U. of Florida Student Arrested & Tasered at John Kerry Forum for Asking Questions.

[dazzledbylight]

Originally posted by joyfulgirl
Though Kerry didn't see everything that was happening, the fact that the police forcibly removed the guy while he was asking a question that Kerry was willing to answer seems like enough for Kerry to have responded with something stronger. He may not have anticipated the student getting tasered but he must have known that just removing the guy was way off.

But I agree with U2Democrat that Kerry shouldn't be the main focus of criticism.

no i think he isa part of it in this sense.........
.......i mean, if the guy turned to be a more serious problem then it would have come out...but I'd rather Kerry had really used some REAL lung power right thren and there. Maybe it wouldn't have stopped it, but maybe it would of. Kerry WAS right there at the start.

as to police.........
I've been at , mnay various [ real political type] events with Q & A's thru the years....
....if someone got obnoxious, eventually the mike would be cut off, the audience boo , and i don't know if I've ever seen local internal security people do someting [let alone have police there] etc and things would wind down eventually.

ANd i mean post-1968 when political figures & the event holder had to be more concerned about safety/dsecurity issues.


This was apalling!
I would have been horrified if I'd been there!

Some talk show host on the radio said they guys likes to sometimes provoke people ..and thought he was "over-acting"..
.............that still dosen't "earn" him being manhadled and tasered.

yeah, like right..........how'd you like 4 or so officers around you, moving you away, forcing you on the ground, and then tasering you? fucking hell..........

maybe the police, or somebody didn't like the questions.........?

[dazzledbylight]

Originally posted by U2democrat



Amen!!!!!


<----------------5'2"

u2dem

I'm 5' 7' tallish for a woman espof my age { you youn'gins are slowly growing taller on the average }
and i hate when all the 6 ft guys block my view!

[deep]

Originally posted by dazzledbylight



u2dem

I'm 5' 7' tallish for a woman

runs to get taser

[dazzledbylight]

Originally posted by deep


runs to get taser

*runs very fast & ffarrrrrrrrrrrrr away!!!*

[U2girl]

Originally posted by BonoVoxSupastar
I remember a thread a while back about a tasering on campus, can't remember what the issue that started it, but it was very similar to this. It was on campus, several different videos circulating on the internet, and the procedure was similar(if I remember right) they hauled him almost to the exit and then tasered him right there as they had him held down.

Yes, I believe it was a library on campus and the guy refused to leave.
He started screaming "What did I do?" and "I'm not resisting arrest." He got tasered 5 or 6 times, yet at the same time being asked to "get up".

As for "Kerry could have stopped this" (assuming he saw tasers being used), there were people in immediate proximity in that particular campus library incident that demanded the officer's badges/names and yelled at the cops to stop the taser ab(use). The police's response ? "You'll be next."

Hopefully the video can be evidence enough for the policemen to be punished.

[MrsSpringsteen]

Apparently he has a history of pulling pranks and then posting them on his web site as some sort of claim to fame. So perhaps that was his goal, it did seem rather melodramatic even before he was tasered. That doesn't excuse at all the way the police reacted, but maybe it's a reason for his behavior prior to the tasering. Maybe he wanted some drama-not that sort of drama obviously.

[joyfulgirl]

Originally posted by dazzledbylight


no i think he isa part of it in this sense.........
.......i mean, if the guy turned to be a more serious problem then it would have come out...but I'd rather Kerry had really used some REAL lung power right thren and there. Maybe it wouldn't have stopped it, but maybe it would of. Kerry WAS right there at the start.

see my later post in which, after seeing a clearer video of the incident, I was more critical of Kerry - I agree with you, basically

[MrsSpringsteen]

ocala.com

GAINESVILLE - Police have released the incident report detailing the Tasering of a University of Florida student during a campus forum with Sen. John Kerry Monday, and the officer who actually Tasered Andrew Meyer wrote in the report that Meyer later told police, "You didn't do anything wrong."

In the 12-page report, which gives accounts of the incident from the perspective of eight different officers who were present Monday afternoon, Officer Nicole Mallo writes that Meyer would only resist officers when cameras were present.

"As (Meyer) was escorted down stairs (at the University Auditorium) with no cameras in sight, he remained quiet, but once the cameras made their way down stairs he started screaming and yelling again," Mallo wrote.

