# Breaking: Student tasered multiple times at UCLA library **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 16, 2006, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-student-tasered-multiple-times-at-ucla-library/380703 "2006-11-16T17:12:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Lama\_Pacos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Lama\_Pacos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lama_Pacos)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-student-tasered-multiple-times-at-ucla-library/380703/101 "2006-11-16T21:47:37Z")
The overall consensus in this thread is a **lot** different than I expected it would be, and frankly it scares me more than a little. People seem to have a surprisingly low threshold for what is an acceptable situation to use a violent weapon in. It’s the same lock-step acceptance of authority that seems to be permeating our culture, from incidents such as this to torture at Abu Ghraib and unchallenged detainment in Guantánamo Bay. ---
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-student-tasered-multiple-times-at-ucla-library/380703/102 "2006-11-16T21:50:01Z")
**Fish** , was your last post addressed to me? [QUOTE=Bear\_Nenno] Dragging him out is not necessarily _safer_. Hell, even a simple bruise from that would be more of a lasting injury than what the Taser gives him. [/quote] But a bruise would be accidental. There’s a considerable difference between tasering a guy and accidentally causing a bruise from dragging (assuming it’s a true accident). > [@](#): > > I did say the effects of the Taser are immediate. I did not claim the suspect’s threat of physical harm had to be. > Depending on the department, the Taser falls somewhere between Pain Compliance and Impact Weapons. They teach certain pressure points in the police academy. The point of inflicting this pain is not to punish the uncooperative individual, put force him to comply. The pain from the Taser is the same idea. It’s like a whack to the common peronial or a thumb under the mandible. Alright, but dragging is also a method of forcing a suspect to comply. You haven’t yet shown how tasering in this instance was a better choice than just dragging him. > [@](#): > > Depending on Department Policy, an officer does not need to fear immediate harm to use his Taser. Simply showing a likelyhood for violence and in some departments, simple verbal noncompliance, are enough to reason to use a Taser. You could get tasered for verbal noncompliance? As much as that’s a stupid thing to do, I think tasering in that kind of situation would be _always_ pretty damn excessive. But that’s besides the point. > [@](#): > > A cop putting his hands on a suspect is a risk to the safety of the officer and _to the suspect_. The Taser–while scary and overwhelming in videos–is actually a safer option for cop and suspect. Much of the screaming and crying out comes from the suprise of the shock. Once it is stopped, the pain is gone. It really the safer of the two options you keep proposing. I don’t see why a cop would be more at risk in this situation from dragging rather than tasering. The suspect wasn’t attacking, nor was he likely to be attacked by anyone else. And there were three of them, meaning dragging would be, though not easy, not exactly an exhausting strain. And, again, if there are injuries from dragging they would be accidental. Oh, and I notice you suggest screaming and crying out would be due to the shock. Does this mean we can remove the suspect’s screaming entirely from his likelihood to be violent? > [@](#): > > I’m not following. In every situation it would be of use. He could simply pull the trigger again and reTaser him. What is your point here, I dont understand. My point was, if a cop thinks a suspect may attack him _at some later point_, and a taser incapacitates you for a very short time, how does it stop the suspect attacking? As you point out in your response, you’d need to taser the suspect again _when_ they attacked; it being only a useful weapon when there is an immediate threat. > [@](#): > > Wait, you mean “Why would a cop use a Taser at all if there is not immediate threat of attack?” > If that’s what you mean, then I explained that above. \ Taser is the best option for all parties. I disagree. I think dragging would have been better, since any injury from that would have been accidental. In addition, dragging the suspect would have been quicker, meaning the cops could have been somewhere else sooner. And not knowing how long the battery of a taser lasts, not using it several times on a guy who doesn’t need it means you’ll have the full use of it should it become absolutely necessary to deal with an immediate threat. [QUOTE=Bear\_Nenno] For an example, watch this officer IMMEDIATELY walk away after the tasing stopped. > **[\- YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00Me...related&search=)** > > Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube. Every officer in the country certified to carry the M26 Taser has himself been Tasered. [/QUOTE] Correct me if i’m wrong, but I suspect an officer, who must be in decent condition, who expects a taser, and who has already been tasered himself at least once before that video, would be able to shake off it’s effects easier than someone who might not be, doesn’t, and (presumably) hasn’t? ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-student-tasered-multiple-times-at-ucla-library/380703/103 "2006-11-16T21:53:02Z")
The problem, **Lama Pacos** is that the consensus in this thread is the Taser is a violent weapon. That premise is the whole problem hear. I am not condoning the excessive use of violence among police officers. These officers were not beating the shit out of someone, they were employing a very nonviolent tool to effect the arrest. I can never get worked up over Taser use. If I had to choose right now whether I wanted to be hit with an ASP baton, pepper sprayed, punched in the face with a fist, CS Gassed or Tasered, I would choose the Taser, hands down. … well maybe the CS Gas. But that isn’t really relevant here. It’s not like that is an option here. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-student-tasered-multiple-times-at-ucla-library/380703/104 "2006-11-16T21:54:08Z")
> [@](#): > > But a bruise would be accidental. There’s a considerable difference between tasering a guy and accidentally causing a bruise from dragging (assuming it’s a true accident). Yes. One causes an injury that lasts for at least a week. The other has no lasting injury whatsoever. ---
**Author:** ![Maeglin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@Maeglin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maeglin)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-student-tasered-multiple-times-at-ucla-library/380703/105 "2006-11-16T21:54:24Z")
[QUOTE=Lama Pacos] The overall consensus in this thread is a **lot** different than I expected it would be, and frankly it scares me more than a little. People seem to have a surprisingly low threshold for what is an acceptable situation to use a violent weapon in. It’s the same lock-step acceptance of authority that seems to be permeating our culture, from incidents such as this to torture at Abu Ghraib and unchallenged detainment in Guantánamo Bay. [/QUOTE] I agree. I found both the Bruin article and the video deeply disturbing. I cannot imagine how use of the taser could possibly have been justified in this situation. No amount of policy overrides what seems to me elemental human judgment. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-student-tasered-multiple-times-at-ucla-library/380703/106 "2006-11-16T21:59:11Z")
If someone is non-compliant and will not go easily the potential for harm and injury goes up for all involved, including the suspect, just from the struggle itself. By tasing him, although it hurts like hell it can subdue the suspect enough for his own safety as well as the officers involved. ---
**Author:** ![Absolute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-student-tasered-multiple-times-at-ucla-library/380703/107 "2006-11-16T21:59:48Z")
I think a lot of people don’t understand just what cops put up with. You live your lives with relatively normal, sane people. The cops have to deal with everyone, including the psychopaths who will try to kill them. There’s a video on Youtube of a cop pulling over behind a guy walking the side of the freeway. The cop steps out of his car, walks a few feet, calls to the guy, and the guy whips out a pistol, turns around, and shoots him. No warning whatsoever. The cops don’t know that he’s a student. Hell, even if they did know he was a student, that doesn’t mean he’s not demented. All they know is he’s some lunatic who may have snuck into the building illegally, not following their lawful and reasonable orders, and screeching “I WILL NOT LEAVE, GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME” like a maniac at the top of his lungs. If they grabbed him by his arms and pulled him out, who knows what he’d do? Maybe he’d attack one of them. Why should the police put their lives in danger just to protect this asshole, who’s decided to ignore them? He brought it on himself. I have no sympathy for people who don’t cooperate with the police. ---
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-student-tasered-multiple-times-at-ucla-library/380703/108 "2006-11-16T22:01:18Z")
