Tasered for asking Kerry questions

[Daveparts]

Tasered for asking Kerry questions
Sidney Morning Herald September 18, 2007 - 5:31PM

University of Florida student was Tasered and arrested when he tried to speak at a forum with US Senator John Kerry during a question and answer session, university officials said.

Andrew Meyer, 21, asked the Democrat senator why he did not contest the 2004 presidential election, which he lost to President Bush, and why there had been no moves to impeach Mr Bush.

"He apparently asked several questions - he went on for quite a while - then he was asked to stop," university spokesman Steve Orlando said.

"He had used his allotted time. His microphone was cut off then he became upset."

While as many as four police officers tried to remove Meyer from the forum, he yelled for help and asked "What did I do?"

Minutes after Meyer started speaking, he was Tasered.

Meyer was charged with resisting an officer and disturbing the peace, according to Alachua County jail records.

No bond had been set. Meyer was scheduled to appear in court Tuesday morning, a jail official said.

Orlando said university police would conduct an internal investigation on the incident.

"The police department does have a standard procedure for when they use force, including when they use a Taser," Orlando said. "That is what the internal investigation would address - whether the proper procedures were followed, whether the officers acted appropriately."

AP
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CheY0jYXJjY

[ShortnFiery]

1. With over a dozen officers around this man, no reason for the supervisor to utter, "tase him!"

What, with oodles of cops surrounding him, the only reason for tasing was "punishment" with A Low Spark of Jack Booted Authoritarianism as show. :puke: :thumbsdown:

[Kolesar]

2. Used to call those kind of cops "cowboys"

...dispensing frontier justice.

[izzie]

3. This is one crazy story. Why would the police do this?

I can not see Kerry wanting that at all.

[karynnj]

12. he didn't - he didn't even want the kid thrown out - and said so

[NavyDavy]

4. Kerry had nothing to do with the tasering the students in the audience called

the UF police

[DUyellow]

5. source?

[ShortnFiery]

6. Yes, the students otherwise known as "The Brownshirts."

http://xrlq.com/Images/digital-brownshirts.bmp

[DUyellow]

15. still waiting for that source...

[Vidar]

7. Some cops could benefit from a good beating.

[Maribelle]

9. But not these.

They did their job.

[Vidar]

17. Sure they did--just like the ass who manhandled Cynthia McKinney.

[Maribelle]

8. He was not tasered for asking Kerry questions

In fact, he was not even "asking Kerry" he was giving a prepared speech rattling on and on, not waiting for Kerry to respond for a second. He even went so far as to say "I want to inform ...blah blah blah" when they prompted him to ask his question. As he continued to just rattled on they cut his mike. Then he began yelling. They tried to usher him out when his rant grew louder and louder. Running away, jumping up and down, screaming, avoiding arrest.

The screamer broke the laws.

[superkia]

10. Kerry was there and it sounds like he was okay with him?

ABC News' Rick Klein Reports: Sen. John Kerry on Tuesday condemned the arrest of a University of Florida student at one of his speeches, saying that he was engaged in a "good healthy discussion" with 21-year-old Andrew Meyer when he was Tasered and taken into custody.

"In 37 years of public appearances, through wars, protests and highly emotional events, I have never had a dialogue end this way," Kerry said in a statement. "I believe I could have handled the situation without interruption, but I do not know what warnings or other exchanges transpired between the young man and the police prior to his barging to the front of the line and their intervention. I asked the police to allow me to answer the question and was in the process of responding when he was taken into custody."

"I was not aware that a taser was used until after I left the building," he continued. "I hope that neither the student nor any of the police were injured. I regret enormously that a good healthy discussion was interrupted."

[RestoreGore]

13. Which proves freedom of speech is dead in this country

[redacted]

16. BULLSHIT. YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF POSTING THAT.

The kid broke NO laws. There was NO reason to have half a dozen officers stationed around that microphone in the first place, except to intimidate.

At the university I graduated from, this situation happened all the time and nobody intervened. Ever. Not once. Questioners were always allowed to speak. This college president should be ashamed of the cop's actions.

I can't believe you posted that. You're un-American. Don't like free speech? Move to some other country that's a police state. This one is a free country.

[jberryhill]

18. "officers stationed around that microphone in the first place"

Were they "stationed around that microphone in the first place", or were they there because of events which ocurred prior to the start of that video clip?

