UPDATE: If you are really interested in this case I encourage you to read this interview with Andrew Meyer. It seems that a lot of the points argued in the discussion have been misconstrued or blatantly false.
Breaking News!
Today, a student (identified as Andrew Meyer) asked a few questions of John Kerry during his visit to Gainesville but the cops didn’t like his demeanor. According to witnesses the student entered the room with several cops in tow. Andrew Meyer asked questions pertaining to Kerry’s failure to contest the presidential election results of 2004, the call to impeach president Bush, and Kerry’s membership in the secret society known as Skull and Bones. He was clearly accusatory and emotional in his speech but one must ask whether he deserved what came next.
AFTER six police officers held the student to the ground, they proceeded to taser him amongst his screams for help.
His cries can be clearly heard in the video below:
“What have I done? What I have I done? Get away from me. Get off of me! What did I do? Help me! Help. Please, don’t taser me!”
Andrew Meyer’s screams are a frightening reminder of how times have changed. A college student armed with only a book and a few pointed questions can be threatened, forced to the ground, and tasered. Meyer has been charged with disrupting a public event and placed in the Alachua County Jail. An investigation will examine whether the police were justified in using such force.
The student’s biggest mistake was not allowing himself to get arrested/escorted out after his diatribe. Although the question remains. For doing what?
A much higher quality video is available here.
UPDATE:
NBC6 News is reporting: “After a scuffle on the ground, Meyer was tasered and handcuffed“. Please, watch the video above and see the extent of Andrew Meyer’s resistance before being tasered.
Read an eyewitness account of the taser incident.
And happy Constitution Day to all!
UPDATE: I have decided to close comments due to the inordinate number of pointless and hateful messages this post has brought. The traffic accompanying this post does little to enhance the discussion or the overall quality of this site.
September 18, 2007 at 9:26 am
He shouldn’t have resisted arrest. That being said the cops should Not have tasered the guy. He wasn’t a threat to anyone.
Cut the microphone and ask him to leave. Take ten minutes let him rant and eventually he’ll leave. Does it have to turn into a wrestling match?? Push him out of the room if you have to.
I think a little more patience and a little less force and this wouldn’t have become news.
September 18, 2007 at 1:29 pm
[...] http://animamrecro.wordpress.com/2007/09/17/uf-student-tasered-by-cops-at-kerry-speech/ [...]
September 18, 2007 at 7:32 pm
NBC6 News has removed the quote mentioned in the blog post from their website. Unfortunately, I did not take a screen-shot last night.
September 18, 2007 at 7:33 pm
“He shouldn’t have resisted arrest.” Why was he being arrested in the first place?
September 18, 2007 at 8:10 pm
Freedom of Speech my butt. This kid didn’t deserve this kind of treatment at all.
September 18, 2007 at 8:17 pm
^ Apparently the guy in front of him was to be the last one to ask a question but he stepped up anyway and fired away.
I do not think he should have been tasered, it looks like things got out of hand quickly. Funny thing is it happened in one of the most liberal counties in Florida.
September 18, 2007 at 8:24 pm
Just another example of the strong arm tactics by the thug dominated police state…I mean, land of the free, God Bless America. When are people going to stand up for people?
First of all, it’s human nature to resist arrest, especially when you didn’t do anything wrong. Human nature says, “Wait, wait, you misunderstood, I can explain…” while the police kick your teeth in. What really gets me is the crowd’s reaction…applause?! Are you effin’ kiddin’ me?! And then there’s the retard saying “Police brutality, Rodney King” which makes the whole thing seem like a joke. Typical of a people sedated by television and fast food. Are we really the living dead? It breaks my fucking heart.
September 18, 2007 at 9:09 pm
The crowd’s response sickened me. No wonder terrible things are happening all around us, when good people stand by and do nothing.
September 18, 2007 at 10:38 pm
Every single one of those cops in that video needs to be arrested, and brought to trial on charges of police brutality.
September 18, 2007 at 11:21 pm
Also check out an eyewitness account of the event, which counters some of the points I made in this post.
September 18, 2007 at 11:22 pm
omg,american cops…wild wild west? glad to be from Europe
September 19, 2007 at 1:05 am
wow, i’m glad i’m living in europe and not the the great u.s. of a. with all the civil rights! freedom of speach? u voted twice for bush, that’s what you get for being such a free democratic country.
September 19, 2007 at 1:39 am
^ American cops wild beast? nothing like taking a story, highlighting the parts most conducive to move forth an agenda and leaving out the rest of the story. this guy was a clown.
r4nd41 and europe, did you miss the pictures of the police beating down the protesters in Belgium this past week? before you invoke the holier than thou we’re from Europe tone know what’s going on in your backyard.
September 19, 2007 at 1:58 am
[...] at peace, one should meditate upon being run down by United Nations tanks, water-boarded at Gitmo, tazered, poisoned by chem-trails, shot by secret society/intelligence agency assassins, being micro-chipped [...]
