LOS ANGELES – A lawsuit has been filed against the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) by a student who had been tasered by campus police this fall.
Mostafa Tabatabainejad, 23, claims UCLA police used excessive force when they stunned him Nov. 14 with a Taser device after he refused to show his identification card. Tabatabainejad, who is of Iranian descent, wouldn’t show his ID because he thought he was being singled out due to his Middle Eastern appearance.
He is suing for unspecified damages and alleging his civil rights were violated. UCLA, the school’s police department as well as several officers are named in the lawsuit.
The incident occurred at Powell library. There were several witnesses to the altercation, and one recorded the incident on a camera phone. The video later appeared on YouTube.
Tabatabainejad’s attorney says the plaintiff’s goal is to change the UCLA police department’s culture, which he believes is unprofessional. The aim is to change the department’s training, discipline and how it treats campus constituents.
The 16-page lawsuit acknowledges Tabatabainejad has bipolar disorder but says the officers weren’t trained to deal appropriately with someone suffering from this condition. The suit also alleges the plaintiff was tasered several times, even after he was handcuffed.
UCLA officials, however, encouraged everyone to not come to conclusions regarding the events until an on-going review is completed.
