news and some discussion here
I take the time to look not at the use of the taser, as you can see my comments in the thread and if there is an official inquiry into the incident the actions of the police offers will be evaluted by someone with the competent authority. (If the use of force policy for the UCLA PD is anything like the one for Portland, I don't see any reason why any disciplinary action would be taken.)
Rather, I want to look at the reactions of the youth, who have inherited the anti-authority streak of the 60s generation to no great benefit, but to their actual detriment. Responsible citizenship is not simply protesting against the use of force or the exercise of authority or casting a vote at a ballot box, it involves the use of reason to come to understand the law (broadly construed so as to include use of force policies), rather than assuming that one's opinion is correct and that one should be instantly made both legislator and judge.
If you watch the video you can hear the students telling the police not to use the taser again and asking for badge numbers--you see how they automatically assume they know what they're saying, instead of realizing they are interfering with a police action/arrest.
If anything, they should have called for a supervising officer, or placed a complaint with the police department, instead of confronting the officers at the scene.
With this sort of "know-it-all" attitude exhibited by the young towards the police, is there any wonder why they have a distrust of police officers? This coupled with a disdain for the use of force when it is justified to be necessary--is our society not becoming soft when it sees pain as being the greatest evil? No one is protesting about the student's (the one tasered) lack of obedience to a legitimate authority.
4 comments:
I am UCLA staff and former alumni; and I hate to tell you that you haven't got a clue about how these officers treat students or staff (especially if they are not white) I have been the victim of their threats, and at the receiving end of violence. I've had a gun pointed at my head because I had the temerity to tell a UCLA PD Detective that I would not "confess" (as he put it) to an alleged crime. I am grateful that I had the foresight of letting as many people know of the incident as soon as it happened; sadly my 13 year old daughter also had a gun pointed at her, and she was present when I had a gun aimed at my head. In the end this Detective was fired after a formal complaint was logged. However, I honestly believe that if I had not spoken up, if my daughter had not witnessed the incident, this detective would still be with UCLA PD.
Statement Regarding Report of Independent Investigation of Taser Incident at UCLA
Anonymous: The post did not pertain to the conduct of the officers, but to the reaction of the students. So, you're not really addressing the post. Nor do you really show that there was misconduct during that incident.
Daily Bruin (December 10, 2007): "New Taser Policy Released"
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