September 19, 2007 at 2:12 am
Mr. Meyer alone was responsible for escalating the incident and received what he deserved. Even in the best light his actions were passive aggressive. For those of you who think there were too many cops involved, this is a tactic that actually results in less use of force. Very simply, if he’d showed the appropriate level of respect he would have been treated with respect.
For those of you from Europe…if we’re so awful why do you pay us any attention? Don’t you have enough to keep you busy in your own countries?
September 19, 2007 at 2:25 am
Wow, the poor guy. It’s just like the story of the 3 cows (2 black and 1 white). If we don’t stand up for the right cause, then one day we will be tasered downed like him and no one will help. SO STAND UP!!! He did his part by speaking against War, so we should do too. God, I wish all americans were like this guy.
September 19, 2007 at 2:38 am
Just watching Meyer on tape makes me want to taser him myself. As far as all the foreignors and free speech nuts. You folks evidently have no clue as to proper behavior. And please stay in Europe.
September 19, 2007 at 2:45 am
How unfortunate that Senator Kerry could not even use this opportunity to run to the police and ask them to Stop and tell the crowd that the boy was entitled to speak and ask his questions at this place. He missed a GREAT opportunity to do just that and because he never seems to think before reacting, perhaps that’s why America Rejected him in his bid for President. Perhaps his war service gets him to be even more complacent on violence — the tasering of civilians, this time around!
September 19, 2007 at 2:46 am
He was out of line, that is not how mom and dad taught us to act in public even if you have a question to ask. Funny that everyone says he was not a threat. How many of you have x-ray vision to see under his clothing for weapons? Are some of you the same people that blamed the Virginia Tech officials for not doing enough, fast enough? If the police officers had not used the taser and he would of struck one of them in the head with his foot, would you have felt better about it all? No I am not a cop, I’m just a guy who acts right while in public and on my college campus because that’s just the right thing to do. Freedom of speech does not give any of us the right to act like jerks. It is very clear this guy was looking for attention far beyond any concerns he may have for black voters that were disenfranchised. When I go out in my yard, drive down the street or walk on campus to class, the cops do not bother me. When I go to a class with a guest speaker, I do not get up and act like an ass when asking a question and oh, the cops never come then by the way. Its America, not a “police state” and when we need help we call the police and that’s what they do, come and help us.
September 19, 2007 at 2:58 am
Fankly, that student deserved what he got. I am glad he was tasered. The cops did what was necessary to restrain an unruly individual.
September 19, 2007 at 3:00 am
The disgusting thing is that Kerry was willing to respond to those questions but NO the Barney Fifes had to spit shine their rent-a-cop badges and refuse Andrew of ALL his rights! THE MAN WAS JUST MAKING A POINT, ASKING QUESTIONS!
Hey weren’t we taught that there are no stupid questions, the only stupid thing is not to ask questions! Oh I see….. we should all lye down and act stupid. Of course with taser wires stuck in our ass!
I am ashamed of being American some days!
September 19, 2007 at 3:14 am
What’s next? Brown Shirts beating up people with opposing viewpoints? Rigged elections (ok, maybe that one has already happened…)? Burning “seditious” books that don’t square with the current National Socialistic philosophy? Appointing Ann Coulter as Minister of Propaganda? Making Liberals sew on a yellow “L” on their clothing? Invading Poland?
September 19, 2007 at 3:15 am
Let me get this straight. Kerry chooses to drone on and on until there isn’t enough time for questions. These people came and sat through his speech so they could get answers!! Kerry obviously had no intention of answering anyone! I’d rather see people like Andrew than all of the pathetic, apathetic people who stood by and did nothing! When are Americans going to take back their country and constitution?
September 19, 2007 at 3:36 am
Tell it like it is Andrew Meyer. Its time to stand up and show the goverment that we are not putting up with all the bullshit that they want us to belive. The media only only lets us see what they want us to see, or what the goverment will let us see. Everythig has now become a cover up to hide the real truth.He has the right to freedom of speach, He earned that right the day he was born in the U.S.A. Now they are taking his rights away.I did not hear any students telling to shutup, they must want his questions answered.
September 19, 2007 at 3:55 am
First of all, why did KERRY NOT speak up and defend this young man and let him have his say?
KERRY acted just like BUSH did when he was Govenor of Texas.. BUSH goons arrested Alex Jones for asking questions during a speech at a small venue, while BUSH remained silent (sounds familiar, right?)
KERRY did not remain silent, he tried to divert the crowds attention away from the abuse the young man was enduring. This shows you how much a chicken sh*t President KERRY would have made.
I am now both sorry I voted for KERRY and at the same time happy he did NOT win after all.
Second, why is it that now ANY opposition to ANY goverment official results in being arrested? Take what happened in Washington just a few DAYS ago from simply POSTERING around town in protest of BUSH?