Mallo was one of two officers who actually rode in the vehicle as Meyer was escorted to the Alachua County jail, and she said said he told them during the ride: "I am not mad at you guys, you didn't do anything wrong, you were just trying to do your job," according to Mallo's account.

Mallo also wrote in her report that he asked, at one point, if cameras would be present at the jail.

The report details the events leading up to Meyer's arrest, saying that Meyer was in line to ask a question of Sen. Kerry when it was decided that no more questions would be allowed.

Meyer continued down the aisle toward Sen. Kerry angrily, according to police, saying he wanted the senator to answer his question because he had been waiting for two hours.

Though Sen. Kerry directed that Meyer be allowed to ask his question, police reported that Meyer did not ask any specific question and instead "badgered" the senator, and at one point said something about President Clinton being impeached over a sexual act.

At that point, police reported that ACCENT Director Max Tyroler turned off Meyer's microphone and asked police to escort him out of the auditorium, saying, "He had said enough," according to Officer Mallo's report.

Officers then proceeded to attempt to remove Meyer from the room, but when he resisted, they placed him on the ground and tried to handcuff him. The six officers who actually took part in holding Meyer down while he was being handcuffed reported that they were only able to get a handcuff on his right hand because he was squirming so much.

The supervising officer, Sgt. Eddie King, attempted to Taser Meyer on his chest, but he reported that his Taser would not deploy. He then instructed Mallo to Taser Meyer, and she Tasered him on his shoulder, according to one of the officer's report.

The officers were then able to fully handcuff Meyer and escort him from the building. Each of the six officers reported that Meyer yelled things like, "They're going to kill me," and, "They are giving me to the government," while he was being taken from the room.

Friends say student arrest not a stunt
6:37 p.m.

Despite humorous videos, pictures and acts attributed to Andrew Meyer online, friends of the University of Florida student insist his arrest Monday at an appearance by Sen. John Kerry was not any sort of publicity stunt.

"I think he just got scared," said Jon Levy, who identified himself as a student and a friend of Meyer's. "He is a funny person, but he is a funny person who really wants political change.

"He went there to ask some tough questions," Levy said.

Another friend and UF student, Michael Goldman, said he didn't believe Meyer intended for anything unusual to happen.

However, one of the many videos circulating of the incident was shot with Meyer's own camera.

Clarissa Jessup, who was standing near Meyer just before UF Police Tasered him and took him into custody, said Meyer asked her to film him asking Kerry a question just before he approached the microphone.

That has given rise to rumors that Meyer, who aspires to work in the national media, was hoping to get arrested or videotaped as part of some sort of elaborate stunt. But Jessup, who says she never met Meyer prior to the forum, says she thinks he simply wanted a video of himself talking to Kerry.

"I don't even know this kid," said Jessup, rebuffing any notion that she'd collaborated with Meyer to film an incident he knew would escalate.

Additionally, some content on Meyer's Web site, TheAndrewMeyer.com, suggests that Meyer is a bit of a prankster.

For example, one post written by Meyer recounts a time that he wore a funny hat and a blue tank top to a nice restaurant. He said his friends should have been, "accustomed and expecting of my uncanny ways." The post also says: "There is no wiggle room in the world these days for the dancing jester. There are specific social mores that must be upheld no matter how silly the place, the rules must be followed."

A video titled "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" features a man dressed in drag who becomes an attractive blonde after a few drinks.

Friends said Meyer didn't create all of the movies on the site and weren't sure which ones he had.

One of the posts on his Web site is a described as a "disorganized diatribe."

It criticizes media content, especially about the Iraq War.

A major theme in the post is lack of media coverage of important issues like the War in Iraq and the media's focus on entertainment issues.

One excerpt from that article reads: "The news is designed to keep viewers watching and sedated and not thinking bad thoughts about America, because that would be bad for the economy. Stories about a severely unbalanced budget are out, train wrecks like Paris and Anna are in. A train wreck may be senseless and pointless, but Americans sure do love to watch."

Levy said that he feels most news media are missing the issue that Meyer's incident should have brought up.

"The issue he was trying to get at was getting people to be more informed and willing to ask questions," Levy said, adding that he had talked to Meyer earlier Tuesday.

He mentioned what he called the irony that Meyer was asking a question when the scuffle with University Police began.

