Terrence Duren (Officer in Taser case identified)

[Rasputin]

The UCLA police officer videotaped last week using a Taser gun on a student also shot a homeless man at a campus study hall room three years ago and was earlier recommended for dismissal in connection with an alleged assault on fraternity row, authorities said.

UCLA police confirmed late Monday that the officer who fired the Taser gun was Terrence Duren, who has served in the university's Police Department for 18 years.

Scott sued the university, and according to court records, UCLA officials moved to have Duren dismissed from the police force. But after an independent administrative hearing, officials overturned the dismissal, suspending him for 90 days.

Duren on Monday disputed the allegations made by Scott.

In October 2003, Duren shot and wounded a homeless man he encountered in Kerckhoff Hall. Duren chased the man into a bathroom, where they struggled and he fired two shots.

The homeless man, Willie Davis Frazier, was later convicted of assaulting an officer. Duren said Frasier had tried to grab his gun during the struggle. But Frazier's attorney, John Raphling, said his client was mentally ill and didn't do anything to provoke the shooting.

It remains unclear when the independent investigation of the Taser incident will be completed. It will be headed by Merrick Bobb, a veteran watchdog of both the Los Angeles Police and Los Angeles County Sheriff's departments.

UCLA police officials said in a short statement that Duren arrived at Powell Library with Officer Alexis Bicomong. Duren "discharged the Taser," the statement said. Officers Kevin Kilgore, Andrew Ikeda and Ricardo Bolanos, and Sgt. Philip Baguliao, a supervisor, were also at the scene.

"Let the independent watchdog run its course," Duren said.

The officer said that when the probe is complete, he'd like to sit down with students, particularly Muslim student groups, to explain his actions at the library.

"I have nothing to hide."

[mike435]

you know we have progrased when a black polic officer is abusing another minority lol
only if i had talant that could be such funny joke if delivered right

[mike435]

what diffrance does it make
he will still have his job
look at al the other incodents those cops are still working what makes this any diffrent
maybe only becuase he to is minority and it wont cost the department that much to make an example out of him
if he was white nothing would happen

[Rasputin]

what diffrance does it make
he will still have his job
look at al the other incodents those cops are still working what makes this any diffrent
maybe only becuase he to is minority and it wont cost the department that much to make an example out of him
if he was white nothing would happen

I agree with you.

[Rasputin]

Officer named in Taser incident

Terrence Duren, whose tenure with university police has included an award for UCPD Officer of the Year as well as allegations of police misconduct and use of excessive force, was the officer who used a Taser against Mostafa Tabatabainejad in Powell Library last Tuesday, university police said Monday.

Duren arrived on the scene with Officers Alexis Bickamong, Kevin Kilgore and Andrew Ikeda, and the sergeant on duty was Philip Baguiao, said Nancy Greenstein, UCPD director of police community services.

The 43-year-old officer, who was on active duty Monday, was also the subject of media attention three years ago after he shot a homeless man in Kerckhoff Hall.

[golgol85]

The officer said that when the probe is complete, he'd like to sit down with students, particularly Muslim student groups, to explain his actions at the library.

Hah, this is disturbing. What is he going to do, taze the students for being muslim? The man is not safe, he has a history of violence and he needs to lose his job and sit at home. He needs some anger management classes, he needs to fix himself into a normal functioning human in society. being a pig does not count as being human in any way, shape or form.

[Rasputin]

[Rasputin]

The UCLA student tasered in the Powell Library when he refused to show his identification to campus police today filed a federal lawsuit alleging that his civil rights were violated and that police acted in a brutal fashion.

In a 16-page lawsuit, Mostafa Tabatabainejad, 23, sued the university, campus police and a half-dozen officers for unspecified monetary damages, claiming they used excessive force and violated the Americans With Disabilities Act in the Nov. 14, 2006 incident.

Part of the confrontation was captured on video by a student using a cellphone and broadcast around the world, sparking widespread debate and protest.

