<p>Check out this story about a UF student who was arrested and then tasered by police while questioning John Kerry at a University of Florida Town Hall discussion.</p>
<p>The video is at the end of the article.</p>
<p>Here's a better video: <a href="http://video.nbc6.net/player/?id=157250%5B/url%5D">http://video.nbc6.net/player/?id=157250</a> (this one is much longer, of the whole incident...the 1st video makes it look like he was arrested immediately, when in fact this tirade had gone on for awhile)</p>
<p>Sigh....when will students learn? This guy had already asked questions and been told to quit making a speech. He gets up later during the event and starts "asking questions" when in reality he is just disrupting the event. When his mic is turned off he flips out and the officers try to escort him out...at which point he starts making a huge scene, getting physical with police officers (how dumb can you be?) and is arrested....only he resists arrest and is repeatedly warned that if he continues to resist he will be tasered. Of course, the kid thinks he is above the law so he resists and, guess what, is tasered! I especially liked how he thought he was going to be handed over to the government and killed.....don't forget your tinfoil hat.</p>
<p>The evening news here showed a rather long clip, although not the entire incident. The segment I viewed made him look more than just a little disruptive. First he was rude. He made a statement and when asked what his question was he snapped back to Kerry something to the effect that "you spoke for 2 hours, I can make my statement before I ask my question." It appeared as if he knew he would cause a commotion, and that was why he was there. When he finally asked his question, he said he was not done and had two more questions. As soom as the security approached him, almost as if to simply suggest to him by their presence that he need to stop talking, he started screaming and shouting. As soon as one of them put their hand on his arm he began running and flailing his arms... screaming "help me." The crowd of students actually cheered the attempts to remove him from the room. His behavior came off to me as rather immature. I was embarassed that it happened at UF.</p>
<p>From the clip, it almost seemed like the audience cheered initially when he was escorted to the back of the room, but then people started screaming when he started howling as the police tazered him. It was pretty chilling after that. He was agitated from the get-go, but his hysteria kept climbing. </p>
<p>We can say that his behavior initiated it, but if you've ever been in a situation like that, it's easy to become irrationally hysterical. I remember being with my dad when he was pulled over for going to slow (in the rain) on our way to my grandma's funeral- the cop wouldn't say anything, he just made him get out of the car, then he asked ME for my ID (I was just a passenger), then he told me I'd have to drive. My dad kept saying "what did I do?" and was very upset (so was I). I even started chiming in with the "what did he do"s. The guy never did actually tell us why he was doing all the ID checking and why so evasive with the reason for being pulled over (it wasn't until we looked at the ticket that we knew he was going to slow- lol).</p>
<p>I'm not sure why I've gone on for long, sorry...but I remember that fear and confusion so I can imagine what this kid might have been going through.</p>
<p>Well, look for the kid to go from talk show to talk show now. Getting one's fifteen minutes of fame. The student made the poor choice of thinking it was his "show", happens alot these days. The student didn't pause to think how his actions (in light of campus shootings, political assasinations in the past) could be construed as threatening. Had the police held back and the guy put a round into Kerry or opened up on the crowd, would the same people whom are bothered by how the police handled it, be ok with their holdning off?</p>
<p>The police in this situation are in a lose/lose they can't win. </p>
<p>The kid was smart in many ways, he took a risk he'll get his 15 minutes of fame, maybe a survior, big brother or some other reality show gig.</p>
<p>Besides who has time to hear Kerry answer a question? I've raised children in the time it takes john to answer a question. :)</p>
<p>My son was at the town hall discussion and witnessed the whole thing. Here's what he said:
[quote]
The video doesnt show it, but he wasnt even supposed to be speaking. He was still in one of the question lines when the announcer said there was only time for 1 more. This guy got mad and ran for one of the unused microphones and interrupted the guy whose turn it was to ask, screaming about why he should be heard and that Kerry has lied all day, blah blah blah. The cops tried to escort him out, but Kerry told them to let him stay. He resisted again the second time they tried to remove him, and thats what all the videos show. I was sitting a few rows away from him.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I think the kid was spoiling for a confrontation and got what he deserved.</p>
<p>Wow, this is where the press is being somewhat deceptive with their reporting. Intentionally leaving out the first part is definitely putting the spin on this. Just goes to show what propaganda the news is.</p>
<p>"AP --GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- A University of Florida student with a history of taping his own practical jokes was Tasered by campus police and arrested after loudly and repeatedly trying to ask U.S. Sen. John Kerry questions during a campus forum.</p>
<p>Andrew Meyer, 21, spent a night in jail before his release from jail Tuesday morning on his own recognizance. ...</p>
<p>Videos of the Monday night incident, posted on several Web sites and played repeatedly on television news, 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.</p>
<p>University spokesman Steve Orlando said Meyer was asked to leave the microphone after his allotted time was up. Meyer can be seen refusing to walk away and getting upset that the microphone was cut off.</p>
<p>As two officers take Meyer by the arms, Kerry, D-Mass., can be heard saying, "That's all right, let me answer his question."</p>
<p>Audience members applaud, and Meyer struggles for several seconds as up to four officers try to remove him from the room. ..
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?"
<a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/775/story/241199.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.miamiherald.com/775/story/241199.html</a></p>
<p>What did I do--you acted like a wacko. Good for the cops.</p>
<p>This kid's an idiot. on cnn they showed a video he posted on his own website where he was holding a sign saying "Harry DIES" outside a bookstore where they were selling the latest harry potter book. this guy likes attention.</p>
<p>Official statement from the president of UF <a href="http://www.ufalumni.ufl.edu/emails/viewer.aspx?file=president/incident_20070918.htm&bhcp=1%5B/url%5D">http://www.ufalumni.ufl.edu/emails/viewer.aspx?file=president/incident_20070918.htm&bhcp=1</a></p>
<p>Being tasered is attention, but he acted like a wuss. If you're going to solicit a beating, at least take it like a man.</p>
<p>Wonder if being tasered is an acquired taste, like hot sauce. :confused:</p>
<p>A report from Kerry's staff is linked below. What happened before people started taking the videos that are all over the internet is that the student pushed his way in front of a long line of students waiting to ask questions and grabbed the mike, interrupting another student mid-question. Read the account below. It's not clear whether or not the tasering was justified, but it is clear that the student was really out of line.</p>
<p>The student's "very important question"? Well, yeah, I guess it would be good to know all that Skull and Bones secret stuff.</p>
<p>Nicely done response by the UF administration.</p>
<p>It must have been refreshing for Kerry not to be the biggest jerk in the room.</p>
<p>patsmom,
Thanks for posting the reply from your son. I guess that's the other half of the story. My brother's daughter goes to UF and I was discussing this with him as we watched the video. We both thought that the police overreacted. After your S's description, I have a different take on the incident.</p>
<p>Kerry was for the tasering before he was against it.</p>
<p>There is a concurrent thread in the Parent Cafe, including a statement by patsmom. (Post #6) Her son was at the event and seated only a few rows away from this fellow.</p>
<p>nymomof2 posted this link in another thread in the Parents Forum.
<a href="http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/9/18/125041/427%5B/url%5D">http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/9/18/125041/427</a></p>
<p>It corresponds pretty closely to what my son said he saw. Unfortunately, the media probably won't report "the rest of the story".</p>