College student tasered at Kerry speech.

[Guest Vitamin X]

Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) said he still doesn’t know why police Tasered a University of Florida student during the senator’s speech Monday, saying, "I could have handled the situation without interruption."

 

Kerry, however, was quick not to undermine the police decision to use force.

 

“I don’t know what transpired,” Kerry said. “The police must have had a reason to make their decision.”

 

The senator would not comment as to whether the police used an appropriate level of force, saying, “That is a law enforcement issue.”

 

Kerry was speaking at the University of Florida, when Andrew Meyer, a student, burst into the room and ran towards a microphone, attempting to ask Kerry a question. According to university officials, Meyer was allowed to ask several questions before his microphone was cut off and university police stepped in.

 

Meyer screamed: "Don't Tase me, bro!" as officers attempted to drag him outside the auditorium, according to the Florida Alligator newspaper.

 

Kerry said he never felt threatened by Meyer, saying he tried to quiet the crowd and asked police to allow Meyer to ask his question.

 

"I have never had a dialog interrupted like that in 37 years, at any event,” Kerry said.

 

Meyer was charged with disturbing the peace and resisting an officer.

 

Hahahaha.

[snuffbox 0]

Too bad it wasn't Abraham Ribicoff giving that speech.

[Jonathon 0]

 

There's a bunch of different angles

 

Fast Forward 1:27 to see the aftermath.

 

 

 

[NoCalMike 0]

 

There's a bunch of different angles

 

Fast Forward 1:27 to see the aftermath.

 

 

How is the guy a "douche" ? He simply asked a question and as soon as it was deemed an "inconvenient" question, the cops move in and attempt to remove him and arrest him, and taser him....for asking a fucking question. Sure, the guy was a little smarmy, and obviously was there to make Kerry uncomfortable with his question, but hey last time I checked that wasn't against the law, nor does it warrant being arrested and tasered. Was he being threatening in any way whatsoever? And for christ sakes John Kerry, how about opening your fucking mouth and telling the cops to get the fuck off of him. "I want to answer the question but he doesn't seem available to come up here right now" Well open your mouth and tell the cops to fuck off. If anything at least explain why the guy is tasered after he is being held down by four police officers...!?!

 

Freedom of Speech at work.

[Jonathon 0]

Actually it's not as simple as him "asking" a question. He ran to the front of line, interrupted Kerry as he was already talking, and became a douche by spouting ridiculous conspiracy theories. His mic was cut off, which should have silenced him, but he still shouted, even as Kerry said "if you just let me answer". It's never cool to interrupt a speaking engagement, regardless of your political views.There is such a thing as respect and decorum. The cops were just doing their job. I work with law enforcement on a daily basis, and what they did was not out of order. He resisted them, even pushed some of them around. That right there is a red flag to take his ass down. As a cop in the 21st century, you have to treat EVERY SINGLE SITUATION like it's the most serious thing on earth, because all it takes is that ONE TIME where you let your guard down, and you might be facing something much worse.

[snuffbox 0]

Christ.

[The Niggardly King 0]

The douche deserved it.

[Gary Floyd 0]

The douche deserved it.

He deserves worse-like a taser to the balls.

[Edwin MacPhisto 0]

Tasering the guy was pretty disgusting and unnecessary, him being an obvious douchebag looking for political martyrdom aside. I can only hope that "Don't tase me, bro!" works its way into the popular lexicon.

[Your Paragon of Virtue 0]

Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) said he still doesn’t know why police Tasered a University of Florida student during the senator’s speech Monday, saying, "I could have handled the situation without interruption."

 

Kerry, however, was quick not to undermine the police decision to use force.

 

“I don’t know what transpired,” Kerry said. “The police must have had a reason to make their decision.”

 

Not much has changed since 2004.

[NoCalMike 0]

Actually it's not as simple as him "asking" a question. He ran to the front of line, interrupted Kerry as he was already talking, and became a douche by spouting ridiculous conspiracy theories. His mic was cut off, which should have silenced him, but he still shouted, even as Kerry said "if you just let me answer". It's never cool to interrupt a speaking engagement, regardless of your political views.There is such a thing as respect and decorum. The cops were just doing their job. I work with law enforcement on a daily basis, and what they did was not out of order. He resisted them, even pushed some of them around. That right there is a red flag to take his ass down. As a cop in the 21st century, you have to treat EVERY SINGLE SITUATION like it's the most serious thing on earth, because all it takes is that ONE TIME where you let your guard down, and you might be facing something much worse.

