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Seriously? UCLA Police Officers Awarded For Use Of Tasers

today.ucla.edu — Earlier this month, the UC Police Department at UCLA held its first annual recognition event to hand out numerous awards including - get this - "The Meritorious Service/Taser Award". This event took place just several weeks before today's news and video of reportedly excessive use of tasers on a student at a UCLA library. 3rd award down on page.

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  • misterpony, on 10/12/2007, -2/+34The name of the award is pretty stupid, but that says they subdued a person who was attacking with a pair of scissors. I'd say that's warranted and totally different from the library fiasco. Nice find, though.
    • smitharc, on 10/12/2007, -6/+27The reason I brought up this link is to question whether this activity is too rewarded by their organization. The ceremony was only on November 7th, so it could have still been fresh on their minds.

      Perhaps the digg title is a little misleading as they're not being awarded for this particular library event, but it still raises some questions about the use of tasers nonetheless.
    • merreborn, on 10/12/2007, -3/+26What's wrong with recognizing officers for the appropriate use of non-lethal force? Before the days of tasers, if you attacked a cop with a pair of scissors, you got shot. With something a lot more painful than a taser.

      Tasers are a spectacular tool for law enforcement, when used properly. Those who do so should absolutely be recognized.

      Those who *abuse* them, on the other hand, should be punished.
    • jiminoc, on 10/12/2007, -15/+10If you attack a cop with a pair of scissors you deserve to be shot. end of story. Maybe you get lucky and he gets your leg. we need less morons in the world, That helps weed them out.
    • hackwrench, on 10/12/2007, -6/+4@Jiminoc
      What religious persuasion are you so I'll know to avoid them.
    • Chongo, on 10/12/2007, -7/+1I used to think ''one less moron'. Not anymore though...

      I think cops should be paid more and trained way harder. That way when they feel their life is threatened, they can put a round in the persons arm or leg.
    • Yez70, on 10/12/2007, -3/+10Rewarding people for the use of force is idiotic. It compells others to 'strive' to win the award which also leads to serious lack of judgement in most cases - such as this one. What's next? An nobel prize for the effective use of a nuclear weapon? Yea, why not? Screw intelligence and diplomacy.

      The award should be given for effective use of non-forceful measures instead. That would be a far higher honor and accomplishment.
    • gimpbully, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2@jiminoc
      Um, it didn't say the person they took down attacked a cop..
    • nixonrichard, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7Wait, isn't the whole point of a taser that it is a type of non-lethal force? I mean, I know that accidents happen and people can still die from them, but seriously, it's not like they shot someone. I've be hit with a taser because my roomate in college is a jackass, and it sucked, but it's not like it leaves you scarred emotionally or physcially. No nightmares, just two little holes in your skin that heal in a couple of days. It almost seems to me like some people want us to live in a "no touching" society where EVERYTHING gets solved with words. While I like the idea of non-violence, sometimes a quick punch in the face or a tazer to the chest solves a problem much better than words. It's just like pepper spray . . . it's non-lethal so cops use it all the time, even when they don't have to, but who cares. And before anyone quotes how many people have died from tazers, first look up the statistic on how many people die in their own bathtub and compare the two.
    • Cykaos, on 10/12/2007, -3/+3@nixonrichard you are a moron. How about you compare the number of people who take baths and the number of people who are tasered? Of course more people die in the bathtub because more people take baths. If the number of people who are tasered and the number of people who take baths are the same (with LA PD it might get close) then I promise you deaths from taser would be at least 20 times that of deaths from bath.
    • TSK06, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1Why are guys knocking UCLA? I think its great that many of the students stepped up to defend the guy and are calling for investigation. Without those same students, we would not even know about this..
  • rkiga, on 10/12/2007, -8/+8ok i'm a recent UCLA grad and i'm just horrified by what happened a couple days ago. but i agree with misterpony: stupid name for an award, but it _sounds_ warranted and perfectly fine.

    btw, just getting nitpicky but "just" and "several" are kinda mutually exclusive. i've never heard them used together. it's either "several weeks ago" or "just a few weeks ago"
    • LexisNexis, on 10/12/2007, -5/+1I hear it used that way all the time. 'Just' is also an adverb to mean a brief period of time, so it was "just several weeks after" or "only several weeks after."
    • rkiga, on 10/12/2007, -5/+0it's fine then, i always thought several meant the same thing as "many". but i guess it's more than 2 or 3, but less than many. oh well, still sounds weird.
  • Lane5slacker, on 10/12/2007, -1/+15I would take a taser over a bullet anyday...
  • Grambodino, on 10/12/2007, -6/+5Do they earn this award for having the least amount of taser-related deaths?
  • bashfulczar, on 10/12/2007, -9/+8Let's taser those police as many times as they did and see how easy it is to "stand up."
  • 10poundbrown, on 10/12/2007, -10/+3oh man how I hate the cops sometimes.........it just seems they are al--OSAHDLKHASLDHFLKSJGLKASJF;JLKS;ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZHOLEEESHEEEET IM BEING TAZERED
  • jmurrayufo, on 10/12/2007, -12/+2After seeing the video posted as it was, I am glad the officers were awarded.
  • TheOneGreatX, on 10/12/2007, -3/+11Wasn't there a Taser Award in Goldeneye 64?
  • dicerandom, on 10/12/2007, -2/+15They weren't awarded for using tasers, they were awarded for subduing a potentially dangers (and armed) psychiatric patient who was posing an immediate threat to hospital staff.

