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The Undergraduate Students Association Council discusses a resolution supporting an investigation

The Undergraduate Students Association Council voted 9-1 Tuesday night to pass a resolution opposing inappropriate force against students by university police.

The resolution was drafted in response to recent use of a Taser on a UCLA student by UCPD officers. Officers touched Mostafa Tabatabainejad, a fourth-year Middle Eastern and North African studies student, with a Taser in drive-stun mode five times Nov. 15 after he failed to produce a BruinCard when asked to do so and did not comply with officers’ instructions in a timely manner. A video of the incident captured by another student has been widely distributed.

UCPD has said the officers saw Tabatabainejad’s actions as resistance and acted as they deemed necessary to gain compliance.

The resolution called for the immediate suspension of the officers involved and an independent investigation that includes students.

The resolution further said if the investigation reveals that racial profiling was a factor in the incident, as some have perceived, that USAC supports diversity training for officers.

As per UCPD policy, the incident is currently under internal investigation, and Acting Chancellor Norman Abrams announced that there will be an independent investigation as well.

The resolution was passed after more than an hour of deliberations regarding multiple amendments.

The council addressed several concerns about the wording of the resolution. Members debated references to the video of the incident because some felt it does not portray the entire story.

Click here for a pdf version of the USAC resolution regarding the Taser incident.

“(The video) was very startling and disturbing, however, I did take a step back afterwards,” said Academic Affairs Commissioner Nat Schuster. “Did this look horrific? Yes. But I am not one to immediately declare that these policemen were out of line.”

Councilmembers also debated a clause that referred to perceived racial profiling during the incident and perceived fears of students of color. Eventually, both of those clauses were included.

Some councilmembers also disliked a section of the original resolution that called for the immediate suspension of the officers involved.

Financial Supports Commissioner Shaun Doria said he felt councilmembers did not have the authority or knowledge to make a decision about the suspension of officers.

But External Vice President Tina Park said she was in support of calling for suspension in the resolution.

“As USAC councilmembers, we should be advocating a strong voice and all these amended clauses will weaken (its voice),” she said, adding that the language was determined based on student input.

Homaira Hosseini, a second-year political science and business economics student, presented a petition with more than 1,000 students’ signatures stating that involved police officers should be temporarily suspended pending the investigation.

About 20 students and community members attended the meeting to listen and voice their concerns.

“It is an issue of campus safety. I don’t feel safe on this campus. When I walk past Powell, I can’t even go in,” said Combiz Abdolrahimi, a third-year business economics and political science student.

UCPD has maintained that the officers could not have known at the time whether Tabatabainejad was a threat to officers and has emphasized that all individuals in the library after 11 p.m. must be affiliated with the university in order to maintain the safety of UCLA’s students, staff and faculty.

Berky Nelson, an administrative representative to USAC, said students should wait for the results of the investigation before jumping to any conclusions.

“Until this is resolved by internal and external investigations, I simply recommend that students wait and see what happens. No one knows exactly what the answers will be. Keep in mind that this is a research institution which teaches you to find the best way you can the absolute truth, but the point is you must do all the research,” he said.

“There is no way you can say (the video) was not alarming, but we have to let the process take place.”

He added that he was impressed with students’ behavior so far.

“I think the students have acted very nobly, honorably and with a great deal of sensitivity.”