One just gets the feeling we are very close to living in a real POLICE STATE if we don’t challenge this type of treatment???
September 19, 2007 at 4:05 am
Please, I would like to ask commenter’s to respect the opinions of others. There seem to be very polar views on this event which may warrant heartfelt replies, but try to think before writing a knee jerk reaction.
Now to express some opinions of my own:
Having lived in Europe during one half of my life and the United States during the other, I feel that I’ve got some degree of input on the US vs Europe debate that was touched upon. In regards to civil liberties it does seem that Europe is surpassing the United States, especially in recent years. The Belgian incident aside, European protesters are much “freer” than those in the US. There are no “free speech zones”, cops don’t result to violence as often, and a fraction of the number of protesters are arrested. That is not to say that Europe is far behind.
US tactics for dealing with protesters is being slowly imported into Europe. A few months ago a protest in Prague was relocated to a lesser prominent location in the city. This subtle technique to disenfranchise freedom of speech was pioneered by the current US administration. The protesters maintain the right to protest, just not where anyone can see them.
Someone mentioned that Europeans should pay attention to “their own countries”. One purpose of this blog is to show that such attitudes are both out-dated and dangerous. It’s harder and harder to subscribe to the notion that countries and their citizens should focus on themselves. Especially in an era when the foreign policy and culture of the United States is affecting the entire globe. It was not my intention to go off on a tangent like this, but perhaps this incident can serve as an example. I would find it very unlikely for an event such as the tasering of Andrew Meyer to occur in Europe. This not to say that Europe is better nor that it couldn’t happen. However, most countries there simply have a different way of dealing with such incidents.
This is not to say that their regulations are necessarily different, but rather that Europeans often have a different perspective on what constitutes a threat. In the United States were are bombarded with fear, warnings of suspected terrorists and the like, which logically results in heightened anxieties and low levels of paranoia. Anyone can be a security threat “these days”. Is anyone aware of the disparity between repercussions towards acts of protests in the US 35 years ago and today?
The United States can learn from Europe and visa versa. To ignore what’s going on in either continent and the rest of the world for that matter, is not the answer.
September 19, 2007 at 4:24 am
to #19 Brian
if as you say it is not a police state then why were the police even present in the first place. I know that John Kerry is a high profile person and possibly a target for some nut and i’m not blaming Kerry. It just seems to me that the police over reacted. I don’t have first hand knowledege of this situation so i guess my views can be discounted as easily as any one else’s but after watching a few of the available videos it seems the use of a potentially damaging weapon was an over reaction. The available number of security personnel could quite easily have escorted the young man out. Don’t let your political leanings rob you of your rights. If the far left was in power and not the conservatives would you so easily dismiss the use of force. As to acting with some decorum in a public place, that it seems is becoming less and less common nowadays. I agree that you should act in a civil manner and that the young man was not. However a university is or was at one time a place for political debate. Today it has become a job quest. Fair and open questioning of the people who hold high office is not only a right of the people but an obligation that most people today seem unobliged to uphold. You must question government, always. If you don’t, you end up living with government by decree. What i’m trying to say i guess is that at least this young man was asking pertinent questions. One’s that all of us have the right to ask and have answered truthfully. No one deserves to be dragged forcefully from a public forum unless they are a danger. If his actions were out of line then why did the sheep in the room not shout him down. Instead they only waited to applaud as he was being hauled out. In itself a fine example of the mindset of most people today.
September 19, 2007 at 4:29 am
Yeah, they shouldn’t have tased him. Waste of batteries. What ever happened to the good old ass kicking? A few thumps and he’s out of there, and we go on listening to the big nitwit on stage.
