What happened
Andrew Meyer, a 21-year-old University of Florida student, was arrested and Tasered Monday at a campus event after trying to ask Sen. John Kerry questions.
Meyer was arrested on charges of resisting an officer and disturbing the peace, and was released from jail Tuesday morning.
Source: The Associated Press
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Fla. student tasered while questioning U.S. senator
The story “Fla. student tasered while questioning U.S. senator” should have said the student was arrested while questioning the senator.
A University of Florida student with a history of taping his own practical jokes was Tasered on Monday by campus police and arrested after repeatedly trying to ask U.S. Sen. John Kerry questions during a campus forum.
Andrew Meyer, 21, spent a night in jail before his release Tuesday morning on his own recognizance. He had no comment when he left, and his attorney, Robert Griscti, did not return messages seeking comment.
East Lansing police Lt. Kevin Daley said police have the primary responsibility of maintaining order at a safe location for speech and protest.
“Crowd control is our main job,” Daley said. “Demonstrators have the right to demonstrate, but they have to do it within the confines of what we allow. Many times, that’s very tough.”
Videos of the incident show officers pulling Meyer 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.
University spokesman Steve Orlando said Meyer was asked to leave the microphone after his allotted time. Meyer can be seen refusing to walk away and getting upset that the microphone was cut off.
As two officers take Meyer by the arms, Kerry, D-Mass., can be heard saying, “That’s all right, let me answer his question.”
Audience members applaud, and Meyer struggles for several seconds as up to four officers try to remove him from the room. Meyer screams for help and tries to break away from officers, then is forced to the ground while officers order him to stop resisting.
As Kerry tells the audience he will answer the student’s “very important question,” Meyer yells at the officers to release him, crying out, “Don’t tase me, bro,” just before he is shocked by the Taser. He is then led from the room, screaming, “What did I do?”
Meyer was arrested on charges of resisting an officer and disturbing the peace, according to Alachua County jail records, but the State Attorney’s Office had yet to make the formal charging decision. Police recommended charges of resisting arrest with violence, a felony, and disturbing the peace and interfering with school administrative functions, a misdemeanor.
In a statement issued Tuesday, Kerry said he regretted that a healthy discussion was interrupted and that he had never had a dialogue end in 37 years of public appearances.
Daley said measures taken to keep a crowd under control vary depending on the rowdiness of protesters.
“If an individual was so unruly that he could not be removed without individuals being hurt, we would deploy whatever means necessary to ensure safety of all individuals,” he said.
The use of a Taser, though not out of the question, is strictly a defensive method, Daley said.
Scott Hendrickson, president of the MSU College Democrats, said his organization follows guidelines stated in the student activities handbook when inviting speakers to campus.
“There has to be a security plan that has to be drawn for MSU police and the Student Activities Security Team,” Hendrickson said.
Ben Morlock, chairman of MSU College Republicans, said the level of necessary security can often be predicted by the amount of protest at prior speaking engagements.
“Whenever you’re dealing with anything political, there are going to be factions that disagree with your views,” Morlock said.
“Some events require less security than others. I base it on the reaction that that person has received at other universities.”
Published on Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Comments
Steve Moyer
09/19/07 @ 12:25am
The video I saw on CNN was very different from the video I saw at Alternet. It seemed that the question about “skull and bones” was what set the officers in motion. The young man was obviously looking for a confrontation … and he got one … but the use of a taser was “over the top.” They had him subdued at that point. The only point of tasing him was to ‘shut him up.’ Over the line.
Fascist. Inexcusable.
Kunst
09/19/07 @ 12:29am
Defensive measure? Were the police in danger?
Timothy Sowders
09/19/07 @ 12:29am
This news story just goes to show the over reactions and abuse of power by police agencies across the country. We as citizens need to band together and let our government know this type of behavior will not be tolerated!
SHOCKED
09/19/07 @ 12:30am
The questioner should have left the microphone, however once Kerry said it was alright and he would answer that would have been the time to let him go back and get his answer. The questioner then escalated the incident by resisting the officers instead of complying. Ultimately he became his own worst enemy.