[QUOTE=Bear\_Nenno] Yes. One causes an injury that lasts for at least a week. The other has no lasting injury whatsoever. [/QUOTE] And one is accidental, while the other is intentional. I’m in more trouble if I knock a guy unconscious on purpose than if I break both his legs accidentally, even though i’ve caused more damage with the latter. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-student-tasered-multiple-times-at-ucla-library/380703/109 "2006-11-16T22:11:08Z")
[QUOTE=Revenant Threshold] And one is accidental, while the other is intentional. I’m in more trouble if I knock a guy unconscious on purpose than if I break both his legs accidentally, even though i’ve caused more damage with the latter. [/QUOTE] Well if I knock a guy out so that he won’t possibly break his legs it isn’t so clear then. And also, the real world isn’t so neat and clean, what may be an accident certainly doesn’t mean a supsect won’t file a report, sue the city or whatever. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-student-tasered-multiple-times-at-ucla-library/380703/110 "2006-11-16T22:13:01Z")
[QUOTE=Revenant Threshold] Alright, but dragging is also a method of forcing a suspect to comply. [/quote] A more primitive approach and one prone to injury on both sides, but yes, it was also an option. > [@](#): > > You haven’t yet shown how tasering in this instance was a better choice than just dragging him. And I guess I can’t unless I could show you videos of suspects dragged down stairs to compare this to. > [@](#): > > You could get tasered for verbal noncompliance? Not everywhere. But pepper spray, a much more painful and lasting device can be used pretty much everywhere in the country upon simple verbal noncompliance. > [@](#): > > As much as that’s a stupid thing to do, I think tasering in that kind of situation would be _always_ pretty damn excessive. I would almost agree if the officer never gave a warning first. If an officer says “Cease this action or you will be Sprayed/Tasered” and you say “Fuck Off”, then it’s not excessive force. You were warned that the officer was within his/her rights. And you were given the option to obey or disobey a lawful command. If you choose option B, that’s your fault. And a country that allows people to later seek payment for grievance is not dangerously approaching a police state. If a cop tells you, “Leave here or you will be Tasered” and you think they dont have the authority, then leave and file a complaint. > [@](#): > > But that’s besides the point. I don’t see why a cop would be more at risk in this situation from dragging rather than tasering. Because you’ve never tried to wrestle a suspect or drag him down the stairs unwillingly. > [@](#): > > And, again, if there are injuries from dragging they would be accidental. A suspect can still sue for accidental injury. Which would you prefer if you ran a department? Would you make policy that made you more prone to lawsuit by causing unnescessary injury and medical expenses and comptime for your officers? Or one that quickly, and nonviolently puts an end to the situation. Departments don’t like lawsuits. Accidental injuries, especially incidental bruises cause many lawsuits. > [@](#): > > My point was, if a cop thinks a suspect may attack him _at some later point_, and a taser incapacitates you for a very short time, how does it stop the suspect attacking? As you point out in your response, you’d need to taser the suspect again _when_ they attacked; it being only a useful weapon when there is an immediate threat. Then he can pull the trigger again. The Taser is not a oneshot only device. You can always pull the trigger again. If the threat is serious enough, pull out another weapon. > [@](#): > > I think dragging would have been better, since any injury from that would have been accidental. Better for whom? The injured suspect? The injured cop? How many accidental injuries should a cop be required to withstand in his or her career? What’s fair? > [@](#): > > In addition, dragging the suspect would have been quicker, meaning the cops could have been somewhere else sooner. Possibly quicker. How far did they have to go. I know I keep saying stairs, but were there stairs? If not, how far are they to the car? How far should they have to fight and drag this guy? [/quote] And not knowing how long the battery of a taser lasts, not using it several times on a guy who doesn’t need it means you’ll have the full use of it should it become absolutely necessary to deal with an immediate threat. [/quote] After you use it on a scene, you reload it and replace the battery. If some new threat presents itself on that scene, you can quickly replace the probes and shoot it again. Or you can take the probe cartridge off and use it like a handheld oldfashioned stun gun. And if something is that absolutely dangerous, you can use your baton or maybe your gun depending on the situation. > [@](#): > > Correct me if i’m wrong, but I suspect an officer, who must be in decent condition, who expects a taser, and who has already been tasered himself at least once before that video, would be able to shake off it’s effects easier than someone who might not be, doesn’t, and (presumably) hasn’t? Maybe. But we’re talking seconds, not minutes. And if the suspect said “Please give me one second to catch my breath I will get up” that’s one thing. If he says “Fuck you I’m not going!!! PATRIOT ACT!! OMG, Oppression!!!” then that’s something else. ---