Tabatabainejad was repeatedly stunned with a Taser after he refused to show his student ID card to a security guard. Authorities said the student wouldn't leave Powell Library, went limp and asked others to join his resistance.

Paul Hoffman, an attorney for the UCLA senior, said the ultimate goal of the lawsuit is to force fundamental changes in campus police culture.

"What everyone saw on videotape demonstrates that the UCLA police department lacks the professionalism that parents of UCLA students expect from a public institution," Hoffman said. "The larger goal of the suit is to change the way UCLA police behave and treat people on campus, their discipline and their training."

The suit noted that Tabatabainejad suffered from bipolar disorder but the officers' lack of training meant they treated him with "brutality instead of sensitivity," Hoffman said.

In a statement, acting UCLA Chancellor Norman Abrams said the timing of Tabatabainejad's suit was regrettable, citing the internal UCLA police probe and an outside investigation by Merrick Bobb, who serves as the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors' watchdog over the Sheriff's Department.

"I am encouraging us all once again to await the results of the thorough, comprehensive reviews that are underway," Abrams said.

According to the suit, Tabatabainejad was in the computer lab of Powell Library working on a history paper when he was approached by a security officer, who asked for identification.

Tabatabainejad, who is of Iranian descent, was concerned that he was being singled out because of his ethnicity, so he told the guard to make the same request of any other student, the suit alleges. The guard refused.

Eventually, Tabatabainejad gathered his belongings and was walking toward the library exit when one of the UCLA officers blocked his path and told him "you need to leave."

The suit alleges there was no further discussion before the officer, identified as Alexis Bicomong, grabbed Tabatabainejad's arm. Concerned about his reaction because of his bipolar disorder, Tabatabainejad went limp.

Moments later, a second officer, identified as Terrence Duren, arrived on the scene and grabbed the suspect, the suit claims. Both officers dragged the student out of the library.

At one point, they demanded Tabatabainejad "get up or we'll Taser you." He remained limp and was tasered.

When Tabatabainejad said that he suffered from bipolar disorder, Duren allegedly responded that he "didn't know what bipolar has to do with standing up."

The suit alleges Tabatabainejad was tasered multiple times, including more than once after he was handcuffed.

Other officers at the scene who were named in the suit included Kevin Kilgore, Andrew Ikeda and Sgt. Philip Baguliao, a supervisor. Also named was UCLA police Chief Karl T. Ross.

[Rasputin]

In a lawsuit filed in federal court, 23-year old Mostafa Tabatabainejad claims that "Los Angeles campus police officers used excessive force by repeatedly shocking him with the stun gun". Tabatabainejad explained that "he tried to remain calm, explaining to the officers that he was a student and that he suffers from bipolar disorder". The lawsuit duly accuses officers of violating the Americans With Disabilities Act and causing "intentional infliction of emotional distress". The lawsuit specifically names "UCLA, the campus police department, and officers Terrence Duren and Alexis Bicomong as defendants".

The incident occurred on 14 November last year when security officers at a UCLA computer lab asked Mostafa Tabatabainejad "to leave when he was unable to produce a BruinCard during a random check". The officers tasered the student multiple times after he failed to fully cooperate.

[Rasputin]

Report criticizes use of Taser on UCLA student

Even with use of force policies that are "unduly permissive," a UCLA police officer violated department rules when he repeatedly shocked a student with an electric Taser gun last fall during a confrontation captured on video and posted on the Internet, according to a report released Wednesday.

Los Angeles police accountability expert Merrick Bobb found that the decision to use the Taser on student Mostafa Tabatabainejad was "unnecessary, avoidable and excessive."

The findings are at odds with an earlier inquiry by UCLA Police Chief Karl Ross, who cleared Officer Terrence Duren and two colleagues of any wrongdoing.

Tabatabainejad, then a 23-year-old senior at UCLA, was in the campus library one night last November when a security guard asked him to provide identification during a routine check to make sure everyone in the library after 11 p.m. was a student or otherwise authorized to be there.

