An Iranian American, Tabatabainejad contends that he was singled out because of his Middle Eastern appearance, noting that the guard refused his request to demand identification from the other students who were present at the time. The suit also claims that the campus violated the Americans with Disabilities Act because the officers inflicted emotional distress on him despite his advising them that he has bipolar disorder. “He told the officers he had the condition and the officers’ response was to Taser him and to hurt him rather than to deal with him as a person with a disability,” plaintiff attorney Paul Hoffman said in a January 17 Associated Press report.
UCLA Interim Chancellor Norman Abrams expressed regret over the suit being brought, noting that “shortly after the incident, I urged everyone not to rush to judgment and to let the investigations take their course.”
Posted January 19, 2007.