Two UCLA Students Tasered While Sitting

University of California campuses have a looongg history of student protests. As a student at UCLA in the late 90s, I participated in several of them. The major campus flash point at that time was Proposition 209, deceptively named the California Civil Rights Initiative and fronted by Ward Connerly, a pseudo Black man. 

Prop. 209 was the first major assault against Affirmative Action. (You can view Connerly's disingenuous invocation of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and Martin Luther King, Jr. here.) 

During one major 209 protest, I seem to recall that the organizers informed the police in advance in order to negotiate (relatively) peaceful arrests. On the day of the protest I think we blocked Westwood Ave., a major artery that feeds into the UCLA campus. We were arrested, placed in police vans, processed at a local high school gym, and released. But that was all back in the pre-taser days. Police officers now have a new toy in their arsenal. 

In a blatant disregard for police protocol (surprise! surprise!) this campus cop is caught in the act of tasering students who are sitting down and engaging in passive protest against proposed 32% fee hikes.

WTF!?! 

Witness Says Two Students Were Tasered at UCLA Yesterday

Student Rustin O'Neil, center, is stunned with a taser gun as Vianney Vargas, left, looks on they and others sit on a road on the UCLA campus where vans holding attendees where driving leading away from the Covel Commons | (AP Photo/Danny Moloshok)

UCLA is no stranger to Taser Gun use. After a horrible video in 2006 surfaced of a student, who was already retrained by officers, being tasered several times, the school suffered a good amount of drama and settled with the student for $220,000.

During protests over the past two days, at least a few students were tasered. UCLA officials said two were tasered on Wednesday and photos show that at least one student was on Thursday.

A witness to Thursday's incident tells LAist that two people were tasered during a scuffle captured in photos. "In fact with this particular incident," said the student, "there were actually two students who were tasered, the girl lying down next to Rustin O'Neill on the right in the first photo posted was also tasered, once, in the arm, and Rustin was tasered multiple times over the heart."

UCPD officials were not immediately available for comment. An updated press release from UCLA did not mention the use of tasers on Thursday.

A memo and training bulletin from Taser that gained media attention last month warned agencies that "if a stun gun is discharged to the chest, a lawsuit likely will follow, charging that police used excessive force," according to CNN in an aricle called "Taser makers say don't aim at chest."

ok, i have seen and participated in several UCLA protests, but this looks pretty intense. had the officer in the far left of the frame not been controlled by his superior there would have been a riot. On the other hand these rallies are always infiltrated by anarchist and others with different agendas. oohhh weeee--it is heating up in Westwood y'all. kzs (H/T Terry)

source: Laist

photo source: Indy/Black Commentator (connerly the puppet)

tags: ucla, dissent, economy, police brutality