The Undergraduate Students Association Council voted 9-1 Tuesday
night to pass a resolution opposing inappropriate force against
students by university police.
The resolution was drafted in response to recent use of a Taser
on a UCLA student by UCPD officers. Officers touched Mostafa
Tabatabainejad, a fourth-year Middle Eastern and North African
studies student, with a Taser in drive-stun mode five times Nov. 15
after he failed to produce a BruinCard when asked to do so and did
not comply with officers’ instructions in a timely manner. A
video of the incident captured by another student has been widely
distributed.
UCPD has said the officers saw Tabatabainejad’s actions as
resistance and acted as they deemed necessary to gain
compliance.
The resolution called for the immediate suspension of the
officers involved and an independent investigation that includes
students.
The resolution further said if the investigation reveals that
racial profiling was a factor in the incident, as some have
perceived, that USAC supports diversity training for officers.
As per UCPD policy, the incident is currently under internal
investigation, and Acting Chancellor Norman Abrams announced that
there will be an independent investigation as well.
The resolution was passed after more than an hour of
deliberations regarding multiple amendments.
The council addressed several concerns about the wording of the
resolution. Members debated references to the video of the incident
because some felt it does not portray the entire story.
Click here for
a pdf version of the USAC resolution regarding the Taser
incident.
“(The video) was very startling and disturbing, however, I
did take a step back afterwards,” said Academic Affairs
Commissioner Nat Schuster. “Did this look horrific? Yes. But
I am not one to immediately declare that these policemen were out
of line.”
Councilmembers also debated a clause that referred to perceived
racial profiling during the incident and perceived fears of
students of color. Eventually, both of those clauses were
included.
Some councilmembers also disliked a section of the original
resolution that called for the immediate suspension of the officers
involved.
Financial Supports Commissioner Shaun Doria said he felt
councilmembers did not have the authority or knowledge to make a
decision about the suspension of officers.
But External Vice President Tina Park said she was in support of
calling for suspension in the resolution.
“As USAC councilmembers, we should be advocating a strong
voice and all these amended clauses will weaken (its voice),”
she said, adding that the language was determined based on student
input.
Homaira Hosseini, a second-year political science and business
economics student, presented a petition with more than 1,000
students’ signatures stating that involved police officers
should be temporarily suspended pending the investigation.
About 20 students and community members attended the meeting to
listen and voice their concerns.
“It is an issue of campus safety. I don’t feel safe
on this campus. When I walk past Powell, I can’t even go
in,” said Combiz Abdolrahimi, a third-year business economics
and political science student.
UCPD has maintained that the officers could not have known at
the time whether Tabatabainejad was a threat to officers and has
emphasized that all individuals in the library after 11 p.m. must
be affiliated with the university in order to maintain the safety
of UCLA’s students, staff and faculty.
Berky Nelson, an administrative representative to USAC, said
students should wait for the results of the investigation before
jumping to any conclusions.
“Until this is resolved by internal and external
investigations, I simply recommend that students wait and see what
happens. No one knows exactly what the answers will be. Keep in
mind that this is a research institution which teaches you to find
the best way you can the absolute truth, but the point is you must
do all the research,” he said.
“There is no way you can say (the video) was not alarming,
but we have to let the process take place.”
He added that he was impressed with students’ behavior so
far.
“I think the students have acted very nobly, honorably and
with a great deal of sensitivity.”