September 19, 2007 at 4:38 am
I don’t care about the tasing or use of force. It’s not what interests me. True, he acted inappropriately in many regards. He supposedly rudely rushed the microphone, but that is not clear in this particular video.He ranted on for a minute before asking his questions or making a point, but he claimed he needed the set up to “inform” the people before asking his question. Look, when asked to leave by police, (who apparently were on his heels before he entered the room although I don’t know why, unless they were already made aware of his prescence or intentions outside the forum hall) and he refused. He was being removed from the room by Campus Police (not rent-a-cops or security guards by the way, but sworn peace officers with the same set of standards and a badge and gun all that) he resisted being removed and then resisted arrest and appropriate action was taken to subdue him. So, again I don’t give a crap about him being arrested or detained or tasered, he wouldn’t comply with officers demands. And yes, they are demands not requests. I’m speaking as a man who comes from a family of law enforcement. I first thought this young man was a brave individual and that if he’s a jouranlist student now, just think of what he might accomplish as a reporter later on in life. After further thought on the matter and more review of video recording of the event as well as reading all of the articles I could find on the matter (I have yet to visit Meyer’s website, but I will) I see that he was obviously seeking attention and had to have known that his actions and behavior would result in unpleasant circumstances. Unless, of course he’s a complete moron, which I doubt. I still think he’s brave for standing up for what he believes is political injustice, if he in fact does believe that and is not just a publicity whore. At least he’s got balls, which is more than I can say for many of us. No matter how you slice it, this 21 year old kid stood up, okay? There will be many in the media that will paint this kid as a “clown” or a “nut job” and what have you. If you look at his actions from another perspective, he may have felt rushed in his statements and questions with the police following him and looking over his shoulder. He could have been nervous and had to speak fast, perhaps that’s why he seemed so erratic in his questioning. Was it true that he had been told he would be arrested before he even approached the mike? Why? Did the police use excessive force? I don’t think so and it’s not what bothers me about it. What bothers me is how some eyewitnesses interviewed after the fact said he was a clown and got what was coming to him. One guy said he would have tasered him himself a lot earlier than the police did. People were laughing at him from the very beginning. Why is that? Because he chose not to be a sheep? Students, yes students were applauding when the police first laid hands on him. All those students applauding like “yeah, they’re finally gonna get the scary,crazy bastard out of here, yay!” What happened to the open-minded students questioning our leaders and their policies? It’s sad. As for the person in an earlier comment that said “to all the foreigners” and “freedom of speech nuts” what?! Are you that simple? Really? You just want to sit idly by as personal freedoms (that people fought and bled and died for) are taken away from the people of this nation one by one? When someone uses a phrase like “freedom of speech nuts”, ya know what I think? I think that person is nuts. Being a veteran of an elite paratrooper unit, I put my life in harm’s way for my country on more than one occasion and I would do it again in a heartbeat my friend. I love my country and as George Carlin said “I love the freedoms we used to have”. But I haven’t forgotten what this country was bulit on or who built it by the way… um yes, foreigners they were at the time. All our ancestors were once too. So, that statement sounded foolish to me as well. If we can’t work together to make things better then we’re destined to have our asses handed to us one day. And I don’t believe it will be in the too far distant future. Don’t be arrogant. We’re not invincible, not anymore. And we DO need to make things better. “That’s not the way mom and dad taught us to behave”?! Thank Christ! What are you kidding me with that? Listen, just don’t crucify the kid for stepping outside the box of what is considered “appropriate” (god I hate that word) public behavior and speaking out as a student in a public forum. He had every right. But apparently there are many sheep out there that don’t believe that.
September 19, 2007 at 4:49 am
I apologize Knight for my knee jerk reaction. I was in the process of typing above when other comments, including your last came in. You’re right. My intent was not to insult.
September 19, 2007 at 4:50 am
1. Andrew Meyer is an idiot.
2. You folks from Europe: Don’t let the door hit you in the butt on the way out!
September 19, 2007 at 5:14 am
This is entirely ridiculous, this person deserved to be tasered. He was not complying with police. He only thing this person was looking for is attention that’s the reason why he wanted to catch this entire event on tape! He was definitely NOT there to ask a question. He apparently laughed and joke afterwards while in the police car. It was ALL a show!
September 19, 2007 at 5:28 am
I think its hilarious that an idiot trying to get his 15 minutes of fames ends up getting tasered. I think its also hilarious that he was a liberal activist trying to disrupt a liberal senators press conference. I think its also hilarious that multiple undersized and weak affirmative action female university rent-a-cops couldnt subdue one punk loudmouth without using a taser. Everyone involved ended up looking like losers, which they are.
September 19, 2007 at 5:49 am
How terribly ashamed I am at the University of Florida to allow this ugly incident to happen, especially where the free and open exchange of ideas should be encouraged. This is disgusting and should be investigated. The people responsible should pay. Three of my children have gone to the UF and I am a financial supporter of the university but after this incident I totally have to rethink my position. Also I’m very disappointed in the way John Kerry reacted to the situation. I supported him and voted for him and I thought he had more backbone than that. I can not respect him anymore and am taking myself off his e-mail list. This whole incident is very, very sad! I hope that the administration at UF does something about this so the restaint of free speech on a great university campus like UF will never happen again.
September 19, 2007 at 5:51 am
I feel terribly sick about what happened to Meyer. Where is the freedom of speech? And most of all WHAT IS HAPPENING WITH MY GENERATION? Why did anybody do something. Just seen how this kid was tasered freely by cops and no one helping him made me want to trough up!
September 19, 2007 at 5:52 am
This is exactly why no one listens to conspiracy theorists, in my opinion.
All of them seem to sound like raving lunatics.
Can’t one of these people for once make their point in an intelligent and calm manner so we MIGHT be convinced they’re just not reaching?
I believe there might be some truth to th Masons, New World Order, Skull and Bones and other secret societies takin over but I don’t go around screaming this out to people all the time.
