Akkam’s Razor

By this point, you may or may not have heard that a student at UCLA got tazered by campus police for refusing to "show his papers" while at the library.  Similarly disgusting, one of the officers, when asked by an observer for his badge number and name, threatened to tazer and arrest the student questioning them (which is audible during the video, as well) and most certainly not legal.  The embedded video is most likely not appropriate for small children, the workplace, or anywhere else, for that matter.

The account of the incident by University officials is that the student was asked to leave, he refused, resisted, and then was tasered.  The LA Times' references the police report:

The Daily Bruin's account was somewhat different: 

The CSOs left, returning minutes later, and police officers arrived to escort the student out. By this time the student had begun to walk toward the door with his backpack when an officer approached him and grabbed his arm, at which point the student told the officer to let him go. A second officer then approached the student as well.

The student began to yell "get off me," repeating himself several times.

It was at this point that the officers shot the student with a Taser for the first time, causing him to fall to the floor and cry out in pain. The student also told the officers he had a medical condition…

Laila Gordy, a fourth-year economics student who was present in the library during the incident, said police officers threatened to shoot her with a Taser when she asked an officer for his name and his badge number. 

In the "good 'ol days", when authority had absolute power, the word of the University administrators and campus police would have been enough.  Any video from the library's CCD cameras would be "lost", "degradable", or had "no relavent information".  A committee would have been formed, a report made, and perhaps some sensitivity training for police officers.  But now that there is the very real possibility that "we are all big brother", will it serve as a check and balance towards the abuse of authority, or will it allow those with fascists authoritarian daydreams to assert the need for even more consolidated power and authority?

The Daily Bruin has a follow-up here… 

Last thought for now - it's only a matter of time until we hear people saying that people shouldn't be allowed to photograph or video law enforcement officers, because it can impede their actions and judgement, and they may not act to protect the public good out of fear of punishment for "how something looks".

Updated:  That didn't take long.  Via Daily Bruin columnist David Lazar:

In my opinion, he was asking for it.

When Mostafa Tabatabainejad refused to present his BruinCard in Powell Library when asked during a routine check by Community Service Officers, scoffing at them and police, it created an uproar, the fallout of which has graced airwaves and prompted headlines internationally.

Whether or not the police used excessive force, there is no doubt that the student showed a blatant disregard for UCLA's regulations and police authority.

[…]

Many question the use of any force in this situation, but force is not without its purposes. To keep the rest of us safe, officers expose themselves to the constant threat of violence, and some officers see their colleagues killed in the line of duty.

Updated: Statement from UCLA: "Compliance is critical for the safety and well-being of everyone."