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Police use stun gun on UCLA student who won't leave library
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES - A camera phone captured a UCLA student being shocked with a stun gun by a police officer after he allegedly refused repeated requests to show his student identification and would not leave a campus library, university police said Wednesday.
The incident occurred about 11 p.m. Tuesday after police did a routine check of student identifications at the University of California, Los Angeles' Powell Library computer lab.
"This is a long-standing library policy to ensure the safety of students during the late-night hours," said UCLA Police Department spokeswoman Nancy Greenstein.
She said police tried to escort Mostafa Tabatabainejad, 23, out of the library after he refused to provide ID and would not leave.
Tabatabainejad, who was arrested for resisting and obstructing a police officer, was later released on his own recognizance.
"As the officers attempted to escort him out, he went limp and continued to refuse to cooperate with officers or leave the building," Greenstein said.
Instead, Greenstein said, Tabatabainejad encouraged others at the library to join his resistance. When a crowd began to gather they used the stun gun on him.
The arrest was recorded on another student's camera phone and showed Tabatabainejad screaming while on the floor of the computer lab. The video also showed the student shouting, "Here's your Patriot Act, here's your ... abuse of power," according to the campus newspaper, the Daily Bruin.
There is no phone listing for Tabatabainejad and neither he nor his attorney could be located for comment.
Acting Chancellor Norman Abrams promised that an investigation of the incident and the officer's action will be "thorough, vigorous and fair."
"The safety of our campus community is of paramount importance to me," Abrams said in a statement.