**Author:** ![SkeptiJess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@SkeptiJess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkeptiJess)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-student-tasered-multiple-times-at-ucla-library/380703/111 "2006-11-16T22:17:50Z")
[QUOTE=Bear\_Nenno] Dragging him out is not necessarily _safer_. Hell, even a simple bruise from that would be more of a lasting injury than what the Taser gives him. [/quote] This is what I was wondering. I’ve never had to drag a grown person any distance; nor have I ever been dragged any distance myself. But it seems to me that two adults dragging another adult would almost certainly cause the dragged guy some pain and/ or injury. Particularly if the dragged guy had his hands secured behind his back and was completely limp dead weight. I’m not familiar with the library in question, but if there were steps there, then they’d be even more likely to hurt the guy while dragging him. A quick-zap tazering may have been a sfaer option, overall, than dragging him though a large building and down a flight of stone steps to outside. Or maybe not. The student was clearly a prick – that much is clearly in evidence. And the cops may have overreacted. If it’s determined that they did overrreact I hope (and assume) that they’ll be punished for it. ---
**Author:** ![Arac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c37758/32.png) [@Arac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arac)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-student-tasered-multiple-times-at-ucla-library/380703/112 "2006-11-16T22:20:00Z")
[QUOTE=Absolute] He brought it on himself. I have no sympathy for people who don’t cooperate with the police. [/QUOTE] God, this is a fucking scary attitude. What? The police are always right, honourable and just by definition? And hey, tasers must hurt like a /motherfuck/, but it’s just peachy for police officers to effectively torture ‘compliance’ out of those durned college-boy, ivory-tower hippies? Serves 'em right for thinking they’re so smart! There was NO DANGER, but you reckon officers of the law are justified in causing a person excruciating pain? Repeatedly? Over something as stupid as this? Because hey, we have some real manly-men around here who shrug off taser strikes like nerf balls, right? I have no words. ---
**Author:** ![whole\_bean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/96bed5/32.png) [@whole\_bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whole_bean)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-student-tasered-multiple-times-at-ucla-library/380703/113 "2006-11-16T22:23:06Z")
[QUOTE=Jayrot] Does it help that my name happens to be Mostafa Tabatabainejad. Hard to say. [/QUOTE] It’ easier if you take it sylable by sylable: Ta-ba-ta-ba-ah-ee-na-jad. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-student-tasered-multiple-times-at-ucla-library/380703/114 "2006-11-16T22:28:37Z")
[QUOTE=Lute Skywatcher] Not to excuse their behavior but these are campus cops, they’re like one step up from security guard. Sounds like these guys are the sort that couldn’t make it on a city force so they went with the next best ting. I know the type, one of my sisters used to be married to one. [/QUOTE] Try to alleviate ignorance instead of spreading it. The University of California system has actual police officers. They are sworn police officers in the State of California. That being said, there are also security guards employed on the campuses. Your prejudicial comment about security guards also indicates you may need a wee bit thinner brush in your art supply drawer. ---
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-student-tasered-multiple-times-at-ucla-library/380703/115 "2006-11-16T22:37:08Z")