 

We must be reading conflicting reports. From what I read, he didn't run to the front of the line. The person before him was going to be the last person to ask a question, but since he was the only one left they let him ask his question. And, regardless of "spouting conspiracy theories" which seemingly came from the book that John Kerry himself said in the video that he had also read, it isn't a reason to arrest someone. It is obvious the guy came to disrupt the event, however there is no reason that Four to Five cops couldn't have simply ambushed him, and pushed his ass out of the front door and told him to take a fucking hike and not let him back in. Again, why was it necessary to taser the guy once he was IN HANDCUFFS on the ground?

 

"as a cop in the 21st century......" A student, in an academic setting is causing a disturbance....well now, hell, alert homeland security because we have a situation.....give me a fucking break.

[Jingus 0]

Was the taser unnecessary force? Probably, but the dude was shoving the officers and physically resisting arrest, which is a universal no-no. He hijacked the forum, interrupting both Kerry and other audience members more than once, and started hollaring once his mic was cut off, so he definitely deserved to be escorted out. He never once did what they ordered him, to the point where they had to drag him down onto the ground because he kept struggling, and wouldn't even put his arms back so they could cuff him. Legally, they were in the right to do what they did, especially since they clearly gave him verbal warning to cease resisting or they'd use the taser, and he just kept screaming like an idiot. Personally I think that the half-dozen cops on top of him should've been able to grab one guy's arms and get them cuffed without the use of a cattle prod, but it's a grey area.

 

Kerry on the other hand is a blatant liar for saying he didn't know the kid got tased. You could hear both the cops and him yelling about it on the video, it's not like a taser is a quiet stealthy weapon or anything, if you've ever heard one in person they're pretty goddamn loud.

[Jingus 0]

We must be reading conflicting reports. From what I read, he didn't run to the front of the line. The person before him was going to be the last person to ask a question, but since he was the only one left they let him ask his question.

Someone else posted this piece of a witness account, so I don't have a source on it, but if it's true it completely contradicts that version:

While the final question was being read, some douchebag ran down the aisle, grabbed the mic from the other side of the room, interrupted the kid who was talking, and started yelling at Kerry, demanding that his questions be heard. He started ranting about how Kerry talks in circles or something, and everyone was getting annoyed. The cops are all over him in no time and try to escort him out, but he starts yelling and resisting. Kerry insists that they let him stay and even agrees to answer his question.

 

After the interrupted guy's question was answered, Kerry keeps his promise and lets the angry guy talk. This is the point where people started taking their cameras and phones out. All the videos floating around youtube start around here.

[NoCalMike 0]

We must be reading conflicting reports. From what I read, he didn't run to the front of the line. The person before him was going to be the last person to ask a question, but since he was the only one left they let him ask his question.

Someone else posted this piece of a witness account, so I don't have a source on it, but if it's true it completely contradicts that version:

While the final question was being read, some douchebag ran down the aisle, grabbed the mic from the other side of the room, interrupted the kid who was talking, and started yelling at Kerry, demanding that his questions be heard. He started ranting about how Kerry talks in circles or something, and everyone was getting annoyed. The cops are all over him in no time and try to escort him out, but he starts yelling and resisting. Kerry insists that they let him stay and even agrees to answer his question.

 

After the interrupted guy's question was answered, Kerry keeps his promise and lets the angry guy talk. This is the point where people started taking their cameras and phones out. All the videos floating around youtube start around here.

 

Ok, look I have little sympathy for this "douche" as someone else put it. The guy came off as prick-ish in his approach, however, all I am saying is that with the number of cops there, it seems like they could have ambushed his ass and thrown him out of the front door and made sure he couldn't get back in....Arresting and/or being charged with Felony resisting, on top of being tasered while on the ground and cuffed just seems excessive considering the guy wasn't posing any threat to anyone.

[snuffbox 0]

I'm going to start tasering every single person I find to be a douchebag.

[2GOLD 0]

I'm going to start tasering every single person I find to be a douchebag.

 

Sadly, I think a lot of the douchebags of the country have secret service details.

I don't think they should have tasered him but I do believe he was resisting arrest and it's obvious even from the video. Tasering was over the top but it seems like cops today really love playing with their new toy a lot. It seems like we don't go a week without a cop somewhere tasering someone who people didn't think deserved it.

 

Fire the cops or give them a year behind a desk for excessive force on an unarmed person, put him in jail for a few months and call it a story. Don't make this guy out to be some kind of persecuted hero of the people. Both sides were in the wrong, both sides should be punished and we should just move on with our lives. And police forces around the country might need to check with their officers on when the proper time to taser someone is. Obviously, on camera no matter what someone does is a bad time to taser them.

