Student Tasered at Kerry Lecture
 

I'm a bit surprised that no one has posted this before. The story is here.

The bottom line is that there was a question and answer forum, and FSU student Andrew Meyer had gone over his time limit. The police stepped in, an argument ensued, and he was tasered & arrested.

Granted, he was over his time limit, but I've never seen such a curtail of free speech before in my life!

Uh, did you watch the video?

It was clear that he wasn't interested in asking a question at all, and was using the mic as his own podium. He was properly shut down, then removed when he made a scene. I have no problems with that - this isn't a "free speech" issue at all, really, and to portray it as such really smacks of being inflammatory or reactionist.

The only real issue should be whether the kid should have been hit with a taser - that's an issue of use of force, unrelated to speech at all. We don't have nearly enough information to determine whether the force was excessive - the video is heavily edited, gives no indication of whether he is struggling, and only shows that he was not subdued or cooperating at all . . . draw your own conclusions there, but don't act like this was Tiananmen Square or firehoses at Kent State. Jesus Christ.

As reported, he struggled with the campus police.

If he did get totally out of hand, sometimes it may be felt there was a need of extra force.

But if they could not subdue they have to make a moments judgement.

Being tasered will constrict the muscles and make the person totally unable to fight anymore.

Whether this was the case or not, I do not know, I was not there.

The right of freedom of speach? If there were limits set down they should be respected. It seems he was the more confrontational one first off.

The video only showed him talking for 15 seconds? I think i am missing the whole story. But it is quite sad, yet he should have left and complied with the police. Unfortunately since Kerry is a senator and former presidential candidate, he is entitled to a certain level of security. The kid seemed angry at him which could be considered a threat. (although iam not sure why he was) Tasing is not that big of a deal, I have been tasered by a friend and although it does hurt, its not lethal or anything under any circumstance. People need to learn to present their arguments in a respectful and educated manner, not screaming at Kerry like he just ran over your puppy.

The video was by a student w/ a camera so I'm not sure when it started.

I think it's funny that people blame Kerry for this. Like he sent the University Police after this guy. I haven't yet seen the video so I'm reserving judgement. People who've seen it have gone both ways on it and the students there definitely felt like he was treated improperly. (At least according to their student paper comments) Apparently the guys a known conspiracy "nut" but that doesn't justify being tasered if he was physically subdued.

I agree. The kid was acting like a douche. Sadly, he's a journalism major. I guess this video will be his ticket to work for the NYT.

Here is the least edited vid I could find on youtube.

Oddly enough the best background information I have found on this kid has been over on college humor.

“Don’t taze me bro!” What a douche…

Here’s a vid of the aftermath. Apparently the kid is worried that the cops are going to kill him.

/edit: added another vid

But don't you think there would be at least as much if not more "stifling-of-free speech" spin had it been a Bush or Cheney event, whether they had requested he be removed or not?

I think it's funny that he actually yelled "help!"

LMAO what a tool.

Right? I mean everyone knows that you’re supposed to yell fire when attempting to incite a riot. :)

Well you need tickets to those, and "known liberals" aren't allowed in.

Not that they don't try. ;)

Actually, there are a number of cases, two that I know of here in Denver, where subjects who were tased died, possibly due to pre-existing heart conditions that the tasing exaserbated.

It's not the norm, but it may well be lethal.

Here's a story:

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/201827_taser01.html

We both know it would have spun out of control, had the shoe been on the other foot.

One of the main reasons I posted.

When I first posted, the information about this guy being a conspiracy freak wasn't widely published, if at all. I was wondering more about whether the police who tasered him were college security, or regular police, and also the whole "why is he so weirded out when he's going with the Kerry program?" bit.

I'll save my other remark - free speech, don't you know?

please honey,

don't give him to us!! he is a student at the university of florida.

Oh I see what you did there!

There is no free speech allowed when GDub, Laura, or the twins come to town. You have to get tickets. You can't get a ticket if you're a white Irish Catholic girl from the suburbs. Why is that?

I can play this game alllllll day long.

Exactly - "free speech" is completely irrelevant to this event, just like it is at a Bush rally, just like it is on a message board, blah blah chow meow.

This kid was a douche, he did something stupid, he got whacked with a taser. This is NOT some sort of liberal mind-melding or limiting of conservative free speech - this kid was as far left as the eye can see, way off the reservation. At a Bush rally, he would have been tasered outside instead of inside, and we would all laugh at the kid for being a whiny crazy douche who couldn't follow the simple rules and make his point within conventions. Just like we are now.