[QUOTE=Gangster Octopus] Well if I knock a guy out so that he won’t possibly break his legs it isn’t so clear then. And also, the real world isn’t so neat and clean, what may be an accident certainly doesn’t mean a supsect won’t file a report, sue the city or whatever. [/QUOTE] You’re right, it’s not so clear in that case. It would depend really on how likely it was that he’d break his legs; to bring it back to this case, how likely is it that the suspect or the cop would be injured by dragging him? Regarding lawsuits; you think this guy won’t file a report that the cops acted excessively? [QUOTE=Bear\_Nenno] A more primitive approach and one prone to injury on both sides, but yes, it was also an option. [/QUOTE] Primitive doesn’t have to mean worse. And it really depends how prone to injury the suspect and cops would be; not being a cop myself (or having been dragged away by one) I wouldn’t know; how often have you been injured dragging away a limp suspect? [QUOTE=] And I guess I can’t unless I could show you videos of suspects dragged down stairs to compare this to. [/QUOTE] Well, you’d need to show me videos of that along with the bruises recieved from the dragging (if any), because i’m a suspicious bastard like that. 😉 > [@](#): > > Not everywhere. But pepper spray, a much more painful and lasting device can be used pretty much everywhere in the country upon simple verbal noncompliance. Then that’s bad too. > [@](#): > > I would almost agree if the officer never gave a warning first. If an officer says “Cease this action or you will be Sprayed/Tasered” and you say “Fuck Off”, then it’s not excessive force. You were warned that the officer was within his/her rights. And you were given the option to obey or disobey a lawful command. If you choose option B, that’s your fault. And a country that allows people to later seek payment for grievance is not dangerously approaching a police state. > If a cop tells you, “Leave here or you will be Tasered” and you think they dont have the authority, then leave and file a complaint. I would agree with all that, assuming that dragging was somehow completely not an option. By “disobeying a verbal order” I was meaning something along the lines of “Move, you can’t be here” “No” “Zzzap!”. > [@](#): > > Because you’ve never tried to wrestle a suspect or drag him down the stairs unwillingly. Wrestle? He wasn’t fighting back. But you are correct that I have no first-hand experience of dragging a guys down stairs. > [@](#): > > A suspect can still sue for accidental injury. Which would you prefer if you ran a department? Would you make policy that made you more prone to lawsuit by causing unnescessary injury and medical expenses and comptime for your officers? Or one that quickly, and nonviolently puts an end to the situation. Departments don’t like lawsuits. Accidental injuries, especially incidental bruises cause many lawsuits. I’ll ask you the same question I asked Gangster Octopus; you don’t think this guy will sue on grounds of excessive force? > [@](#): > > Then he can pull the trigger again. The Taser is not a oneshot only device. You can always pull the trigger again. If the threat is serious enough, pull out another weapon. Yes, but my point is, if it doesn’t work in the first place, then there’s no point in using it until there’s and immediate threat. And if you use it pointlessly, then that’s excessive force. > [@](#): > > Better for whom? The injured suspect? The injured cop? How many accidental injuries should a cop be required to withstand in his or her career? What’s fair? Better for the suspect, since any injury would be accidental. Worse for the cop, because the chance they could be injured goes up. That something leaves a cop open to more risk is not the sole reason to avoid a particular approach, though. In return, i’ll ask you; how many taserings should a suspect be forced to undergo before the cops give up and just drag him? > [@](#): > > Possibly quicker. How far did they have to go. I know I keep saying stairs, but were there stairs? If not, how far are they to the car? How far should they have to fight and drag this guy? There were actual stairs; judging from the video, he was near an entrance to the library that was itself near some stairs. So you’re entirely in the right to bring that up. > [@](#): > > After you use it on a scene, you reload it and replace the battery. If some new threat presents itself on that scene, you can quickly replace the probes and shoot it again. Or you can take the probe cartridge off and use it like a handheld oldfashioned stun gun. If i’m reading the reports correctly, the cops were in fact using it as an oldfashioned stun gun rather than by using the probes. My point still stands, though; you could run out of batteries awful fast if you taser every passive suspect, and leave you empty for an active suspect. > [@](#): > > And if something is that absolutely dangerous, you can use your baton or maybe your gun depending on the situation. But presumably a taser is better, or that would not be the first choice. > [@](#): > > Maybe. But we’re talking seconds, not minutes. And if the suspect said “Please give me one second to catch my breath I will get up” that’s one thing. If he says “Fuck you I’m not going!!! PATRIOT ACT!! OMG, Oppression!!!” then that’s something else. Again, I would think it’s a lot harder to get back to rational thought and concise, clear speaking if someone’s just tasered you unexpectedly. And I ask you to note that he was yelling about the Patriot Act and oppression in his assholish way _before_ he was tasered, and that he was tasered _after_ saying he would leave. ---