[Dobbs 3K 0]

The guy was an idiot looking for attention, and he got it. Don't see what the big deal is. I did enjoy his screaming at the end of that first video. What a pussy.

[Edwin MacPhisto 0]

I'm going to start tasering every single person I find to be a douchebag.

Fire the cops or give them a year behind a desk for excessive force on an unarmed person, put him in jail for a few months and call it a story. Don't make this guy out to be some kind of persecuted hero of the people. Both sides were in the wrong, both sides should be punished and we should just move on with our lives.

Jail time? He's not a persecuted hero, but the kid's on the ground surrounded by five cops begging not to be tasered, and they go ahead and do it. He's bulletproof, and a college kid at a college event isn't going to get anything more than probation and maybe a fine for this anyway.

[PILLS! PILLS! PILLS! 0]

The student was an obnoxious asshole who, by all accounts, got what he had coming to him. By his peers description, the kid had a reputation for pulling pranks and posting asinine videos on the web, and, in fact, was reportedly laughing about the situation in question after the cameras were finished rolling and he was being escorted to jail.

[Cowboy Battlenuts 0]

What the fuck are 4 cops using a taser on THIS guy for!? There not dealing with some 6'5" 300 pound judo master so unless cops are complete pussies these days it was completely unneccesary for the simple fact that they could of easily handled the guy.

[snuffbox 0]

Because he was a douchebag!

[Guest Gym Class Fallout]

I'm going to start tasering every single person I find to be a douchebag.

Don't tase me, bro.

 

the kid had a reputation for pulling pranks and posting asinine videos on the web

AW SHIT! Well in that case, guy had it comin' like a wrestler's battered wife. TSM for the win!

[Cowboy Battlenuts 0]

Oh, I missed that. My bad.

 

Seriously though are all these taserings and the bitching about them really easier for cops than the whole excessive force issue? It's impossible to tell if a person has a pre-existing condition that could make it lethal, so why abandon the old 'chin and the ground and dig in a knee' approach? Is it really gonna take someone dying for this to stop? It's laziness, and it's making me lose faith in law enforcement.

[snuffbox 0]

I wouldn't taze you, Czech. Remember what Vyce said about us?

[Jingus 0]

Seriously though are all these taserings and the bitching about them really easier for cops than the whole excessive force issue? It's impossible to tell if a person has a pre-existing condition that could make it lethal, so why abandon the old 'chin and the ground and dig in a knee' approach? Is it really gonna take someone dying for this to stop?

Because slamming someone face-first onto the ground, clubbing them with a nightstick, or any of the other old cop standards are much more likely to cause permanent damage than a taser. Sure, there are people out there with heart conditions and such who could get flatlined, but it's a pretty small number, and most violent criminals tend to be relatively young and healthy people. Tasers really do represent progress, it's just sometimes questionable whether their use was necessary in specific cases like this.

[Dobbs 3K 0]

The guy got tasered because he wouldn't shut up, and apparently wouldn't stop moving. I don't get where all the controversy is.

[Ripper 0]

I don't get when people bitch about why didn't the cops just physically take the guy since he was resisting. Yeah. Because the best way to do things are the most difficult and dangerous ways.

 

This isn't a case of dumb tasering. When that dumb cop tasered the guy holding his newborn baby in the hospital, that was stupid. When the cops tasered that woman because she was on her cell phone when they told her to get out the car, that is dumb tasering.

 

Tasering a guy that is actually resisting arrest is not something to rally the troops over. Don't pull a "rodney king" with this guy. Get pissed at the actual times where it was dumb or wrong to taser a guy.

[snuffbox 0]

The guy got tasered because he wouldn't shut up, and apparently wouldn't stop moving. I don't get where all the controversy is.

 

Neither do I. I mean this is Iran or some Old Testemant stronghold we're talking about, right? The only problem here is that they didn't bust some skulls, too.

[PILLS! PILLS! PILLS! 0]

the kid had a reputation for pulling pranks and posting asinine videos on the web

AW SHIT! Well in that case, guy had it comin' like a wrestler's battered wife. TSM for the win!

 

Well, coupled with the reported laughter after the fact, it would certainly support the speculation that this cocksucker was putting on a show for the world to see.

[Guest Smues]

When the cops tasered that woman because she was on her cell phone when they told her to get out the car, that is dumb tasering.

 

I need to go watch that video again, that lady getting tased always makes my day.

 

"You were speeding."

 

"But you were driving you can't know that!"