University of Florida Student Tasered At Political Rally

An anonymous reader writes "During a political rally at the University of Florida, an annoying student was tasered while attempting to ask Senator Kerry (D-MA) some questions regarding the 2004 election. Police are looking into whether excessive force was used to prevent the student from going over his alloted question period." There are also several YouTube videos available of the incident.

When someone is being an ass, don't drag them out

[nysus (162232)]

One version the story is that this guy was pushy in getting to the mic and about asking his questions even though they were out of time.

Even if that's the case, there are far better ways to handle a questioner who hogs the stage. Whoever was in charge of that event should have politely interrupted, loudly say "Sorry, we have no time for further questions," and cut the mic off. This was totally uncalled for. The University, a state institution, should get their asses sued off.

Tasers != Non-lethal

[GodfatherofSoul (174979)]

This is a growing problem with tasers. Law enforcement starts to think that they're harmless tools, which increases the likelihood of use. But, tasers are still somewhat dangerous and even lethal [google.com] in some cases.

Re:Tasers != Non-lethal

[Nymz (905908)]

Electrocuting people in order to control them, or torture them, is not the mark of a civilized society.

Inapproprate use of force?

[WPIDalamar (122110)]

I'm sure different police precints are different, but I know at least some of them consider a taser to be only slightly below a firearm and should only be used when the officer feels that either themselves or someone else is in danger. This kid was handcuffed on the floor with 3 (4?) cops on top of him, how could he be a danger to anyone?

Re:Inapproprate use of force?

[Scrameustache (459504)]

This kid was handcuffed on the floor with 3 (4?) cops on top of him, how could he be a danger to anyone?

I count 6 on him (including one blad black one that looks like he's at least 260lbs) and another standing around. He was not a danger, he was simply refusing to RESPECT THEIR AUTHORITAY!

Pigs.

[spocksbrain (1097145)]

So four cops couldn't take down one scrawny journalism student and cuff him without using a god-damn taser? I'll be the first to admit that the kid was trying to get attention by pulling a stunt, however, the actions of these cops are nothing short of barbaric and excessive. These stories of police brutality are getting FAR to common. There is a much larger percent of are police force made up of garbage like these pigs than most people would think.

Hog at the mic

[IndustrialComplex (975015)]

I caught a glimpse of this kid on the news before I left for work today. While I'm sure that the clip was edited for 'mainstream news', he got going on subjects that were important to him. He was determined to make his statement, and give his views to John Kerry. A statement with a question mark at the end isn't really a question.

If you have ever participated in any town hall style meeting, you generally get one or two questions, then you sit your butt down and let another person have the podium. While I respect this kid's right to expressing his views, there is a whole room full of people who also would like the chance to ask their questions. He was offered the chance to step down several times, and got riled up after they cut the mic.

Now as for the tasering, I didn't see the part between where the mic got cut and he got tased, but given his demeanor around the time his mic got cut, I don't think it was fair for him to force them to pull him off the stage. If you are going to complain about being tasered, make sure that you don't start out by giving them a good reason to be physically pulling you away from the podium in the first place.

As a disclaimer, I generally find the use of tasers to be too rampant. Some crazy guy with a sword in a mall and no pants? Sure taser him (been there, done that. On the safe side of the taser thankfully) Some 12 yr old girl who took a swing at you? Take the hit and cuff her, no taser necessary. I was punched by some 14 yr old kid who flipped out over a breakup with his girlfriend. Even then I didn't need a taser.

The kid in this video? I need to see more of the video.

If you ever want to 'resist' then I highly suggest you just go limp, don't fight back. A limp body is still damned hard to move and makes it much easier for your lawyer to defend you in court than if you run, swing, bite, yell.

Re:Going limp not recommended

[IndustrialComplex (975015)]

I don't mean to suggest that you won't get arrested, charged, or tasered. But if someone manages to record you getting tasered, and you were just sitting there, or completely passive, it will at least net you some points on the blogs when the video hits youtube.

And it will allow your lawyer to say things like, "And here we see a completely passive person being needlessly tasered by over-aggressive police."

Instead of this: "Well, you can see from the angle that my client wasn't actually trying to punch the cop in the face, but was just waving to some friends behind the cop."

Use of tazer.

