The NLG calls for an independent investigation into the use of excessive force by UCLA Police Officers
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 29, 2006
THE NATIONAL LAWYERS GUILD CALLS FOR AN INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION INTO THE
USE OF EXCESSIVE FORCE
BY UCLA POLICE OFFICERS
Contact: Jim Lafferty, Executive Director, Los Angeles NLG - 323-653-4510
Mel Campana, Chair, NLG Anti-Racism Committee - 415-336-7578
The National Lawyers Guild (NLG) calls for an independent investigation into
the use of a Taser by the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) Police
Department against 23-year-old student Mostafa Tabatabainejad on November
14, 2006. The Guild rejects the use of, and threats to use, Tasers as an
excessive use of force and urges an investigation into the incident and
UCLA's Taser policy.
The Taser used by the UCLA Police Department delivers an electrical shock to
a specific part of the body. This type of shock could reportedly severely
incapacitate a person for up to 15 seconds, thereby prohibiting the victim
from standing or walking on his or her own. According to a report by
Amnesty International, 148 people in the United States and Canada have died
as a result of the use of Tasers since 1999.
The police officers asked Mr. Tabatabainejad, an Iranian student, to leave a
campus library after he was unable to produce proper identification during a
random ID search. Mr. Tabatabainejad believes he was targeted for his
racial identity as he was singled out from all of the other students in the
library for an ID check. Video evidence taken by another student shows Mr.
Tabatabainejad asserting his rights to a UCLA police officer before they
began shocking him with a Taser, which they did at least five times.
Witnesses, including the person videotaping and others who insisted the
officers stop and requested badge numbers, were threatened with Taser abuse
by the police officers if they did not disperse.
"The use of Tasers constitutes torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment which violates the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel,
Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, a treaty ratified by the
United States and thus part of U.S. law under the Supremacy Clause of the
Constitution," said NLG President Marjorie Cohn.
As James Lafferty, Executive Director of the National Lawyers Guild in Los
Angeles points out, "This is not an isolated occurrence. On November 15, a
43-year-old man in Rocky Mount, North Carolina died in custody after being
Tasered by local police officers. Tasers are dangerous weapons that must not
be used by law enforcement officers as tools of repression in any
circumstance."
The National Lawyers Guild supports the efforts of community members and
people of color-who are frequently victims of excessive use of
force-protesting this use of excessive force on the UCLA campus.
The National Lawyers Guild, founded in 1937, is a progressive bar
association working in the service of the people. Its national office is
headquartered in New York and it has chapters in nearly every state, as well
as over 100 law school chapters. The Guild has a long history of challenging
police misconduct around the country.
-30-
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 29, 2006
THE NATIONAL LAWYERS GUILD CALLS FOR AN INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION INTO THE
USE OF EXCESSIVE FORCE
BY UCLA POLICE OFFICERS
Contact: Jim Lafferty, Executive Director, Los Angeles NLG - 323-653-4510
Mel Campana, Chair, NLG Anti-Racism Committee - 415-336-7578
The National Lawyers Guild (NLG) calls for an independent investigation into
the use of a Taser by the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) Police
Department against 23-year-old student Mostafa Tabatabainejad on November
14, 2006. The Guild rejects the use of, and threats to use, Tasers as an
excessive use of force and urges an investigation into the incident and
UCLA's Taser policy.
The Taser used by the UCLA Police Department delivers an electrical shock to
a specific part of the body. This type of shock could reportedly severely
incapacitate a person for up to 15 seconds, thereby prohibiting the victim
from standing or walking on his or her own. According to a report by
Amnesty International, 148 people in the United States and Canada have died
as a result of the use of Tasers since 1999.
The police officers asked Mr. Tabatabainejad, an Iranian student, to leave a
campus library after he was unable to produce proper identification during a
random ID search. Mr. Tabatabainejad believes he was targeted for his
racial identity as he was singled out from all of the other students in the
library for an ID check. Video evidence taken by another student shows Mr.
Tabatabainejad asserting his rights to a UCLA police officer before they
began shocking him with a Taser, which they did at least five times.
Witnesses, including the person videotaping and others who insisted the
officers stop and requested badge numbers, were threatened with Taser abuse
by the police officers if they did not disperse.
"The use of Tasers constitutes torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment which violates the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel,
Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, a treaty ratified by the
United States and thus part of U.S. law under the Supremacy Clause of the
Constitution," said NLG President Marjorie Cohn.
As James Lafferty, Executive Director of the National Lawyers Guild in Los
Angeles points out, "This is not an isolated occurrence. On November 15, a
43-year-old man in Rocky Mount, North Carolina died in custody after being
Tasered by local police officers. Tasers are dangerous weapons that must not
be used by law enforcement officers as tools of repression in any
circumstance."
The National Lawyers Guild supports the efforts of community members and
people of color-who are frequently victims of excessive use of
force-protesting this use of excessive force on the UCLA campus.
The National Lawyers Guild, founded in 1937, is a progressive bar
association working in the service of the people. Its national office is
headquartered in New York and it has chapters in nearly every state, as well
as over 100 law school chapters. The Guild has a long history of challenging
police misconduct around the country.
-30-
posted by peaceandjustice2005 at 2:48 PM
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