The lack of civility of Columbia students and their shouting down conservative speakers shows up the ultra left as young thugs.
Steve
09/19/07 @ 12:31am
This is so wrong on so many levels it is not even funny. This young man may have been a little disruptive in his questioning of John Kerry but he deserved to be heard. Its called free speech! I am sorry that some folks there felt uncomfortable with this young mans comments and questions but that does not give those in authority to gag his free speech. Sometimes speaking freely and openly gets a little messy, too bad! deal with it!
Tom Staub
09/19/07 @ 12:31am
Is the next “Kent State” not far off ?
Sigismund
09/19/07 @ 12:34am
If Kerry was willing to answer the man’s questions why didn’t the cops stand down? I saw the raw video and the guy was twitchy but was clearly not a threat to the speaker or anyone else. He just wanted to ask his question: Why didn’t Kerry stand up and demand that every vote be counted before conceding the election? The skull and bones question was a follow up since Kerry didn’t have an answer to the first, implying that Kerry and Bush may have been in cahoots to give Bush the election, that Kerry was just a stooge in the whole election farce. If all those officers couldn’t restrain one thin man maybe they need to go back to training. Tasing him was excessive force and clearly done out of anger, not self-defense, an all too common technique among our law enforcement these days.
Fritz
09/19/07 @ 12:41am
We were not there, but from crowd reaction (see videos of the event online), it seems as though the police action was welcomed by those in the room, perhaps except at the end when he was indeed tasered, and one woman can be heard asking ‘why?!”.
Jerzy M. Toranski
09/19/07 @ 1:00am
seeing short tape ran on the internet of the incident I was stunned by police absolutely unnecessary brutality, excesive force to say the least.
It appears as if Constitutional Rights were violated.
charles
09/19/07 @ 1:13am
John Kerry could have stopped it at any time by asking the cops to tone it down, instead of making a stupid joke that he wishes the student was on stage to swear him in as President.
Is this his idea of free speech when he becomes President ?
lightinEffects
09/19/07 @ 1:17am
Is anyone really surprised by police brutality? This happens all over the country, power corrupts. These police officers have too much power, and think there above us all, they forget, they are us. Interesting fact, did u know a long time ago, they werent called police officers, but instead “peace officers”, now they walk around with there gun like no one can stop them. Organized gang.
tec
09/19/07 @ 1:26am
just watched a video .. and read an article. the time limit was 3 min and the police jump him at like 2:30 it seems if just a 3 min.
Seems planed.
Rhino
09/19/07 @ 1:51am
The boy should have exercised a little more self-restraint, but I’m certain he was running purely on adrenalin and got the exact response he was hoping to get. The officers likely performed exactly as they were trained to do. What troubles me most, is that many of the comments above suggest that ‘free speech’ is still a right, as I agree that it should be, but it is not.
Wake up people. Your rights and freedoms are being stripped from you faster than they can be legislated. An immature outburst, in an uncontrolled manner, is more a part of the problem than it is a part of the solution. Make what you say, where you say it, how you say it, and who you say it to, count. Otherwise, there’s not much point in saying anything at all.
Land of the free? Home of the Brave? Prove it! Protect your constitution, before it become history.
Good Luck
Marc
09/19/07 @ 3:19am
This is horrific! Yes the student was a little over the top but the police were excessive in their force. The comments made by the police officers were that their actions were for the protection of the audience? Who needed protection? The students? The Cops? From what…a little yellow book the student was holding in his hand? Oh…i get it. Knowledge is a weapon…That’s right.
He was removed from the microphone for asking a tough question. If anything he should have been dragged out and handled in the lobby but these police officers shot themselves in the foot when they tazered him in front of everyone. Brutality…No….Excessive force…absolutely.
This student is going to win a lot of money once the lawsuit is settled.
John
09/19/07 @ 6:23am
Let’s get this straight. The headline for this story is dead wrong and misleading. This pompous self aggrandizing journalism student wasnt tasered for questioning Kerry. Any law enforcement officer who watched the video knows the reason that type of force was used, and any opinion to the contrary is indicative of an uninformed layman.
