Terrence Duren, whose tenure with university police has included an award for UCPD Officer of the Year as well as allegations of police misconduct and use of excessive force, was the officer who used a Taser against Mostafa Tabatabainejad in Powell Library last Tuesday, university police said Monday.

Duren arrived on the scene with Officers Alexis Bickamong, Kevin Kilgore and Andrew Ikeda, and the sergeant on duty was Philip Baguiao, said Nancy Greenstein, UCPD director of police community services.

The 43-year-old officer, who was on active duty Monday, was also the subject of media attention three years ago after he shot a homeless man in Kerckhoff Hall.

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Allegations against him in other incidents include alleged harassment of students on more than one occasion.

All of the allegations against him regarding police misconduct and use of excessive force were investigated by the UCPD and proven false, Duren said – “all of them.”

The investigations are the responsibility of the chief of police, who appoints a supervisor within the department to examine the situation and report back, Duren said.

Duren was the only officer available for comment Monday, and he could not comment specifically about the incident because it is under investigation.

UCPD officers were called to the library Tuesday night when Tabatabainejad, a fourth-year Middle Eastern and North African studies and philosophy student, failed to produce his BruinCard when he was asked to do so.

DOCUMENTS Click here for a pdf version of UCPD's taser policy.

According to UCPD, Tabatabainejad refused to cooperate and leave the premises, resisted officers’ attempts to escort him out of the building, and incited others to “join his resistance.” At this point, the officers on duty determined it was necessary to use a Taser to gain compliance.

As further information has become available over the past several days, some specifics of the incident have been clarified.

Tabatabainejad’s attorney, Steven Yagman, who on Friday announced plans to file a suit against the university, said the student did not produce his BruinCard because he felt singled out during the identity check. It is not clear how many students were asked for identification, but witnesses said the Community Service Officers on duty spent several minutes checking, while other students in the CLICC Lab at Powell said they were not asked for their BruinCards.

Yagman also said Tabatabainejad intentionally went limp when the officers grabbed his arm because he did not want to participate in racial profiling.

The UCPD has described this as an act of resistance, and has said at this point the officers could not have known whether the student was a threat.

Neither Duren nor any other officers could comment about the incident, as it is currently under investigation.

A video captured by a student in the library, which has been broadcast worldwide and drawn extensive criticism, shows Duren using a Taser on Tabatabainejad.

But Duren urged students to understand that he “is more than just that guy in that grainy image.”

Duren, the father of a 23-year-old girl and a 13-year-old boy, has worked with UCPD since 1988.

In 1991, he served seven months as a Marine in Operation Desert Storm, the U.S. military operation in Kuwait.

Duren’s nearly 20 years with UCPD have been marked by both praise and criticism, which he said is typical of any police officer’s career.

“People are going to complain about you – that’s just the nature of the business,” he said. “A lot of times it’s a misunderstanding of what we do.”

In 2001, Duren was named Officer of the Year, an award based on an officer’s performance of duties, contribution to the department and commitment to the goals of community-oriented policing, the Daily Bruin reported in 2004.

“That’s one thing I want you to understand: I have received more congratulatory notes than negative ones as a police officer,” Duren said.

“I most definitely have had my downs, but overall I would say being a police officer has been positive,” he said. “Am I a perfect human being? No, I’m not, but overall my experience here as a police officer has been great.”

Duren’s stint in the public eye has focused on those downs, which include accusations of assault on students.

Court documents and complaints in reference to the case of Willie Davis Frazier, Jr., the homeless man who Duren shot in 2003, outline several other allegations, some of which include altercations with students, the Daily Bruin reported.

According to one court complaint presented in the trial, Duren allegedly woke a student sleeping in the study hall in Kerckhoff in August 1993, escorted him outside, slammed him against a wall, and handcuffed and arrested him.

The complaint also stated that on the way to the police station, Duren told the student, “For a while there I thought I was going to have to ‘Rodney King’ you.”

In 2002, Duren had a verbal confrontation with another student, Kirk Zhong, which resulted in Zhong being arrested, according to an incident report.

Zhong said the confrontation began when he walked by two officers questioning a homeless man and they began yelling at him.

According to the report, Zhong took a combative stance against the officers by clenching his fists.

Zhong maintained the report was unfounded because he was carrying books, so he could not have clenched his fists.

The one point Duren most wanted to make about his work as a police officer is that criticisms can be a result of misunderstanding – and that as soon as the investigation has concluded, he wants to clear up that misunderstanding.

“I understand their anger,” he said. “There’s always another side to the story, and I’m willing to tell it.”

Duren said he wanted to sit down specifically with Muslim student groups, as they have been highly critical of the incident.