By the way, I think the police were justified in using force here even though he did have a right to speak. He should have respected Kerry more because he is the one who gave him the chance to talk. He may have had some valid points but did not present them well here at all. Otherwise people may have listened to him and we may even have been able to hear the answers. I think he just wanted to hear himself talk and present his own personal views rather than ask Kerry a question and politely listen to his response.
September 19, 2007 at 5:58 am
Let’s see, why would the police be on Meyer’s heels as he “asks” his questions? Could it be that, as witnesses say, he bum-rushed the microphone which, in this day and age, might just, maybe, possibly, slightly unnerve police professionals when a friggin’ U.S. Senator is on the stage? Ever hear of John and Robert Kennedy? How about a man named Lincoln? Ringing any bells or don’t college kids take history these days? You may be young but you have no excuse for being this naive. Read up on the actual event (note: all video content is edited rather conveniently for Mr. Meyer’s case) and remember that it isn’t a good idea to make what could be seen as aggressive motions towards one of the elected leaders of the most powerful nation on earth. For whatever goofy reason, that tends to make the folks sworn to uphold security just a little jumpy. And after police politely allow you to ask your questions (at the request of the speaker), an officer might also tend to be antsy when you belligerently refuse to maintain decorum or listen to anymore instructions from the folks putting on the seminar. Then, again because of your belligerent behavior, when the same sworn lawmen attempt to escort you out, don’t rip your arms away from them and wrestle your way out of their grasp. (Anyone who ever watched “COPS” might already know this isn’t a good idea) Thus, refusing their order to leave and becoming a trespasser. You have heard of trespass haven’t you? Oh well, doesn’t really matter since ignorance of the law has no legal merit as a defense. This kid is a punk known for self-serving, juvenile actions including publicly ruining the end of the latest Harry Potter book while standing on a street corner and making outlandish statements in the student newspaper’s sports section for what appears to be nothing more than a “Mommy and Daddy don’t pay enough attention to me” attention grab (something many of his generation “suffer” from). I find it fascinating that so many think that a cop has a “duty” to give up his body so that a CRIMINAL doesn’t get hurt by a CRIMINAL’s actions. You see, when you resist and get physical with an officer it is you that will feel the brunt of physical repercussions. A cop isn’t required to find a magical way to subdue a subject who is resisting without injuring the resisting subject. For those of you who don’t yet know, cops aren’t Superman or David Copperfield so stop living in a comic book world! You resist, you get hurt. You resist, a cop might get hurt but he will always limit his own injury caused by your illegal resistance with whatever manner is available to him. Finally, remember if you believe you are being arrested inappropriately take it up with the JUDGE. Not the arresting officer. The courtroom is where innocence and guilt is decided. Not the patrol car. Even those who are found not guilty of charges they are arrested for can be simultaneously found guilty of resisting arrest on those very same charges. So grow up and have a good day!
September 19, 2007 at 6:04 am
to brian:
“Freedom of speech does not give any of us the right to act like jerks.”
Actually, it does. It is our own ethic of decency that measures how we act like a jerk or not.
If one’s idea of proper behavior is complacency, then great! Welcome back to the 1950’s American utopia, as seen on television in black and white. Oh wait, it’s this kind of idyllic innocent complacency of “being good little children” that 9/11 has, if it had not already been, completely invalidated.
I wish we could all be “good little children” like mommy and daddy told us to be. But, you know, sometimes mommy and daddy are very corrupt people. Next thing you know, you’ll be telling me black people should be segregated, because it’s what you’re grandfather told his children: “keep away from those black folk, like good little children, now”
September 19, 2007 at 6:07 am
What complete and total BS! I really hope that guy finds a lawyer that OWNS that department. Who signaled these goons to arrest him and use FORCE on a guy who was TALKING!?
I’m so glad that my ancestors had their land and lives stolen and destroyed by tyrants (in the name of freedom) so that I could grow up in a POLICE STATE. I’m much rather be sitting around in a mud hut with some peyote talking to my spirit guide and CHERISHING the gifts i’d been given by the earth…not worrying that i’ll be tasered if i use my first amendment rights.
September 19, 2007 at 6:08 am
My initial response is this:
When you are arrested – legit or no – the place to make a protest is in court, suing the cops.
However, it now appears according to the exit story, that he told the cops that he had nothing against him and has pulled stunts like this before. So his entire act is in question. He’s not even suing the police officers in question.
September 19, 2007 at 6:11 am
Jim Toma Says:
September 19, 2007 at 2:38 am
Just watching Meyer on tape makes me want to taser him myself. As far as all the foreignors and free speech nuts. You folks evidently have no clue as to proper behavior. And please stay in Europe.
Did this idiot just type the phrase
“FREE SPEECH NUTS”
or am I having a nightmare? All you big, tough “LAW ENFORCEMENT” jerk offs better start by enforcing amendment 1 to the US constitution. Never heard of that. Not in your penal code book?