[UncHellMatt (790153)]

While that kid was kind of annoying, according to the article, he did not warrant use of a taser (at least by the standards of the police station I work for). He was already on the ground, he was already under control. Once the person is down and double cuffed, that should be it, drag his sorry backside out.

Of course, I can see many times where use of a taser is more than justified.

"The argument over which is better, VI or Emacs, is perfectly val*ZZZZAP!!*GUAAAHHHHHGH!*"

Taser-happy cops

[jollyreaper (513215)]

Tasers can kill people. They should not be used in lieu of muscle and control holds, they should be used when the only other option is lethal force and the cop feels he can use a weapon of less than lethal force to subdue the individual without putting himself or the lives of others at risk.

Cops will taser anyone these days.

Help! I'm being oppressed!

[hansamurai (907719)]

I honestly expected the guy to yell out "Help! I'm being repressed" as he was carried out of the room.

"Did you see him repressing me? You saw him, didn't you?"

Cuffed and then tasered...

[realsilly (186931)]

Ladies and Gentlemen, while I'm sure there is more that meets the eye to this video that shows a very disgusting display of police domination, we still have a Constitutional guarantee of our freedom of speech. He was neither hurting anyone or making threats while on the mic.

He wasn't even totally acting outrageous when the mic was turned off. He was somewhat forcefully escorted out of the room and then being arrested. We need to know, what was his crime for the Arrest to take place. Why, when there were approximately 3 to 5 officers holding this young man on the ground did they then feel there was a need to Taser him.

Where was his aggressive crime that threatened the life of another that would warrant the need for a Taser? According to the limited video, there was none visible.

This appears to be a gross abuse of police force. Many more people should be outraged.

Why is this country so great? It is because men and women before us stepped up to the podiums throughout history to cry out against government, and political individuals. This is why this country is great. But now it appears that to speak out is a crime by the very act of opening your mouth. This is just wrong.

Re:Move over Geraldo.

[SimonGhent (57578)]

> Police are looking into whether excessive
> force was used to prevent the student from
> going over his alloted question period

Perhaps they should bring in a similar policy for Oscars acceptance speeches.

Re:Move over Geraldo.

[Hijacked Public (999535)]

Sine the word 'deserve' is going to be used a lot in this one, I'll note that if you purposely watch the Oscars, you 'deserve' whatever lunatic ramblings you are exposed to.

Re:Motive? Attention, period.

[by Anonymous Coward]

That's a pretty fucking long post you made there, attention whore. Too bad I can't taser you for it.

Re:There are restrictions to free speech

[harryk (17509)]

I can agree that he was resisting arrest, but in this case there was no need for the arrest in the first place. Have we lost all touch with our freedoms that we think we are living in a police state that one can be arrested and detained for a non-threatening reason?

Additionally, the senator attempted to answer the student's questions, all the while the police were bent on arresting this guy. If you can make it out in the video, you can see an aid in the background signaling for the police to intervene, something that should NEVER have happened.

At what point has the police become a protector of the elected, nearing gestapo practices, instead of being a protector of the people. If anything, the police should have recognized that they should be protecting the student so that his voice could be heard. Believing contrary to the state is no cause for being silenced.

How does the saying go? ... "I may not agree with what you're saying, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it!"

Re:There are restrictions to free speech

[torkus (1133985)]

The problem with resisting arrest is that police can walk up to you and decide you smell funny so we're going to arrest you. You, being a good citizen who has done nothing wrong but skip a shower is confused, scared, and angry that s/he is being violated for an unknown reason. Of course the reaction is to struggle.

Now you've been arrested for resisting arrest. Half the time the orig. charges don't stick, are dropped, or just didn't exist to begin with. Brilliant.

Re:There are restrictions to free speech

[Altus (1034)]

At what point exactly did they tell him he was under arrest?

Re:His name

[feed_me_cereal (452042)]

I'm sure that if it had been someone else speaking besides a presidential candidate, police would not have been there and Andrew would have been just politely asked to stop talking over and over.

You're sure? Why? Because he's a dick? Maybe you haven't noticed that this isn't the first occurrence of this sort of thing, and not all of them are on youtube. A couple years ago at OSU (columbus, OH), the city finally settled with a student who had been shot in the head with a wooden bullet. She had been unfortunate enough to walk near a party that was too large. As she was walking by, the police shot her in the head with a wooden bullet, giving her brain damage. She wasn't even on the same side of the street as the party.

