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

[Headache in a Suitcase]

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

http://youtube.com/watch?v=iqAVvlyVbag

GAINESVILLE, Florida (AP) -- A University of Florida student was Tasered and arrested after trying to ask U.S. Senator John Kerry about the 2004 election and other subjects during a campus forum.

Videos of the incident posted on several Web sites show officers pulling Andrew Meyer, 21, away from the microphone after he asks Kerry about impeaching President Bush and whether he and Bush were both members of the secret society Skull and Bones at Yale University.

"He apparently asked several questions -- he went on for quite awhile -- 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."

As two officers take Meyer by the arms, Kerry, D-Massachusetts, is heard to say, "That's alright, let me answer his question." Audience members applaud, and Meyer struggles to escape for several seconds as up to four officers try to remove him from the room. Watch I-Reporter's disturbing video of Meyer being Tasered »

Meyer screams for help and asks "What did I do?" as he tries to break away from officers. He is forced to the ground and officers order him to stop resisting. Meyer says he will walk out if the officers let him go.

As Kerry tells the audience he will answer the student's "very important question," Meyer struggles on the ground and yells at the officers to release him, crying out, "Don't Tase me, bro," just before he is Tasered. He is then led from the room, screaming, "What did I do?"

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.

It was not known if Meyer had an attorney.

Orlando said university police would conduct an internal investigation.

"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."

 

[U2democrat]

I just saw footage of this on CNN. I'm really not sure if tasering was necessary, unless it was absolutely impossible for the police to drag him out.

Kerry was willing to answer his question before the whole fiasco started, i don't know why they didn't let him

 

[BVS]

I saw this on the Today show, they had some better footage, but it's still unapparent as to why he was actually tasered. They did do a little back story on the guy, apparently he's known for being "anti-establishment" and has caused some controversies on campus before, but nothing violent. So I wonder if the security was already on the look for him, or if he had already done something earlier to piss them off, not that that justifies anything. 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. I wonder if this somehow is procedure, if so we need to re-examine and do a re-write.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

i hate these anti-estabilshment, everything's a conspiracy schmuckos as much as the next guy... but this guy did absolutely nothing wrong. he asked a few questions in an open forum and was dragged off and then tasered. this video shook me a bit to watch it, i have to be perfectly honest... a lot more than, say, a rambling emmy speech getting bleeped out.

 

[LarryMullen's POPAngel]

Completely unnecessary, whether this dude was anti-establishment or not.

 

[CTU2fan]

Asshats. You'd think Kerry saying he'd answer the guy's questions would have been enough for them to ease up. Has Kerry made any statement?

 

[redhotswami]

Asshats.

love it!

 

[phanan]

There were like five or six officers there, and one of them was quite big. I don't see why they just didn't carry him out instead of tasering the guy. Sure, he was an asshole, but they could've tried getting him out of there better.

 

[joyfulgirl]

I wouldn't call the guy an asshole. His questions were legitimate and he did absolutely nothing wrong. Who in the same situation wouldn't have started shouting and asking why he was being dragged off. This is shocking. And yet...not so shocking in this political climate. Depressing more than shocking, actually.

 

[MrPryck2U]

Hey, welcome to America, where if we don't like what you're saying we'll taser your ass instead of removing you from the room. Can you say overreaction?

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

shocking and not shocking, indeed.

it's nice that kerry just sat there and continued talking as this was going on... not that i expected him to go down and physicaly get involved but a "hey, hands off that guy" woulda been nice. just goes to prove that they're all part of the same hypocrisy.

 

[CTU2fan]

shocking and not shocking, indeed.

it's nice that kerry just sat there and continued talking as this was going on... not that i expected him to go down and physicaly get involved but a "hey, hands off that guy" woulda been nice. just goes to prove that they're all part of the same hypocrisy.

Yeah I was thinking the same thing. Take Bono for example (this is a U2 site after all), if you've heard/seen any of the older bootlegs he's forever ripping some security guys for being overly physical with a rowdy fan. I'd have liked to see Kerry do/say something to put a stop to it.

 

[MissVelvetDress_75]

The handling of this student’s removal from the podium was absolutely appalling. I did not see him making any threatening remarks to warrant that treatment.

