3. Personally, I’d have tased him, cuffed him, and he would have been arrested. The charges would have been: Criminal Trespass, Breach of Peace/Disorderly Conduct, Interfering with an Officer, and the best of all- Inciting a Riot. If he had struck me or one of my officers during the incident, I'd have also hit him him with Assault on an Officer. So, at the very least, that kid would have gone to lock-up for several serious misdemeanors and, if there had been an assault, a felony.
I'd also like to think you'd tase him, cuff him, and drag him out of there under arrest...rather than tase him, cuff him, tase him a few more times for good luck, then end up dragging him out of there.
Since the kid was a student registered at the school, who paid fees for the use of that library, you'd be incredibly lucky to make a trespass charge stick...that'd just be extra paperwork. Forgetting his ID, as well as refusing to leave when immediately asked to leave by the CSO (or whatever they call the student security personnel), are issues to be dealt by the school's disciplinary system, not the courts. The UCLA PD seemed to agree, and the only charge he was arrested for was interfering with an officer.
Now, once the "real" cops show up, he got pretty stupid. One thing I'd like to note is that the witness accounts (as opposed to the police report) seem to suggest that he was already leaving when the cops showed up, and their stopping him for questioning, rather that just letting him leave, is was indirectly led to the incident (his immature response being the direct cause).
So, I don't think too many people are jumping to second-guess the initial use of the taser. Any LEOs around here care to comment on the additional uses, when it was used simply for "pain compliance" (a term I've only recently learned due to this case) on an unruly college kid? Is it common to tase a kid who is not being in any way violent, who is already handcuffed, and who is being held by two officer on either side?
In case anybody tries to argue that he was being physically violent, or that the police had any reason to fear he would be: watch the video. You can clearly hear the police say "get up or you'll get tased again." In at least once case, you can clearly see him get zapped while held by two officers, cuffed, and doing nothing but going limp. I'm sure the officers would rather not have to exert the effort to drag him out, but is their laziness cause for the use of on-the-spot corporal punishment?
Lastly, any LEOs care to comment on the one officer's decision to threaten a student asking for his badge number (albeit somewhat belligerently) with tasing as well? While holding a taser? Is that standard police policy where
you live?
Lastly, I'd like to comment on something I've noticed in every comment I've ever heard from a cop regarding any case like this; am I the only one who think that the absolute refusal of LEOs to ever publicly question the actions of another LEO, regardless of how out of line, might be part of why the public often has such a negative opinion of them? I don't think most cops would go to town on a handcuffed kid who is being held just because he refuses to walk on his own...but when no officer seems willing to suggest that this is clearly out of line, it implies that they would.
