In a report broadcast by NBC4TV station in LA, a witness (who asked not to be identified) said, "Any student who witnessed it was left with an image you don't want to remember." When asked whether the student resisted when officer attempted to escort him from the building, the witness said, "In the beginning, no. But when they were holding onto him and they were on the ground, he was trying to just break free. He was saying, 'I'm leaving, I'm leaving.' It was so disturbing to watch that I cannot be concise on that. I can just say that he was willing to leave. He had his backpack on his shoulder and he was walking out when the cops approached him. It was unnecessary."

UCLA acting Chancellor, Norman Abrams, issued the following statement about the incident: "University police are investigating an incident late last night in which police took a student into custody at Powell Library. Investigators are reviewing the incident and the officers' actions, and I can assure you that these reviews will be thorough, vigorous and fair. The safety of our campus community is of paramount importance to me. Routinely checking student identification after 11 p.m. at the campus library, which is open 24 hours, is a policy posted in the library that was enacted for the protection of our students. Compliance is critical for the safety and well-being of everyone."

As the statement indicates, the Chancellor considers the "incident" to be simply one of the police taking "a student into custody," and reminds the UCLA community that the police were following an established policy of the university to safeguard the students. He fails to name the student, indicate his ethnic background, or acknowledge that he was stunned by a taser several times. The Chancellor could have watched the video footage showing Mostafa Tabatabainejad falling to the ground and crying out in pain as officers stunned him.

Even if the student had refused to provide ID or leave the premise, he could have been expelled from the library by some means other than the use of brutal force. The Daily Bruin, citing eyewitnesses, reported the following: "It was beyond grotesque," said UCLA graduate David Remesnitsky of Los Angeles, who witnessed the incident. "By the end they took him over the stairs, lifted him up and tasered him on his rear end. It seemed like it was inappropriately placed.

The Tasering was so unnecessary and they just kept doing it." Campus police confirmed that Tabatabainejad was stunned "multiple" times.

Expressing its outrage at this police brutality, The American Iranian Council demands that the officials at UCLA assume a more proactive role in the investigation to guarantee a balanced reporting on the "incident." We believe that UCLA is a fine institution of higher education in the country, with an outstanding reputation for academic excellence, and hope that it will ensure that such brutality never happens again. We further hope that the university will take whatever steps necessary to satisfy Mostafa Tabatabainejad's grievances against the police abuse. We also urge the Iranian-American community to remain patient while the university investigates this "incident." Most importantly, all parties must do their best to ensure that the student recovers from any physical or emotional suffering.