder.
Time to pay the piper, sinners :-)
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God, this is ridiculous. Not that you couldn't have seen it coming, though. This idiot at first claimed that he refused to show his ID card because he felt that he was being "racially profiled". Right, so UCPD cops target Middle Eastern students because they're scared they might blow up the UCLA library, which is obviously high on the terror hit list, especially given how conservative and pro-war the campus is.
How can you prove that the cops somehow "knew" he was Middle Eastern, as opposed to Hispanic, for instance?
Of course, now he's changed his line. Excuse 2.0 is that he has bipolar disorder, which the cops should somehow have been aware of. So on the one hand you have him ranting against the PATRIOT Act at the top of his lungs, and on the other hand he wants the authorities to know his medical history.
The only winners here are the lawyers.
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Thank you for the link to the article. It clearly states the officer was notified of the students illness. Officers are trained in how to deal with persons with mental disorders and if this article is true, this officer's comments and actions were unacceptable.
Bipolar Disorder is a major mental illness that effects 2% or more of our population. Correct media coverage of such events is imparitive in stamping out the stigma associated with mental illness.
Bipolar or not, I think this section of the article and description of the officer's behavior is highly questionable:
"In this particular case, the officers were informed," Hoffman said, explaining that Officer Terrence Duren, who used the Taser on Tabatabainejad, was told that Tabatabainejad had bipolar disorder and responded by asking what that had to do with standing up.
The case also alleges that the officers' use of the Taser was illegal.
UCPD's Taser policy states that officers can use a Taser to subdue a person who is "violent or physically resisting ... (or) potentially violent and physically resisting." The policy also does not prohibit the use of a Taser against a suspect who has already been handcuffed.
But the case alleges that the use of a Taser on a passive subject is illegal under the Constitution.
"You can't use something like a Taser on somebody that is passive," Hoffman said. "You just can't use it to force someone to stand up."
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you are missing the point, they tell him to stand up, while they are tasering him. it is an impossible task, the muscles will not and can not function properly. So they keep tasering him. And that is unacceptable, since police officers know that perfectly well. those ignorant cops should be prosecuted for their action.
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Wow, I am amazed that this student decided to exploit is bipolar disorder in such a manner. I am bipolar and I would never use it as an excuse to be uncooperative with lawenforcement officials. If this student was not receiving treatment, or not following his treatment guidelines, then the bipolar issue can be brought up in court as a means of ensuring treatment. However, people with disabilities have an obligation as everyone else to comply with the law. Yes, people with mental heath disabilities are protected by the ADA, I just don't see how the officers violated the ADA. Did this student require "milk and cookies" type of treatment from the UCLA campus police? I think not, but use of the taser gun after arrested should be the central issue of the case, not his bipolar. The police should be brought before the court on possible civil rights violations by excessive use of the taser gun, but nothing more. If you focus narrowly on the case (taser gun use) maybe then empathy is applicable.