We know the UCLA taser fiasco didn't start the taser party, but some wacky kids have remixed the audio from the "don't tase me, bro" guy with your favorite MC Hammer track. It made us smile for some devious reason. Hopefully you'll get the same reaction. To us it was just a lighthearted end of a taser-happy week that included an OC cop tasering an autistic child. Dark humor, but humor nonetheless.... more ›

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. more ›

It's time. As much as we hated seeing silver stars and winter white wonderland at the Beverly Center as early as October (did they completely gloss over Halloween or did we just miss it when they were promoting it back in, say, July?), we must accept that Holiday shopping is indeed upon us now that it's December. To make it easier on us all, LAist has toiled, worn out our mouse clicking fingers, scoured... more ›

The UCLA police department identified the officer caught electrifying the student who did not produce his college ID card as Terrence Duren, an 18-year veteran of the UCPD. Duren hasn't had the smoothest career in law enforcement. He came to Westwood after being fired from the infamous Long Beach PD. A few years after being hired by UCLA he was accused of using his nightstick to choke a fratboy and the university asked the... more ›

As you might have seen, LAist has been all over this UCLA taser incident. We showed you the disturbing video as soon as it appeared on YouTube, we gave you the administration's response, we let you know how other blogs viewed it, we let you know how other California colleges thought about it, we even had a staffer stoke you a photo essay of the protest that we feel is better than the LA... more ›

more ›

In the wake of the UCLA taser scandal, yours truly will be interviewed on San Diego's "Progressive Talk" KLSD AM 1360 today from 10:30am-11:00am. more ›

UCLA is policed by the UCPD who follow this taser policy: 301.24 PAIN COMPLIANCE TECHNIQUES (Metroblogging LA) "We are Big Brother. Not the government or the police; American society - LOS ANGELES - is Big Brother. And to that, I say: so be it." (LACityNerd) "The acting Chancellor of UCLA, Norman Abrams, an expert in anti-terrorist law, has, in a statement issued by the University, gone a long way towards justifying the repeated tasering... more ›

It’s beginning to feel a lot like a UC again on campus. For the first time in years, UCLA students threw down their books and returned to their activist roots by staging a major demonstration this afternoon. Students have been shocked and frustrated by the recent tasering of a UCLA student by UCPD officers at the student library, and it has grown to the point where many are feeling the need to voice their... more ›

The reaction across campus to Tuesday night's tasering of a student by UCPD officers is one of shock and disgust. Many question how tasering is appropriate force against someone who fails to even threaten to strike an officer. "I realize when looking at these kind of arrest tapes that they don't always show the full picture. ... But that six minutes that we can watch just seems like it's a ridiculous amount of force... more ›

On Tuesday night around 11pm, Mostafa Tabatabainejad, a UCLA student, was stunned several times with a Taser after he wasn't able to produce his anti-Taser device (his Bruin card) and did not leave the CLICC Lab in Powell Library in a timely manner, the Daily Bruin reports. The video appears to show that the shocking continued while Tabatabainejad was handcuffed. As Tabatabainejad was being dragged through the room by two officers, he repeated in... more ›