“It was my job” will not be accepted as an excuse for your actions. The reason people don’t comply with stormtrooper “DEMANDS” is because they don’t have the authority to make demands. They enforce the law, they don’t make it. The kid broke no law. If you are telling me asking a political question of a politician political appearance is breaking the law – shine up your SS badge and get your put your goon hat on.
He’s probably a terrorist – call homeland stupididty “PROTECTING THE GOVERNMENT FROM THE PEOPLE SINCE 2003″
I assume the only reason the kid asked the question in that manner is because all these so called appearances are actually quite organized and no unauthorized (read pre screened and approved) questions may be asked. Americans lose their right to peacebly assemble and petition for redress of grievances.
You can figure out the rest with a little reading.
Those who make peacefull revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.
September 19, 2007 at 6:18 am
Somebody should have jumped in and F’ing beat those cops to hell. I have heard in the media that you should watch the whole video and not the small snippets that the media is showing. The police were easily able to bring him to the back of the room and put him on the floor. There was absolutely no reason for him to be tasered. I would not endorse attacking a police officer, but when they overstep their bounds they deserve it. Having a badge is a priviledge, not a right. Someone needs to make sure they understand this and unfortunately they will probably get off without even a slap on the wrist. At least allow the student to taser the officer that tasered him just to be fair.
September 19, 2007 at 6:18 am
Sounds like he was trying to stand up for his country by having the guts to do what he did, but none the less he shouldn’t have grabbed the mic from the other guy. He didn’t deserve to be interupted. the other guy had just as much of a right to ask questions as andrew did. As far as Kerry talking well into the time that was supposed to be used to be answering questions, its not like it matters. He would just lie about anything he felt he needed to lie about anyway. as far as the tasering, i think there were plenty enough cops present to take care of andrew without the use of it (the taser)
September 19, 2007 at 6:23 am
The interuption: Andrew supposedly grabbed the mic from the last guy they had time for to answer questions. That guy had just as much of a right to ask questions as Andrew. He shouldn’t have been interupted. Andrew overreacted and caused a scene.
Andrew’s questions: If John Kerry actually was to answer Andrew’s questions, he would lie about what he needed to lie about anyway. It’s not like it matters. It wasn’t that bold of an act. If the guy had any sense he would know that John Kerry wouldn’t give him truthful answers in the first place.
The tasing: I think there were PLENTY enough officers there to subdue him without tasering him
September 19, 2007 at 7:00 am
I see a history lesson is in order here to all since no one, including the now Bush military police seems to know THE LAW !! Everyone is so programmed now by the Federalist FEAR agenda for total control of the populous, that no one knows their Constitution nor any of the REAL LAWS !
So here we go – Learn the LAW and protect yourself !
There is no such ‘crime’ as “resisting arrest.” This is a fictitious crime dreamed up by the new law enforcement to accuse a citizen of a crime when they refuse to surrender to the *illegal demands* of the police (state). This student was NOT resisting arrest as the Corporate controlled media has been trying very hard to make everyone believe ! Although he had every right to resist with all he had ! So says the Supreme Court ! Read on –
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled on numerous occasions that resisting a false arrest is not merely a citizen’s right, but his DUTY ! In fact, the Supreme Court has gone so far as to rule that if a law enforcement officer is killed as a result of actions stemming from a citizen’s attempts to defend themselves against a false arrest, it is the fault of the officer, NOT the citizen.
Here’s a short collection of relevant court rulings on false arrest and resisting arrest: (my truth newsletter “Freedom Report” has it in HTML and in color and easier to read then it is here).-
“When a person, being without fault, is in a place where he has a right to be, is violently assaulted, he may, without retreating, repel by force, and if, in the reasonable exercise of his right of self defense, his assailant is killed, he is justified.” Runyan v. State, 57 Ind. 80; Miller v. State, 74 Ind. 1.
“These principles apply as well to an officer attempting to make an arrest, who abuses his authority and transcends the bounds thereof by the use of unnecessary force and violence, as they do to a private individual who unlawfully uses such force and violence.” Jones v. State, 26 Tex. App. I; Beaverts v. State, 4 Tex. App. 1 75; Skidmore v. State, 43 Tex. 93, 903.
“An illegal arrest is an assault and battery. The person so attempted to be restrained of his liberty has the same right to use force in defending himself as he would in repelling any other assault and battery.” (State v. Robinson, 145 ME. 77, 72 ATL. 260).
Additional information from the courts:
“Each person has the right to resist an unlawful arrest. In such a case, the person attempting the arrest stands in the position of a wrongdoer and may be resisted by the use of force, as in self- defense.” (State v. Mobley, 240 N.C. 476, 83 S.E. 2d 100).