Meyer was a student writer at one time for the Sun-Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale. A description on the Sun-Sentinel Web site written by Meyer says: "Andrew tries to write mostly whimsical nonsense columns about nothing in particular, yet occasionally finds himself angry enough to rain down fire and brimstone on an unsuspecting politician or celebrity."

He also expresses his disdain for referring to himself in the third person, yet in most of his posts and on his Facebook.com profile he refers to himself as The Andrew Meyer.

[BVS]

I have no doubt that he did alot of this for the cameras, but I have a hard time believing this is exactly how he said this:

and the officer who actually Tasered Andrew Meyer wrote in the report that Meyer later told police, "You didn't do anything wrong."

[Headache in a Suitcase]

so he's tried to get attention to himself. great.

some students in ohio tried to get attention for themselves once. they spoke their mind, and then they were taken care of. i guess that was just an example of excensive force, and not of one's civil rights being violated, either.

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Originally posted by dazzledbylight




oh, Headache, please go read some history or do some googling, .....there are democrats AND republicans {NOT neo-cons} who have {and are} stood up for various crucial things through the decades.

yes... there are still plenty of democrats and republicans who are standing up for various crucial things when it's politicaly convienient for them to do so.

[MrPryck2U]

Ok, let's have a Devil's Advocate moment here:

Didn't this dude ever watch an episode of Cops? If he just went along peacefully, they wouldn't have tasered him. But, there he was resisting, so they pretty much decided the only way to control him was to taser his ass.

[Irvine511]

i think this guy is probably a pain in the ass.

i think campus police knew he was a pain in the ass.

i think he was being a pain in the ass at the speech.

and i'm sickened and frightened at what happened to him, to actually yell, "don't taser me, bro!" when you have 5-6 police officers sitting on top of you, and then to have him tasered, while people stand around and video the whole thing (not that they should have or could have intervened) is completely inexcusable. it was the most disturbing thing i saw yesterday, and yesterday as i was walking down 16th street i saw an accident where a car flipped over and a woman was trapped inside and they had to cut off the door with the Jaws of Life and they pulled her out and she was covered in blood and they backboarded her and put her in an ambulance.

the officer(s) who tasered this student should be fired, and prosecuted.

[joyfulgirl]

Originally posted by Irvine511
i think this guy is probably a pain in the ass.

i think campus police knew he was a pain in the ass.

i think he was being a pain in the ass at the speech.

and i'm sickened and frightened at what happened to him, to actually yell, "don't taser me, bro!" when you have 5-6 police officers sitting on top of you, and then to have him tasered, while people stand around and video the whole thing (not that they should have or could have intervened) is completely inexcusable.

the officer(s) who tasered this student should be fired, and prosecuted.

[Flying FuManchu]

Police report student told them: 'You didn't do anything wrong'

BY ALICE WALLACE
The Gainesville Sun

5:52 p.m.
GAINESVILLE - Police have released the incident report detailing the Tasering of a University of Florida student during a campus forum with Sen. John Kerry Monday, and the officer who actually Tasered Andrew Meyer wrote in the report that Meyer later told police, "You didn't do anything wrong."

In the 12-page report, which gives accounts of the incident from the perspective of eight different officers who were present Monday afternoon, Officer Nicole Mallo writes that Meyer would only resist officers when cameras were present.

"As (Meyer) was escorted down stairs (at the University Auditorium) with no cameras in sight, he remained quiet, but once the cameras made their way down stairs he started screaming and yelling again," Mallo wrote.

Mallo was one of two officers who actually rode in the vehicle as Meyer was escorted to the Alachua County jail, and she said said he told them during the ride: "I am not mad at you guys, you didn't do anything wrong, you were just trying to do your job," according to Mallo's account.

Mallo also wrote in her report that he asked, at one point, if cameras would be present at the jail.

The report details the events leading up to Meyer's arrest, saying that Meyer was in line to ask a question of Sen. Kerry when it was decided that no more questions would be allowed.

Meyer continued down the aisle toward Sen. Kerry angrily, according to police, saying he wanted the senator to answer his question because he had been waiting for two hours.

Though Sen. Kerry directed that Meyer be allowed to ask his question, police reported that Meyer did not ask any specific question and instead "badgered" the senator, and at one point said something about President Clinton being impeached over a sexual act.