And this is no shocker. Friends of mine have been maced for the horrific crime of leaving a concert. That's right. There was no altercation, just a croud of people leaving a concert. Apperantly the croud was large enough and the music weird enough to warrant a riot force to be waiting outside the venue, mace at hand. This sort of thing happened on a weekly or monthly basis in columbus.

Wake up. Just because this guy was an annoying prick doesn't mean that the cops don't taser these fucks for shits and giggles. Please don't tell me that the 4 of them didn't have his ass under control.

Re:His name

[Shakrai (717556)]

And I'm sure that several dozen poor people were tasered on the same day, for doing the same thing (struggling with the police), and not a single on of them gets front page Slashdot.

And that's a good thing? The problem that a lot of human rights organizations have with "less then lethal" weapons is that they lower the standard for when force can be applied. Whether or not he deserved to be removed from the room is a subject I'm not going to dwell on. But four officers couldn't remove one college student without using a taser? Give me a fucking break! How did they manage police work before they had tasers?

Re:So, did Kerry ever actually answer the question

[MagicM (85041)]

Judging by the video, Meyer isn't even interested in any answers. He just keeps rambling on and doesn't even wait for Kerry to respond. After reading the blurb, I felt sorry for him. After watching the video, I don't anymore.

Taze Them All!

[by Anonymous Coward]

And on a personal note, I wish more people like this one would be tazed. It's not like this was political activism...

Hear hear! Taze them all, it's not political activism, it's a disturbance in my day to day life. One time, I was watching Full House and it was interrupted by some Chinese dude that wanted to get run over by tanks! And then you know what happened? THE TANK FUCKING STOPPED. I was like, well, squish him, I'm missing DJ & Michelle's jokes!

Ugh, these people are drama queens! It's not like there's a fine line between police brutality and rights to free speech and demonstrating. Just always favor the police and get the thing fucking over with. Who cares, it's never going to be me there.

Re:Good!

[Scutter (18425)]

The police handled things appropriately. A man swinging his arms at police as they are trying to escort him out of a venue is a threat to the police. He wasn't, until he resisted beyond reason, under arrest. Maybe he will learn where that line is now.


He was handcuffed, on the ground, with six cops kneeling on him when he was tasered. How was that appropriate?

Re:Ugh...

[ScentCone (795499)]

we're becoming a police state, and this is one of so many contributing factors.

I'm not really clear, here, on how you arrive at that conclusion. The whole point is that we have the freedom to assemble. You know, the freedom to hold an event where people get to do things like take turns talking, if that's the sort of event you want to hold. And someone else decides that your freedom of speech and assembly isn't important, and that he can shout you down and take over the event for his own aggrandizement and 15 minutes of annoying notoriety. It's a "police state" action when law enforcement officers actually act to enforce the laws that are written to prevent people from interfering with your events and rights? If there were no statutes covering things like disturbing the peace, then the officers wouldn't have had the grounds to ask the guy to leave, or to arrest him when he decided to ignore their obligation to uphold those statutes. But there ARE such laws, and this twit clearly knew that he went in there to provoke exactly such a reaction, and he clearly considered the rights of the people gathered there to be secondary to his own need for political theater.

History is full of loudmouths, drunks, disturbed people of all sorts. That's why disturbing the peace is a notion we all understand. But the law works FOR this clown, too. This guy can have his OWN assembly where he DOES get to talk non-stop the whole time if he wants, and if someone decides to stand there trying to shout him down, then HE gets the benefit of the police working for HIM, if that becomes necessary. If he wants to run an event where non-stop interruptions by everyone there is the actual framework of the event, then someone being a blathering jerk, in that context, wouldn't BE disturbing the peace, and there's no need for the officers to act. Save the "police state" hyperbole for when it matters, because trotting it out when someone like this deliberately seeks this sort of action and attention completely cheapens the meaning of that phrase.

Re:Watch it yourself

[Yusaku Godai (546058)]

First of all, he's not a presidential candidate. He's a former presidential candidate. He *is* a senator--he serves the public. What's wrong with taking "two minutes" of his time to ask some questions? I think that some of those questions were a little unfair, and rambled over too many topics. But I wouldn't say he was a raving lunatic either.

And the crowd? A bunch of little proto-nazis as far as I'm concerned. This is UF after all.