September 19, 2007 at 7:03 am
hold on #37, I read your 1st 2 sentences and I’m gonna stop right there. I’ll get back to it in a sec and finish. Think about what you’re saying, along with the guy from earlier who speculated he may have had a weapon under his shirt. Just stop and think about it for one more second…… do I have to spell it out? Okay, I will. Yes, right… this day and age… I get it. Do you think anyone, I mean anyone may have possibly gotten into that hall where a U.S. Senator was about to speak without going through security first? Come on use your head. The only people armed in that room were the Campus Police and possibly an aide or two of Sen. Kerry’s and everybody in that room knew it, especially the cops that were on scene. Noone was worried that he was a potential assassin. Okay? Next point please….. Now, I’ll go back and read the rest.
September 19, 2007 at 7:05 am
Before you even think about the question of how force was used, ask yourself this. In what country is asking any sort of question aginst the law?
September 19, 2007 at 7:16 am
More LAW by the Courts !
And a good look at what WE have allowed the Federal FEAR and Control agenda machine do to us !
The most astonishing thing about this event is not merely the fact that SIX police officers brutally assaulted and arrested Meyer for his “Free Speech crimes,” but that this room full of onlookers did nothing while Meyer screamed for help.
In 1964, a New York resident named Kitty Genovese was stabbed to death, screaming for help, while hundreds of her neighbors watched and did nothing. No one called the police. The case of Kitty Genovese became a lightning rod for psychological research that attempted to understand the madness of crowds and why a group of people would do nothing to help an innocent bystander. [It is the FEAR that this Federal Government has put into the people of them and their 'agents' and all police (not Sheriffs) are the property of the Federal Government via the state now since 2001 when Bush made it so ! Constitutionally no police under the Federal controls has any right to touch ANY person outside of the DC area ! But no one has any idea that we even HAVE a Constitution today ! Today was 'Constitution Day' and not one student has any idea what the day is for or means ! THAT is how DELIBERATELY HELPLESS this Federal Agenda has made things for the people !]
Today, in Florida, a room full of fellow students looked on and did nothing while their classmate, Andrew Meyer, was brutally attacked by an armed gang, right on the floor in front of them. They watched and did nothing. Not one person attempted to rush to the aid of Meyer who was screaming “HELP! HELP ME!”
Do individuals have the right to come to the aid of another citizens being falsely arrested? You bet they do ! As another court case ruled:
“One may come to the aid of another being unlawfully arrested, just as he may where one is being assaulted, molested, raped or kidnapped. Thus it is not an offense to liberate one from the unlawful custody of an officer, even though he may have submitted to such custody, without resistance.” (Adams v. State, 121 Ga. 16, 48 S.E. 910).
And on the issue of actually killing an arresting officer in self defense:
“Citizens may resist unlawful arrest to the point of taking an arresting officer’s life if necessary.” Plummer v. State, 136 Ind. 306. This premise was upheld by the Supreme Court of the United States in the case: John Bad Elk v. U.S., 177 U.S. 529.
September 19, 2007 at 7:26 am
Okay Youth, I get it. Yeah, the police and the force. That’s great, who cares. They did the right thing. Not Harry Potter, oh no. Burn the witch. To: #38, Matt, that was some funny stuff. Thanks for that you made me laugh. Funny and oh how sad too, ’cause it’s true. I don’t care how much of a “punk” this kid was or may be construed to be by many it seems. The dialogue this incident has opened up is great. Whether he was just seeking attention or not, ya gotta give him that. He got it, didn’t he? We definitely can’t afford to be complacent anymore. Whatever else this kid is, he did make a point, whether we like what we see or not. Thanks again and to all a good night.
September 19, 2007 at 7:35 am
operation mindcrime and youth wasted on the young:
succinctly put. Jeez fellas, come to the point – quit the freaking rant.
September 19, 2007 at 7:52 am
I don’t understand what he was getting at, but being tasered like he was a threat to harm Kerry. What was wrong the police needed more cops to help assist and removed the guy from the building. So shocking his butt who wasn’t a threat or wasn’t armed was the right thing to do.
September 19, 2007 at 8:16 am
I think he should be glad he was tazered In the old days he would have gotten a Knightstick (or two) to the shin. At least you can get up from a tazer. And his wails for mommy were all an act. If you don’t want the tazer then go along quietly and tell it to the judge. Cops have a job to do and they don’t need that crap. Two of them are suspended now because of this Punk’s little show.
September 19, 2007 at 9:37 am
He was a flat out imbecile and weakened any sort of integrity he might’ve proposed with his question by refusing to leave the premises.
Apparently, this student (don’t know his name) has caused a scene like this before.
If one wants to argue, he need not do it with a raised voice and boiling aggression, no matter how frustrating the dismissal of the question may seem.
September 19, 2007 at 10:33 am
Youth is wasted on the young? Pls. You don’t think a majority of those kids went through some sort of detection before they got in there? They knew he was pretty much harmless. Did you see the kid?
