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DAMN. Student Tasered At John Kerry Speech

Leonard Washington

By Leonard Washington
in The Tailgate

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Rocky21

Rocky21

Posted
Posted

I'm all for free speech, but I don't think expressing some tough or odd questions is the reason the campus cops pounced on the guy.

For 1, the Q&A period was supposed to be over. 2, when reminded that he was to ask only one question, the dude said: "He's talked for two hours. I think I can have two minutes." He didn't play by the rules so his microphone was cut off and the campus cops attempted to remove him.

Someone in this thread asked why the campus cops were on the guy so quick. I read on the net that members of the student group sponsoring the event summoned UF police to escort the dude out, according to a police statement.

He faces two charges: resisting an officer with violence and disrupting a school assembly.

Oh, by the way two officers in the incident were placed on administrative leave pending an investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

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redskins4life234

redskins4life234

Posted
Posted
It's not intended to be fun. It's intended to be an alternative to my prefered method for dealing with idiots like this (shooting them).

That would be considered murder.. and there are laws against that..

You know MSF, One reason America is great is, you have the right to be an idiot, and to take away that right, well why not just take away all our rights.

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alexey

alexey

Posted
Posted

You know MSF, One reason America is great is, you have the right to be an idiot, and to take away that right, well why not just take away all our rights.

The right to be anything you want is the reason why America is great. The right to be an idiot is a side effect.

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Mass_SkinsFan

Mass_SkinsFan

Posted
Posted
That would be considered murder.. and there are laws against that.

Not every law is a good law. Especially when it comes to interpretation.

You know MSF, One reason America is great is, you have the right to be an idiot, and to take away that right, well why not just take away all our rights.

I've never been a real believer in the idea that stupidity and idiocy were good things. Unfortunately you are correct that they are protected under the Constitution. That's one thing I'd change if I had the ability to do so. I'm not so sure I agree with your leap of reasoning that making stupidity and idiocy less legally acceptable would lead to the downfall of society, but I do understand what you're saying.

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Stugein

Stugein

Posted
Posted

The kid had gone well beyond his allotted time, would not yield the floor to other students, and was yelling over the Senator. Most videos only cut in for the last question ("conveniently"). He was asked to step down, and warned, and finally the campus police were summoned to remove him. When it became obvious he wasn't going to comply civilly they moved to escort him away. Initial attempts at removal were to simply hold his arm and walk him out. He begins making a scene, flailing his arms, and resisting after numerous warnings. He deserved what he got. If he had asked his question like an adult then sat down instead of throwing a tantrum at the mic the situation would have been avoided.

Yes, we have freedom of speech. But no, this doesn't mean that we can cause unwarranted public disruption. I can't stand in the middle of a store and yell random nonsense at the top of my lungs, ignore management when asked to leave, fight the police when they are called to escort me out, and then cry that they violated my right to free speech by not allowing me to continue. That's just silly. This was a school function. The kid wasn't removed for what he was asking, but rather for how he was acting. Were they supposed to just let him yell himself tired, until he fell asleep at the mic like a child who doesn't want to take a nap?

And don't feel too bad for the kid. He got what he wanted. Publicity. This is what he does. He distributes videos made of him causing disruptions. Acting out in bars. Holding up spoiler signs for things like upcoming movies or Harry Potter books. Prior to the Kerry forum incident he handed a camera to a friend in the audience with filming instructions. From the campus security report:

"Before I returned to my post I observed Meyer hand a digital hand-held camera to white female he was present with, and it appeared that he instructed her to film his interaction... As the man was escorted down stairs with no cameras in sight, he remained quiet, but once the cameras made their way down stairs he started screaming and yelling again. Some of the comments that the man made were "You can't kill me.", "They are giving me to the government." and "They are going to kill me." Meyer stated, on the way to the jail, "I am not mad at you guys, you didn't do anything wrong, you were just trying to do your job." Meyer was laughing and being lighthearted in the car, his demeanor completely changed once the cameras were not in sight. Meyer did ask, at one point, if the cameras were going to be at the jail....