"In 37 years of public appearances, through wars, protests and highly emotional events, I have never had a dialogue end this way," Kerry said in a statement. "I believe I could have handled the situation without interruption, but I do not know what warnings or other exchanges transpired between the young man and the police prior to his barging to the front of the line and their intervention. I asked the police to allow me to answer the question and was in the process of responding when he was taken into custody."

Did anyone else in line have rights, or just this guy?

[redacted]

21. THAT IS BULLSHIT. Even if true, so what if those behind had to wait an extra 5 or even 10 minutes?

Stop making stupid excuses for the officer's tasering him. I'm really getting sick and tired of this "drive-thru window" culture that insists that the greatest harm is having to wait. Our First Amendment protects his right to speech and the most protected free speech right in this country is political speech. We have no constitutional amendment that guarantees anybody's right not to be delayed. If you're going to seriously argue that the police behavior was acceptable, maybe you can come up with a less absurd argument? You should be ashamed as well.

[jberryhill]

24. I'd simply like to know

Without being cussed out, yelled at or otherwise conversationally bullied.

No, "rights" don't belong to the guy who is big enough to elbow other people out of the way because his turn at the microphone is more important than someone else's.

I don't think he should have been tasered. If you would stop reaming other people out for a moment, you'd notice that I was just questioning your line about "cops stationed at the microphone".

So, let me see if I understand you. If the guy jumps in line and everyone else in the line decides to throw him to the floor and kick him while scrambling to be first at the microphone, that's all fine and dandy "free speech".

Bullshit yourself.

[Stuckinthebush]

26. Calm down and use logic

The kid was combative and out of control. THe police were right to try to remove him from the situation. He'd sit there all day and talk otherwise. This is a public forum and he was out of control.

[Daveparts]

19. 1:36

Is that rattling on? One minute thirty six seconds.

[Stuckinthebush]

20. Yes, this entire discussion is silly

The kid was out of control and the cops gave him ample opportunity to cool down. He wouldn't and continued to scream and yell.

I don't agree with the tasering, but they should have picked his dumb ass up and thrown him out of there.

Many on DU believe that it is a free speech issue.

It's not.

[redacted]

22. It sure as hell is a free speech issue. That's absolutely revolting that you would say it's not.

Sickening that you would seriously try to reframe this situation into something it is not. If there's a microphone, it's a public forum, and somebody's communicating, it's automatically a free speech issue.

:puke:

[Stuckinthebush]

25. It's not a free speech issue

The kid was given his time to ask a question and there were others there who wanted to ask questions. He kept talking (not really asking questions) and wouldn't relinquish the microphone. He was out of control and asked to move on. He refused. In our society, it is expected that we all act civilly. It is expected that we allow others to talk in forums such as this. It is expected that when asked to move on that we don't start screaming like children.

If the authorities arrested him for asking a question, then it would be a free speech issue. He was arrested for disorderly conduct. The tasering issues aside, the police were absolutely correct for asking him to move on and then correct in trying to get him to calm down and then correct for forcibly trying to get him to calm down and then correct for trying to remove him from the situation. He was combative.

I'm amazed at people who say this is a free speech issue. His speech was not the problem it was his combative actions that were problematic.

It doesn't make us less liberal to denounce this act by the kid. The tasering was unfortunate and unnecessary and should be investigated. That's a separate issue.

[karynnj]

11. The student, the cops, and the university are all at least somewhat to blame

Kerry gave this kid a chance to ask a question at a point the police were already ready to throw him out. He was nothing but rude and wouldn't let the Senator answer, but the Senator says he is ok with him staying. This was not Kerry's event, but the U of FL's, and he had no jurisdiction over the police.

Here is a Dkos diary with Kerry's statement, which superkia posted above, and his description to his netroots staffer of how and what he saw play out.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/9/18/125041/427

[redacted]

23. Kerry? "Jurisdiction?" Irrelevant. YOU CAN'T USE A WEAPON JUST BECAUSE SOMEONE'S ANNOYING.

PERIOD. END OF DISCUSSION.

I hope that kid's lawsuit bankrupts the university.

[Rhiannon12866]

14. Randi is discussing this right now and just had a caller that said she saw the video on DU.

After hearing the differing eyewitness reports of this earlier today, I wasn't sure what exactly happened, but after viewing this video, I believe that Randi is right in censuring the cops for over reacting, but I do believe that Kerry might not been aware of what happened until much later...