    Marked as inaccurate.
    • pwozney, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7Agreed. I think police should be doing everything to can to use non-lethal force against threatening people. I've never been tazered but I imagine it hurts like hell - but I would guess it to be ultimately less damaging than a beating, and without question less damaging than a gunshot.

      I think as long as these awards are given out carefully, and police misuse of the technology is handled in the same way as misuse of firearms then there's no problem here. In fact I can't wait for more non-lethal weaponry to make it into the hands of the police!

      Anyway while the article is vaguely interesting, the synopsis of the poster is inflammatory and unsubstantiated. Marked as inaccurate.
    • swizzley, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5@ John184

      "If a cop threatens to uses a weapon to force compliance with a command that is called Assault"

      This is not even remotely true. If I (as an identified police officer) am dealing with someone and I give them an order - and they fail to comply, force will be used. It could range almost anywhere on the use of force continuum from open hands (grabbing, pushing) all the way up to an impact weapon (baton) or less-lethal (taser, bean bag gun, etc.) depending on the amount of resistance the suspect chooses to use. A police officer always maintains one level of force above the suspect to remain in control of the situation. A level above or below that would be innaproiate and dangerous for the suspect and officer.

      I've been trained on several different models of the taser (and received a five second "exposure"). It's not something you ever want to experience, but much better than getting shot. In this article officer's were rewarded for using the taser as a "less lethal" option when it appears lethal force would have been reasonable.
    • aukxsona, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1@swizzley:

      If you command and I am not guilty...and then I refuse then you use force...expect force in return! Then a law suit...you are a PEACE OFFICER, not a god damn soldier! Know your role!

      I AM YOUR EMPLOYER! Did you know I could arrest YOUR ass for breaking the law!
  • Matt-lars, on 10/12/2007, -9/+2WTF!
  • homerj14, on 10/12/2007, -14/+11follow my steps and you will not get Tasered.
    1. Do what the officer asks :)
    its that easy
    cops deserve more recognition. like I always say
    you hate cops Until you need them
    • Matt-lars, on 10/12/2007, -2/+11I love cops, it's the crooked ones I hate.
    • jayfarer, on 10/12/2007, -4/+7Why are you treating cops as if they are all some sort of single entity? There are those that are good, the ones that you need, and those that are bad, the ones that you hate (and taze you over and over for not having your student ID and then telling you to stand up.)
    • marcus_r, on 10/12/2007, -6/+8Watch the video. The guy yells numerous times in agony that he was going to leave only to be shocked multiple times by officers yelling at him to stand up. It's absolutely disgusting to watch. If you can honestly watch that and think that the guy deserved that treatment, something is seriously wrong with you.
    • martalli, on 10/12/2007, -6/+8homer is right - why scream and yell at the police? Talk to them calmly and do what they ask you to do. If you think they are truly offending your rights, talk to a lawyer later. Treating the police as if they have a constant intention to infringe on your rights is completely misguided.

      They are our protection from crime and disorder. In the case of colege students and college police, I have always wondered if there isn't a class issue in effect: "How dare that high school dip**** tell me what to do - he's just an idiot anyway".
    • John184, on 10/12/2007, -10/+9If a cop threatens to uses a weapon to force compliance with a command that is called Assault. If you ask for their badge number and they shock you with a tazer that is called assault and battery under color of authority. If this ***** happened to p.o.w.s in Iraq it would be all over CNN. Why do enemy combatants get better treatment than college students.
    • jiminoc, on 10/12/2007, -8/+2well said
    • pwozney, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5Absolutely. I'm in with homer and martalli - if a cop tells you to do something then it is best to do it and take your lawyer to them later. You could probably have some reasonable success representing yourself in court, if the cops had nothing on you and you weren't acting in a threatening manner.

      Cops deal with some really crazy people and if you appear crazy they will have to subdue you and figure it out later. Admittedly, the UCLA video is hideous and a gross misuse of power, but that kid should have shut up; instead he continues to shout insults (however warranted) at the cops.

      Definitely the UCLA incident is an terrible misuse of the technology and the cops should be reprimanded; but at least this kid can live to tell his story. If it was a gun, clubs or their fists the cops were using he might not be around today.
    • hackwrench, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1I've found living among people that aren't prone to crime and "disorder", is to not live around people prone to it.