This jerk was disruptive and control was not for John Kerry to determine but the police. An incident can get quickly out of control in a public situation. This cretin was removed from the podium, flailed his arms and continued to flail when told he was under arrest. And get this…the law states you can’t resist arrest, even if you believe the arrest unlawful. He was larger in stature than the officers and resisted arrest, at which point a reasonable and necessary escalation of force was required. The taser was an option cops used and could have used other means that would not have only been appropriate but legal including hitting him if necessary to get him to comply.
This guy, contrary to the cop hater posts above, has no legal redress in court. This punk was looking for another self made creation for his blog/website. Instead, now he has a pending court case, may have a criminal record and will put more money into a defense attorney’s pocket. It’s obvious none of the posts are from anyone in the law enforcement community. Next time you get in trouble, call Andrew Meyer!
James
09/19/07 @ 7:21am
From the comments here, it sounds like a lot of people do not like the way the police handled the situation. I suppose they could have done better. It looks like we have a lot of new recruits for the force. Put your beliefs and values to work. Get your application in now for the next Police Acadamy. Make a difference.
Josh
09/19/07 @ 10:07am
First, the State News headline to this article is completely inaccurate and irresponsible.
Second, the reason this even made it onto the Drudge Report and national news outlets is because at least four police officers were holding him down on the ground by the time one of them pulled out the taser and used it. It was in no way necessary at that point. Those cops obviously have no idea when the right time to use a taser is. It’s like the old saying… “hitting them while they’re down,” altered to fit this event, “tasering him while he’s down.”
Spartan alum
09/19/07 @ 11:02am
I agree with the above post. Once he was down, he was down. There was no reason to use the Taser at that point.
John, this is not a case of necessary escalation of force; the kid was ON the GROUND, surrounded by several officers! They’d already used some force, and he wasn’t going ANYwhere.
The student was being disruptive and the organizers (and police, for that matter) had the right to ask him to leave. What happened after that was not necessary.
Bryant
09/19/07 @ 12:19pm
You have got to be kidding me with the he was already on the ground comment. Yes he was on the ground, but he still was not cooperating. What would you be saying if the police did not hit him with the taser and they ended up breaking his arm trying to put him in cuffs because he was resisting? As soon as he was tased things truned around quickly and he started to understand the seriousness of the situation that HE created.
And if free speech really meant that anyone at any time could run around spouting off, no one would ever be heard and nothing would ever get done. Free speech is a right, but your right to free speech does not trump other peoples rights life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
jes
09/19/07 @ 12:34pm
What is the answer to the question the kid asked.
jes
09/19/07 @ 12:35pm
What is the answer to the question the kid asked.
JR
09/19/07 @ 12:42pm
The headline is perhaps somewhat subjective, although the story is somewhat more repulsive on both sides of the story. A better headline would have read, “Fla. Student tasered during Senator Forum” — see Journalists have a tendancy to ‘Sensationalize’ headlines in order to provoke emotion before readers are able to understand the story. JRN 101
Josh
09/19/07 @ 1:36pm
Dear Bryant:
No, I wasn’t kidding. I know it sounded pretty funny though. Now that you mention it, I don’t know why they didn’t just shoot him in the back of the head. That would have also gotten him to stop struggling. Gone are the days of useless choke holds and ten hands on your body, disabling your every motion. Just taser the crap out of everyone. I suggest you go to your local police office and ask to be tasered so that you can understand how it was no big deal for them to use such a technique on someone who was not going anywhere. I’m sure it’s just like a bee sting or something.