He may not have expected it to escalate to tasering, but his whole goal was to intentionally cause a scene. Played everyone into jumping in to support him for an event he staged for attention. Big surprise - his friends are now selling "Don't Tase Me, Bro!" t-shirts. o_0

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Bang

Bang

Posted
Posted
The kid had gone well beyond his allotted time, would not yield the floor to other students, and was yelling over the Senator. Most videos only cut in for the last question ("conveniently"). He was asked to step down, and warned, and finally the campus police were summoned to remove him. When it became obvious he wasn't going to comply civilly they moved to escort him away. Initial attempts at removal were to simply hold his arm and walk him out. He begins making a scene, flailing his arms, and resisting after numerous warnings. He deserved what he got. If he had asked his question like an adult then sat down instead of throwing a tantrum at the mic the situation would have been avoided.

Yes, we have freedom of speech. But no, this doesn't mean that we can cause unwarranted public disruption. I can't stand in the middle of a store and yell random nonsense at the top of my lungs, ignore management when asked to leave, fight the police when they are called to escort me out, and then cry that they violated my right to free speech by not allowing me to continue. That's just silly. This was a school function. The kid wasn't removed for what he was asking, but rather for how he was acting. Were they supposed to just let him yell himself tired, until he fell asleep at the mic like a child who doesn't want to take a nap?

And don't feel too bad for the kid. He got what he wanted. Publicity. This is what he does. He distributes videos made of him causing disruptions. Acting out in bars. Holding up spoiler signs for things like upcoming movies or Harry Potter books. Prior to the Kerry forum incident he handed a camera to a friend in the audience with filming instructions. From the campus security report:

"Before I returned to my post I observed Meyer hand a digital hand-held camera to white female he was present with, and it appeared that he instructed her to film his interaction... As the man was escorted down stairs with no cameras in sight, he remained quiet, but once the cameras made their way down stairs he started screaming and yelling again. Some of the comments that the man made were "You can't kill me.", "They are giving me to the government." and "They are going to kill me." Meyer stated, on the way to the jail, "I am not mad at you guys, you didn't do anything wrong, you were just trying to do your job." Meyer was laughing and being lighthearted in the car, his demeanor completely changed once the cameras were not in sight. Meyer did ask, at one point, if the cameras were going to be at the jail....

He may not have expected it to escalate to tasering, but his whole goal was to intentionally cause a scene. Played everyone into jumping in to support him for an event he staged for attention. Big surprise - his friends are now selling "Don't Tase Me, Bro!" t-shirts. o_0

Where is this coming from? Cite a source, please. No doubt it may be true, and if it is, say from whence it came.

~Bang

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Stugein

Stugein

Posted
Posted
Where is this coming from? Cite a source, please. No doubt it may be true, and if it is, say from whence it came.

~Bang

Put together from a few sources and accounts -

WTOPNews: "Meyer, a senior telecommunications major from the Fort Lauderdale suburb of Weston, has a Web site featuring several homemade videos. In one, he stands in a street with a sign that says "Harry Dies" after the latest Harry Potter book was released. In another, he acts like a drunk in a bar while trying to pick up a man dressed in drag."

The University of Florida police report (PDF) with details, eyewitness, and officer accoutns of the event.

"As Senator Kerry was ending his speech, a man disrupted the senator by screaming, yelling, and flailing his arms. The man moved his way down the aisle yelling, "Why don't you answer my questions, I have been waiting and listening to you speak in circles for the last two hours." "These officers are going to arrest me". I didn't see any officer directly next to him until I noticed Officer Wise walking down trying to get his attention. The man was screaming and yelling obscenities until Senator Kerry told him to calm down and that he would take his question, but he needed to calm down. At that point, the man stated, "You will take my question because I have been listening to your crap for two hours". The man at that point turned to his friend and said, "Are you taping this? Do you have this? You ready?" The man was talking to a woman who was there to film him. Before asking the question, I had a chance to ask the man if he was a student and he stated, "I don't have to tell you." I the asked him if he knew the rules to the student code of conduct and he said, "What?" I informed the man that after he asked Senator Kerry the question that I needed to talk to him outside. After asking the question, the man would not let Senator Kerry finish his statement and kept badgering the senator about his beliefs, talking about "blow jobs", and yelling as loud as he could as to sensationalize his presence."