At that point, police reported that ACCENT Director Max Tyroler turned off Meyer's microphone and asked police to escort him out of the auditorium, saying, "He had said enough," according to Officer Mallo's report.

Officers then proceeded to attempt to remove Meyer from the room, but when he resisted, they placed him on the ground and tried to handcuff him. The six officers who actually took part in holding Meyer down while he was being handcuffed reported that they were only able to get a handcuff on his right hand because he was squirming so much.

The supervising officer, Sgt. Eddie King, attempted to Taser Meyer on his chest, but he reported that his Taser would not deploy. He then instructed Mallo to Taser Meyer, and she Tasered him on his shoulder, according to one of the officer's report.

The officers were then able to fully handcuff Meyer and escort him from the building. Each of the six officers reported that Meyer yelled things like, "They're going to kill me," and, "They are giving me to the government," while he was being taken from the room.

LMAO at the attention whoring to the extreme from this guy. Obviously he watched episodes of COPS.

I give the benefit of the doubt to the above report and wouldn't be surprised if it's true.

[Flying FuManchu]

Originally posted by Irvine511
i think this guy is probably a pain in the ass.

i think campus police knew he was a pain in the ass.

i think he was being a pain in the ass at the speech.

and i'm sickened and frightened at what happened to him, to actually yell, "don't taser me, bro!" when you have 5-6 police officers sitting on top of you, and then to have him tasered, while people stand around and video the whole thing (not that they should have or could have intervened) is completely inexcusable. it was the most disturbing thing i saw yesterday, and yesterday as i was walking down 16th street i saw an accident where a car flipped over and a woman was trapped inside and they had to cut off the door with the Jaws of Life and they pulled her out and she was covered in blood and they backboarded her and put her in an ambulance.

the officer(s) who tasered this student should be fired, and prosecuted.

I think the cops did their job, but since it was a woman police officer involved, mebbe it's proof that females shouldn't be on the field as cops?

[joyfulgirl]

Originally posted by Flying FuManchu


I think the cops did their job, but since it was a woman police officer involved, mebbe it's proof that females shouldn't be on the field as cops?

[Flying FuManchu]

Originally posted by No spoken words
I'm pretty sure FuManchu is trying to get everyone's goat in here. That, or he's delusional.

I watched the video 3 times now, and it gets more and more unnerving. I cannot come close to accurately describing how much this episode bothers me.

The guy did not one thing to warrant this sort of treatment. So frustrating to me. So fucking frustrating.

I'm not delusional. Believe it or not, I'm not surprised at all at the use of a taser on this douchebag. Police have been using a taser as a means to subdue people for a while now. If you are being "belligerent" and if you are not following the officers' directions AND "resisting" arrest (which was what was happening, considering they were trying to put the cuffs on him) don't be surprised if you get your ass tazed. Douchebag wasn't some little old lady, he was a grown adult who was giving a number of those people in uniform trouble AND he attempted to flee at the door. If you came off as a fruitcake and try to run off while you have a former Presidential candidate/ Senator in the same room, don't expect the officers to be all hunky dory. It's just common sense, IMO. People in the audience or you all at home may look at this video, and make the judgement that he is just a douche fruitcake, however, the police erred on the side of caution b/c they don't truly know who "sane" this guy truly is and they are the once having "the adrenaline rush" of having to apprehend a person.... and they gave him a shock that he probably enjoyed because he is douchey attention whore.

How bout this social experiment. Why don't you all speed, in your cars, and try to get pulled over by the cops. Once the cop pulls you over, and is walking towards your car to ask for your license and registration, just open your door and walk out to greet him/ her and see what the reaction from the cop might be, cuz I'll tell you, it won't be pleasant. And don't be surprised if he/ she pulls a gun or tazer and tells you to get on the ground or hands up. The point of this example- believe it or not, there is a certain "protocol" when dealing with police. You don't come out of your car no matter how harmless you might think it is (even making sudden movements while in the car is frowned upon). If you're resisting arrest and causing a disturbance and then you are told that you are gonna get tazed, several times, then don't be surprised that you do get tazed.

[MrsSpringsteen]

Originally posted by joyfulgirl

Why the eye rolling? She was probably on her period too

[Irvine511]

FFM: the more you say "douchebag" the better your argument becomes.