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OT: UC Davis Tasering (new info about the cop)


godard

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If y'all remember the thread about the UC Davis tasering, I'm making a new thread because I don't feel like finding it without the search working, and because the other one turned into draft talk and other stuff by the end anyway.

 

Check out this link:

http://www.laist.com/archives/2006/11/20/taserhappy_cops_history_was_one_reason_for_tasers_at_ucla.php

 

"The UCLA police department identified the officer caught electrifying the student who did not produce his college ID card as Terrence Duren, an 18-year veteran of the UCPD.

 

Duren hasn't had the smoothest career in law enforcement. He came to Westwood after being fired from the infamous Long Beach PD. A few years after being hired by UCLA he was accused of using his nightstick to choke a fratboy and the university asked the UCPD to fire Duren, but he was only given a three month suspension.

 

In late 2003 Duren shot a homeless man, Willie Davis Frazier, Jr., in a Kerckhoff Hall bathroom. Frazier, who attempted at first to shun lawyers and represent himself, was imbalanced enough to spend time in mental institution as the court tried to figure out if he was fit to stand trial.

 

During a 2004 preliminary hearing in which Duren testified against Frazier, the officer carried a Machiavelli book into court, "The Prince", which argues that the ends justifies the means. "Did you know that this was Tupac's favorite book?" he asked.

 

Less than a year after Duren shot Frazier, UCLA decided to invest $22,000 in tasers, according to the Daily Bruin.

 

And now, ironically it's Duren who is being accused of abusing the taser.

 

"If someone is resisting, sometimes it's not going to look pretty taking someone into custody," he told the LA Times today. "If you have to use some force, it's not going to look pretty. That's the nature of this job.""

 

So the cop had a history of violence; choking a fratboy with a nightstick, shooting a homeless man, etc. Forget about your opinions on the police, this guy just sounds a disgrace to what honest police are trying to do, and I can't fathom why he should be employed.

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The Police Dept can be pretty insular.

There is a (correct, I think) understanding that they are in a risky ocupation, so they tend to be protective of eachother.

And the urge to not "look bad" combined with a high-authority mindset leads to a lot of cover ups.

What would be more appropreate, I think, is to realize that when people are given a lot of authority, they should be held to a higher standard.

With great power comes great responsability.

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