His friend who makes sketch "comedy" videos with him, both seen in this example, released a goofy remix of the taser incident in order to promote the t-shirts.

I'm sure if you dig around you can find more. This is what the kid does. It's his shtick.

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  • 1 month later...
China

China

Posted
Posted

Police cleared in use of Taser on student

Updated: 12:47 p.m. ET Oct 24, 2007

GAINESVILLE, Florida - University of Florida police were justified when they used a Taser against a student who refused to stop questioning Senator John Kerry at a campus event, according to a state investigation released Wednesday.

A 17-page executive summary of the 300-page Florida Department of Law Enforcement report was released by the University of Florida after some questioned the use of force against student Andrew Meyer.

The scuffle between Meyer and police started during the Sept. 17 speech when Meyer refused to leave the microphone after his allotted time was up, police said. The videotaped altercation and Meyer's cries of "Don't Tase me bro!" were played frequently on the Internet.

In short, the FDLE determined that our officers acted well within state guidelines," university President Bernie Machen said in a letter to students, faculty and staff.

Click on the link for the full article

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China

China

Posted
Posted

Police cleared in use of Taser on student

Updated: 12:47 p.m. ET Oct 24, 2007

GAINESVILLE, Florida - University of Florida police were justified when they used a Taser against a student who refused to stop questioning Senator John Kerry at a campus event, according to a state investigation released Wednesday.

A 17-page executive summary of the 300-page Florida Department of Law Enforcement report was released by the University of Florida after some questioned the use of force against student Andrew Meyer.

The scuffle between Meyer and police started during the Sept. 17 speech when Meyer refused to leave the microphone after his allotted time was up, police said. The videotaped altercation and Meyer's cries of "Don't Tase me bro!" were played frequently on the Internet.

In short, the FDLE determined that our officers acted well within state guidelines," university President Bernie Machen said in a letter to students, faculty and staff.

Click on the link for the full article

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Larry

Larry

Posted
Posted
We must be missing something. I mean, he had a question, right? Senator Kerry was going to answer it. Why on earth would the Police drag him out?

The guy is a moron, but I don't know why he was dragged out like that.

1) No, he didn't have a question. He had a speech. He made it, and Kerry started to respond. He then interrupted, and repeated the speech.

After refusing to allow Kerry to answer for several minutes, he was asked to leave. He refused.

When he refused, the campus police (who were on hand for the speech), asked him to leave. He refused again.

When an officer approached, be began resisting. The officer backed away, and told him that if he did not surrender, he would be tazed. He continued to resist.

(According to witnesses, all of this was filmed by the photographer he brought along to document his publicity stunt. However, the video that was released, doesn't start until here.)

When he continued to resist, he was tazed, and removed from the room.

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Larry

Larry

Posted
Posted
We must be missing something. I mean, he had a question, right? Senator Kerry was going to answer it. Why on earth would the Police drag him out?

The guy is a moron, but I don't know why he was dragged out like that.

1) No, he didn't have a question. He had a speech. He made it, and Kerry started to respond. He then interrupted, and repeated the speech.

After refusing to allow Kerry to answer for several minutes, he was asked to leave. He refused.

When he refused, the campus police (who were on hand for the speech), asked him to leave. He refused again.

When an officer approached, be began resisting. The officer backed away, and told him that if he did not surrender, he would be tazed. He continued to resist.

(According to witnesses, all of this was filmed by the photographer he brought along to document his publicity stunt. However, the video that was released, doesn't start until here.)

When he continued to resist, he was tazed, and removed from the room.

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