LOS ANGELES
An attorney who was part of a review of excessive force complaints following the Rodney King beating will investigate a UCLA police officer’s use of a Taser on an Iranian-American student, the school said Friday.
The move came in response to student demands voiced earlier Friday at a news conference and subsequent rally, where speakers said the shocking of Mostafa Tabatabainejad, 23, sent a chill across the campus.
“As students we feel our safety is endangered, and we do not feel safe on campus,” said Sabiha Ameen, president of the Muslim Students Association.
Tabatabainejad, 23, was shocked Tuesday night after arguing with a campus police officer who was conducting a routine check of student IDs at the University of California, Los Angeles, Powell Library computer lab.
Campus police say he refused to show his student ID and refused to leave the building when asked.
A few hours after the rally, acting Chancellor Norman Abrams announced he had chosen Merrick Bobb, the founder of a local nonprofit dedicated to police reform, to lead an independent investigation.