Well, most of us.

ALSO, this is SUPERB - the Internet is truly amazing.

You have me (and probably a lot of other people) at a distinct disadvantage, as I don't know the details. I've gone to both Democratic and Republican events (yes, I changed parties) which both required tickets and didn't require tickets. The only time I was asked about my religion was for a Kennedy event. I'm also a white Irish girl from the suburbs, but my religion is freely mocked.

See, I can play the game, too - which doesn't mean that I care to. I got out of the hard core nonsense a while ago.

In finally seeing a better shot of footage, with that many Officers surrounding him, and they could not subdue him? I am woindering what is wrong with this picture.

There is a difference in subduing and tasering.

That is used as a last resort before shooting a person.

Thank goddnes they did not do that!:rolleyes:

The very first national report of this did say that he was shot - that's what caught my attention.

Now that I know it was campus police, and not local police, it does put a different spin on things.

http://www.alligator.org/articles/20...mpus/savvy.txt

Meyer no stranger to controversy

By KORI FREDERICK, Alligator Writer
Monday's Tasering did not mark the first time Andrew Meyer has been surrounded by controversy.

On Sept. 11, he protested with a giant sign on Turlington Plaza that claimed President Bush was responsible for the terrorist attacks of 2001.

On March 11, 2005, he wrote a column for the Alligator detailing his love of being confrontational.

"I absolutely love the thought that some nonsense I wrote irritated people enough for them to take time out of their day to let everyone know how much they disliked what I wrote," the column said.


From the bottom of the column, and maybe the real reason all of this happened:
Meyer, who celebrated his 21st birthday Sept. 15, runs a Web site -- www.theandrewmeyer.com -- where he airs his views on music, movies and politics. The site has had more than 45,000 hits since the arrest.

Bush events require tickets. The people handing out those tickets are very reticent about who they give them to. I'm not talking about fundraising dinners (of course those require tickets!) but simple speeches. Here's an article from 2005 discussing the issue:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,153720,00.html

I was denied tickets to events in 2004 on several occasions. I doubt it was because I am a white Irish Catholic girl from the suburbs - but I stated that to make it clear that I am not someone who appears to be a "terrorist" or of a race that (sadly) arouses suspsicion. In fact, when the twins came to Marquette, the rumor was that every member of the College Democrats was banned from attending.

While this is true, it pissed me off that Kerry's standing there saying "let him go, everyone calm down, I'd like to answer his questions," while they're dragging his ass outside for unknown reasons. Inciting a riot? Right. Yeah he's a douchey 21 year old but come on, I can't see the need for handcuffs and a taser when Kerry's standing on the stage willing to talk with this guy.

That other student taser video-I could see a reason for the eventual taser, but this one is just...ugh. If Kerry's willing to enter into discourse with the kid, I hardly see it as inciting a riot.
Of course that girl screeching in the background didn't help but I kind of felt the need to yell 'you guys are pigs' myself. Seriously, can't two big burly cops do the job? Did they need 5?

Sometimes they hit the taser to protect the kid from himself - if they're physically struggling, they can get much more seriously hurt than by being passive, and it's clear he was not cooperating.

Seriously, I'm not defending the campus cops - there were likely other methods they could have used, and we know almost nothing of the situation at all because even the best videos are pretty crappy - but yeah, there's a lot more going on here than a simple "yes/no" determination.

I think Kerry inadvertently made it worse by trying to be some sort of nice guy about it - the kid was making a scene, and while I'm glad Kerry wanted to answer about his time in the Skull & Bones, it's pretty superfluous and sort of dick to the rest of the crowd. This was pretty obviously calculated by Mr. Meyer, and I'm surprised Kerry's reaction was to diffuse it by prolonging the interaction.

I will agree with you on the calculated part, I was kinda wondering if he set it up so he could instigate whoever and see what happened, especially with his apparent history of recording his own practical jokes. I've never really been against tasers in my life, IDK, it just bugged me to see it used here for some reason. Guess that means I'm not a serial killer and don't enjoy watching people get hurt :P
You are right it is not a simple yes/no determination and freedom of speech certainly doesn't really come into it past cutting his mic :D

Nobody in their right mind considers this an issue of free speech. Neither conservative nor liberal.

The idiots who want to politicize this and turn this into something it's not need to concentrate on senators that have gay sex in Minnesota bathroom stalls and have nothing to stand on given the current administration's full court press on free speech.

-Rudey