      But then, what's so terrible with disorder?
    • martalli, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I have now seen the video, and I can see where the frustration here is coming from. The police appeared to use the taser too freely, even if our view of the actual altercation was pretty minimal. I was pleased to see the students all but rush the police down the stairs.

      Still, I know a few cops here in my small town. They are regular folks who pursue their jobs as professionally as possible. The very nature of their job means that they constantly deal with rudeness and opposition.
    • Cykaos, on 10/12/2007, -5/+2just because someone is a cop doesn't mean they deserve your respect. Respect is something that is earned and cops who think everyone must bow down and do whatever they say and they taser you if you don't need to get a new job and a life

      If anyone thinks I hate cops or something I work with swat and dea and I have a great respect for many many officers.
    • martalli, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@cykaos

      Are you so self-centered that you can't see - you should also endeavour to get a police officer's respect. If you think police are inherently bad, just consider places with no police, like Somalia...
    • Managore, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@martalli

      No one said "inherently" bad.
  • AntiMidas, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2I hope these aren't the same cops.
    http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/november2006/161106taser.htm
  • namelessuno, on 10/12/2007, -7/+2Awards for using force against citizens.

    What more proof do you need that cops see everyone as either cop or enemy.

  • treelovinhippie, on 10/12/2007, -6/+5I hope that student is suing from that previous vid
    • Oracle95, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1You know he is, his lawyer probably had the paperwork all ready the day before the incident happened. This thing was staged, plain and simple.
  • LOPcagney, on 10/12/2007, -4/+0I just think this is kind of ironic, right? You don't tase someone needlessly one day and then get awarded for tasing someone who actually deserved and needed to be subdued the next.

    It's like promoting a surgeon for saving a guy's life when the same doctor had some huge malpractice suit just days before. It's unethical and it breeds bad morals.

    The taser award should go not to someone who uses tazers, but to someone who uses them constantly with good judgement.
    • mikejonas, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3The news article (and award) was from a week ago.
  • hhOwArdrOarKk, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1I take the bus route that this following incident occurred on:

    http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1163544613881&call_pageid=968350130169&col=969483202845

    I don't they are going to give any awards out for this one.
  • veektor, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1I get a warm, cozy feeling whenever someone is getting a taste of quick justice.
  • PeppermintPig, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2Your books are past due! TAZER FOR YOU!!! Heh.. just imagine all the different ways tazers will be used by rewarding the use of force.
  • lukas88, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4sounds like the officer who got the award really did a good thing. Assuming it was a different officer, why would this make that any less praiseworthy?

    Some diggers need to take a logic course.
  • Lunacy182, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5People need to read the article and not just the title. The title is very misleading. He is being awarded for using non lethal force, when lethal force could have been used. He went the better of the 2 routes and is being rewarded for not shooting and killing the patient.

    Oh and this article has nothing to do with the kid that didn't have an ID. A lot of people seem to think it does.
    • Cykaos, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I think people know it has nothing to do with the kid in the library, and yes it is commendable that he was able to resolve the situation without deadly force. It is however interesting that someone wins an award for using a taser and then soon after a kid is unnecessarily tasered.
  • RojoKayako, on 10/12/2007, -4/+2Hmmm...what a profound choice this little fart had:

    1. Cooperate, show your I.D. and get back to studies, or....

    2. Refuse to cooperate, refuse to leave, resist arrest - and get Tasered!

    Damn...that's a no-brainer, huh?

    Let's hope this fart isn't representative of what they're turning out of the California collegiate system.





    And, did ya' notice he squealed like a Girlie Man? How Pathetic!
    • rtini, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1I think you forgot the part where they repeatedly taser him while he's on the floor, telling him to get up while his muscles are f*cked up from the multiple electric shocks. Oh, and also when they taser him after they've handcuffed him. It's probably tough to get up when you've been tased several times, and when your hands are tied behind your back. They finally had to carry him out.

      Not to mention he was on his way out when the arrived - they grabbed his arm to prevent him from leaving the building, he yelled in surprise and anger, they commenced tasering him.

      Did you hear the part at the end where the cop threatened to taser the student who was asking for the officer's name and badge number?
    • martalli, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I wonder what happened to a good old fashioned muscling the kid out of the library? I wouldn't doubt police have decided that trying to manhandle someone just could result in a lawsuit per injury to their own person. They would much rather just pull out the taser - at least they have no risk of injury to themselves in that situation.

      Apparently the police used some sort of low taser setting, but I still wonder why they didn't subsequently pick the guy up and drag him out of the library.
  • aukxsona, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1Next they'll hand out awards for most criminals shot before trial!
  • bennettrainey, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0I seriously hope that none of you think that a cop is going to taser some one just to get an award.
  • mcryptic, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2video of the UCLA taser attack

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyvrqcxNIFs
  • Shools23, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0Stupid kid got what he deserved, shoulda just stood up and gotten out of there. but no he had to be an obnoxious, defiant little bitch. Those cops did the right thing
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