Bryant
09/19/07 @ 1:57pm
Josh that is brilliant, they could have put him in a choke hold until he passed out or they all could have piled on him and sat there for hours on end until he finally decided to cooperate. I am guessing if they choked him or piled on him pinning him for an time lenght, you would still complain. The guy wanted to create a chaotic situation and did. You and I were not there and did not see what lead up to the video clips and did not hear everything that went on. The administer cut his mic in an attempt to end the situation, he continued. They asked him to leave he did not. The police tried to physically remove him and he resisted. They pinned him and he resisted. They tased him and he cooperated. Would he have started to cooperate if they choked him, who knows, but the police used what they considered the next step in the process of trying to control the situation. They did not walk up tase him and then try and remove him, he had plenty of oppertunity to cooperate HE chose to push the situation forward, the police simply reacted. Remember in the last year or so (even on the campus at MSU) several political speakers have been assaulted or attempts have been made to assualt political speakers. This guy wanted a bad situation, created a bad situation, and the police ended it. Good for the police!
rev
09/19/07 @ 2:13pm
Now you do what they told ya.
Josh
09/19/07 @ 2:17pm
I don’t remember any speaker on this campus being the victim of attempted assault. I remember speakers coming to campus and ADVOCATING the assaults of those who are different than them (eg illegal immigrants, legal immigrants, and the so-called “left wing scum”) ...but that’s getting off topic. At no point did this prankster indicate an intention to harm Mr. Kerry.
Todd
09/19/07 @ 3:48pm
The jackass deserved to be tasered and should have been tasered harder! Obviously everyone people blaming the police and crying “free speech?” must be brain dead— the jerk was INTERFERING with free speech and disrupting a civil dialogue! The cops deserve a commendation not a suspension!
Bryant
09/19/07 @ 3:56pm
The YAF, or what ever the are called, using the term smashing left wing scum, could very well be construed as a provocation of violence and should be discontinued should they wish to preserve any shred of creditability, if they have any left.
However, Tom Tancredo did not nor does he condom or advocate violence against any one. Furthermore, pulling the fire alarm, spitting at people, yelling and caring on, and slashing tires, as was done by protesters at this event, are or could be considered acts of violence. It is these acts and others, like hitting Ann Coulter with pies, which are very much on point.
The police did not have the luxury of watching the video on u tube a dozen times before making the conclusion that this individual did not want to actually hurt John Kerry or any one else. They had no way of knowing if he was just an individual or if he was acting in concert with others. You have the luxury of looking back and judging, remember the saying hindsight is 20/20. I understand that there is no ending to this that will satisfy you (Josh), short of this guy being allowed to just spout off with complete disregard and disrespect for the people around him and their rights, but the bottom line remains; this guy, and this guy alone is responsible for creating that situation, not the police.
Travis
09/19/07 @ 3:59pm
This was an abuse of power plain and simple.
Uhprazer
09/19/07 @ 4:18pm
This young man did nothing wrong; Senator Kerry wanted to answer his question but he needed to step up to the plate and take charge. He was holding a book, a book I am reading now, so I know exactly what he was saying. Freedom of speech means nothing to America anymore. Our democracy is dying, we are now in a fascist state, and most young people are not understanding what the republicans are doing to us. Is this representative of democracy we are trying so hard to spread? People, start carrying a copy of the Constitution and Bill of Rights with you so you know how you can be protected. I am giving my sons copies so they know.
Josh
09/19/07 @ 5:38pm
Come on, hitting Ann Coulter with pies is just plain fun and should be encouraged.
And I was not referencing Tancredo so much as Chris Simcox. Tancredo only subversively encourages racial violence. Simcox makes it open policy.
But yes, we should stop our bickering. We see the world differently. I will close by reiterating that the only person who should be tasered while under full restraint is Ann Coulter.
(Note to Matt Drudge, pending my future political career: I am kidding. That last bit was a joke. Pies yes. Taser no.)
Jon
09/19/07 @ 6:42pm
Time to march on washington people..
jim
09/19/07 @ 8:50pm
IS BEING TASERED THE NOW PRICE OF FREE SPEECH ? ? ?
Geoff
09/23/07 @ 10:35am
I can’t believe that the cops would taser someone for asking a qusetion and call it maintaining order. Under whos training was this percived as a disruptive? You mean to tell me a room full of cops can’t escort one 19yr old kid out of a room with out being tasered? And you wonder why there is such mistrust of law enforcement? They all should be fired.