 

[U2democrat]

Kerry was in a damned if you do and damned in you don't position...how was he to know how far the officers would take it? If he were to say lay off he could be labeled as anti-police, and as we see here not saying anything he's seen as defending their actions. He shouldn't be a distraction from the issue at hand, the police actions against this seemingly nonviolent student.

 

[joyfulgirl]

On Tuesday, Kerry released a statement saying he was not aware of the severity of the police response.

"In 37 years of public appearances, through wars, protests and highly emotional events, I have never had a dialogue end this way. I believe I could have handled the situation without interruption, but again 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 answering him when he was taken into custody. I was not aware that a Taser was used until after I left the building. I hope that neither the student nor any of the police were injured. I regret enormously that a good healthy discussion was interrupted," Kerry said.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

to play devil's advocate here... would we not be talking about hte person who was giving the speech if it was, say, condy rice? don rumsfeld? rudy giuliani? george bush?

 

[CTU2fan]

Kerry was in a damned if you do and damned in you don't position...how was he to know how far the officers would take it? If he were to say lay off he could be labeled as anti-police

Good point.

 

[U2democrat]

I don't care who the politician would have been, Democrat, Republican, independent green, blue, white, whatever. The issue at hand is not Kerry or [insert politicians name here], it is the actions taken by the police. Even if he had said lay off, do you think they would have?

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

yes, i do.

 

[deep]

to play devil's advocate here... would we not be talking about the person who was giving the speech if it was, say, condy rice? don rumsfeld? rudy giuliani? george bush?

if it was Bush

this guy would have never even got within 100 yards of the venue

 

[LarryMullen's POPAngel]

Interesting point.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

it would be nice if once, just once... one of these blowhards who preaches about how our civil rights are being violated actually stood up for someone else's, especially when it's happening right in front of their own eyes.

it's why i hate democrats as much as i hate republicans. they're all hypocrits.

 

[joyfulgirl]

it would be nice if once, just once... one of these blowhards who preaches about how our civil rights are being violated actually stood up for someone else's, especially when it's happening right in front of their own eyes.

it's why i hate democrats as much as i hate republicans. they're all hypocrits.

I tend to agree.

 

[BVS]

But how do you stand up for someone when you don't know the whole story? I mean if I were in Kerry's shoes my gut reaction would have been to say something, but if it turned out that this guy made a threat off mic, or a threatening guesture, or had a knife that I didn't see or know about, I would have looked the fool for standing up for someone who was a real threat.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

look, i can't see how it all happened from kerry's point of view, but one would think that everyone had to pass through some pretty tight security to get into the place, and from the video it's fairly clear as day to see that all the guy had in his hands was a book.

i have to think though... if he just would have asked kerry about his feelings on battlestar galactica, none of this would have happend.

 

[deep]

I only watched this youtube once at 2 AM last night.

But, I don't recall Kerry getting upset with the guy
and I do recall him saying more than once he would answer the questions.

also, most of the confrontation is in the back of gymnasium and even outside in the hall way

I don't know how much Kerry could see

what we saw and heard is bad

but Kerry was out of range




I could speculate about the motivation of the campus police

I don't see them as being pro-Kerry

 

[BVS]

look, i can't see how it all happened from kerry's point of view, but one would think that everyone had to pass through some pretty tight security to get into the place, and from the video it's fairly clear as day to see that all the guy had in his hands was a book.

I know, I'm just playing devil's advocate in order to cover all ground. Yes, logic tells us he's gone through a security check, etc but when actually up there and watching this as it happens and all of the commotion, I'm sure it is somewhat scary being in Kerry's shoes...

i have to think though... if he just would have asked kerry about his feelings on battlestar galactica, none of this would have happend.

Oh, well absolutely... better yet tell Kerry he should have molded his campaign based on BG.

 

[Irvine511]

i have to think though... if he just would have asked kerry about his feelings on battlestar galactica, none of this would have happend.

it is, after all, the most politically brilliant show in the history of the whole universe.

was the student Palestinian?

 

[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.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

he shouldn't, but he is part of the problem... as are all those who i named before, neither of whom do i think would have spoken up if put in the same situation.