**Author:** ![Absolute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-student-tasered-multiple-times-at-ucla-library/380703/116 "2006-11-16T22:49:38Z")
[QUOTE=Arac] God, this is a fucking scary attitude. What? The police are always right, honourable and just by definition? [/quote] No. But when the police are ordering you to do something, that is not the place to dispute whether they are right. You do what they say, and take it up later with a judge if you’re not happy about it. > [@](#): > > And hey, tasers must hurt like a /motherfuck/, but it’s just peachy for police officers to effectively torture ‘compliance’ out of those durned college-boy, ivory-tower hippies? Serves 'em right for thinking they’re so smart! > > There was NO DANGER, but you reckon officers of the law are justified in causing a person excruciating pain? Repeatedly? Over something as stupid as this? Because hey, we have some real manly-men around here who shrug off taser strikes like nerf balls, right? _We_ know now that there was no danger. At the time, the police didn’t know that. They were perfectly justified in using the taser to gain compliance. The only other option would be physically forcing the guy out of there. And as I said before, the police should not be obligated to put their lives in any more risk than necessary because this idiot decided to ignore their orders. ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-student-tasered-multiple-times-at-ucla-library/380703/117 "2006-11-16T23:06:31Z")
According to the ACLU, threatening to taser someone in response to a request for a badge number is illegal. In fact, they claim that it’s assault. [http://dailybruin.com/news/articles.asp?id=38960](http://dailybruin.com/news/articles.asp?id=38960) I maintain my position. Using tasers was a ridiculous escalation of force in a situation where there was no evidence of violence or a threat of violence. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Swan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@The\_Swan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Swan)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-student-tasered-multiple-times-at-ucla-library/380703/118 "2006-11-16T23:10:37Z")
[QUOTE=Apos] According to the ACLU, threatening to taser someone in response to a request for a badge number is illegal. In fact, they claim that it’s assault. [http://dailybruin.com/news/articles.asp?id=38960](http://dailybruin.com/news/articles.asp?id=38960) I maintain my position. Using tasers was a ridiculous escalation of force in a situation where there was no evidence of violence or a threat of violence. [/QUOTE] I haven’t watched the video, but was under the impression that the other student was asking for his badge number at an inappropriate time (in the midst of a struggle). The other student then began to advance, at which point the officer threatened to tase him/her. I am probably way off. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-student-tasered-multiple-times-at-ucla-library/380703/119 "2006-11-16T23:16:02Z")
[QUOTE=Monty] Try to alleviate ignorance instead of spreading it. The University of California system has actual police officers. They are sworn police officers in the State of California. [/quote] My sister’s ex was a sworn police officer in the State of Illinois, and a bit of a nutcase. > [@](#): > > That being said, there are also security guards employed on the campuses. Your prejudicial comment about security guards also indicates you may need a wee bit thinner brush in your art supply drawer. My comment about security guards was not intended to be prejudicial but rather illustrative of my understanding of law enforcement hierarchy. ---
**Author:** ![Walter\_Windchill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Walter\_Windchill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walter_Windchill)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-student-tasered-multiple-times-at-ucla-library/380703/120 "2006-11-16T23:26:02Z")
Just curious – if you were the cops, and the guy was behaving like that, what would you have done? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-student-tasered-multiple-times-at-ucla-library/380703.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-student-tasered-multiple-times-at-ucla-library/380703.md?page=7)