Tabatabainejad, a U.S. citizen of Iranian descent, refused repeated requests to provide his identification, explaining later that he thought he was being singled out because of his Middle Eastern appearance.

In an ensuing confrontation with university police, Tabatabainejad was shocked at least three times with a Taser when he failed to get on his feet and walk out of the library as officers demanded.

Much of the encounter was captured by students with cellphones or digital cameras. Some of the footage was posted on http://www.YouTube.comand

[Rasputin]

Iranian taserd at UCLA library


An Iranian student was tazed by UC Police in the UCLA library last night... it was an absolute excess of force by the police and I would appreciate your help in raising awareness about it. You can read an article by one of the local news stations here. or even watch a video of what happened taken by another student. Police were called after he refused to leave the library simply for not having his student ID card on him... once police arrived he began leaving but as the police became aggressive he become deffensive, at which point UCPD shocked him with a taser gun at least 5 times. It's currently being investigated by the school.

[Rasputin]

'زیاده روی' پلیس آمریکا در برخورد با دانشجوی ایرانی


بنا بر این تحقیق استفاده پلیس از شوک الکتریکی "غیرضروری، اجتناب پذیر، و بیش از اندازه" بود
نتایج یک تحقیق مستقل نشان می دهد یکی از ماموران پلیس دانشگاه کالیفرنیا در لس آنجلس (یو سی ال ای) که در جریان بیرون کردن یک دانشجوی ایرانی از کتابخانه این دانشگاه چندین بار از شوک الکتریکی استفاده کرد، سیاست های پلیس دانشگاه در استفاده از زور را نقض کرده است.
مریک باب، کارشناس امور پاسخگویی پلیس، در گزارشی که روز چهارشنبه منتشر کرد، گفت که تصمیم مامور پلیس به استفاده از اسلحه شوک دهنده الکتریکی "غیرضروری، اجتناب پذیر، و بیش از اندازه" بوده است.

نتایج این تحقیق جدید با نتایج تحقیق مستقلی که پیش از این و به سفارش اداره پلیس دانشگاه انجام شده بود، متناقض است. در آن تحقیق ماموران پلیس از انجام هرگونه اقدام نادرستی تبرئه شده بودند.

مصطفی طباطبایی نژاد، دانشجوی ایرانی دانشگاه کالیفرنیا در لس آنجلس پاییز گذشته حدود ساعت یازده و نیم شب در یکی از کتابخانه های دانشگاه مشغول درس خواندن بود که ماموران انتظامات دانشگاه از او خواستند کارت دانشجویی اش را نشان دهد.

آقای طباطبایی نژاد با این استدلال که او را به دلیل اصلیت خاورمیانه ای اش برای این کنترل انتخاب کرده اند، از نشان دادن کارت دانشجویی اش خودداری کرد و همین مسئله باعث شد ماموران انتظامات دانشگاه از نیروی پلیس دانشگاه برای بیرون کردن او کمک بگیرند.

به گفته آقای طباطبایی نژاد در حالی که او در حال بیرون رفتن از کتابخانه بوده، با برخورد شدید ماموران پلیس و استفاده چندباره آنها از شوک دهنده الکتریکی روبرو می شود.

مامور پلیسی که از شوک دهنده الکترکی استفاده کرده می گوید آقای طاطبایی نژاد، دیگران را نیز به مقاومت تشویق کرده و همین باعث استفاده او از شوک الکتریکی شده است.

دانشجویان حاضر در صحنه با دوربین ها و تلفن های همراهشان از این صحنه فیلمبرداری کردند و بعضی از این تصاویر روی اینترنت قرار گرفت.

آقای طباطبایی نژاد شکایتی علیه پلیس دانشگاه کالیفرنیا تنظیم کرده و به دادگاه ارائه داده است. در شکایتنامه او آمده است که حقوق مدنی او تضییع شده و ماموران پلیس قانون نحوه برخورد با معلولان آمریکا را نقض کرده اند. در این شکایتنامه نوشته شده که آقای طباطبایی نژاد بیماری روانی دارد.