He was agitated. Yes.
Full of excitement to talk bout his want. Yes.
Did he deserve what he got? uhhh.. NO.
If you believe cops are always right I seriously hope you didn’t reproduce, or with your view on life, rape somebody and them end up having your kid. Seriously read your post, it screams I will force you to do what I want if you like it or not (rape).
Also. Think about the people you are pointing out that got assassinated. None of them were confronted with a kid like this. They were sniped or had a random guy run up and shoot them then run off. They saw this kid coming a mile away and tased him long after they knew he was not a threat.
Seriously man. GOD gave you a brain. How much lead did you consume to lose it?
P.S.
Amen Matt.
September 19, 2007 at 11:01 am
@ #38
I was going to put what you did. Good job mate. Saves me some trouble.
September 19, 2007 at 12:29 pm
I respect everyone’s opionion, but this time some are just ridiculous.
You basicly have two camps here.
Camp 1: He shouldnt be tasered.
Camp 2: He should be tasered
For some he was rude and aggressive for others he just wanted to ask questions (freedom of speech). Some thinks he was dangerous and some thinks the opposite. Etc. Okay these are all opionions we can respect.
But that kid DOESNT deserve to be tasered. Cant you see there are 6 cops there? They could cuff him easily and got him anywhere they wanted.
The cops should be fired for using the tasergun unneccessarily and for not using their brains.
This time its a tasergun, next time they shoot him in the leg, then the next next time they just shoot him dead. What because he was aggressive and rude or tried to freed himself?
Nothing can justify the tasergun in this case, when 6 cops are there sitting on this guy and totally already have overpowered him.
September 19, 2007 at 1:04 pm
Being a Law enforcment officer all I can say is I wouldnt have waited so long to use the taser on him.. I would have tasered him as soon as he started resisting. Another thing if that student would have pulled a gun and shot somebody you people would be talking about why didnt the police use force sooner…
He got what he deserved… Dont fight the police!
September 19, 2007 at 1:22 pm
What ever happened to free speech! Asking questions of a public official is a citizens’ right. Sen. Kerry should have remembered where he came from as well! It’s clear that his generation has become the generation that cannot be trusted! And the police consistantly over react and abuse their power! STAND UP AND FIGHT FOR YOUR FIRST ADMENDMENT RIGHTS! It’s one of the few rights that we have left!
September 19, 2007 at 1:23 pm
when will the revolution begin?…. where’s my gun?…..
this is tyranny….. this is what the bill of rights is all about…..authority for each citizen to act… and to act now… is expressly set forth in the first ten amendments to the us constitution… i for one, suggest that you all take another look at our ingenious little bill of rights… especially the moron who posted the very first comment on this blog…a typical shithead…
wake up you idiots!…. “oh gee…oh gosh… look at oj simpson”… meanwhile, your very american right ‘to be’…. is slipping away before your very eyes…
September 19, 2007 at 1:29 pm
I have seen all type of people stand infront of a microphone and rant about their personal feeling on issues. But on in this case I think there was overreaction. The only thing that could have been worse would be if history repeats itself.
The police could have taken him outside, forced him to the ground and run over him with a TANK as they did the Chinese students that make a stand on political issues. A great justice for dissension.
Or they could have run him outside and shot him like they did in Ohio!!!!
Were have our civil right gone too? Were do our Bill of Rights hang? I think on a roll of toilet paper!!!
September 19, 2007 at 1:31 pm
Hope I’m not the only one who appreciates the irony of John Kerry being used as a tool by the next generation of egocentric opportunists. I predict a political future for Mr. Meyer, but he may have to move to Massachusetts.
September 19, 2007 at 2:00 pm
The kid clearly went there with the intention of making a scene. He disrupted the event. He resisted the authority of the police and their attempts to detain him.
Whether that authority was in error or not, that’s something to be sorted out afterwards. If you don’t comply with the law, or you’re breaking it.
Did the taser permanently damage him? No. Did it subdue him? Yes. If he hadn’t needed to be subdued, he wouldn’t have gotten tased. It’s on him.
Pretty sure he deserved it.
September 19, 2007 at 2:00 pm
im glad for all the americans, that objected against this type of police brutality and free speach repression. it’s nice to have a proof, that not all americans are retarded (even if it sometimes seems so).
September 19, 2007 at 2:11 pm
I’m guessing he rushed the mic because all the people in line where prepicked and given scripted questions, as it is at most current Q and A’s with politicians (Boxers or Briefs?).
The guy had his hands in the air and was clearly not brandishing a weapon, should he have reached down to grab a weapon from his pocket the police where in close enough proximity to jump him at the first sign. Notice, the police did not “jump” into action like they saw a threat. The stood up to remove a nuisance. If the police really cared about Kerry that much, wouldn’t there have been metal detectors and searches at the door? There may have been. I wasn’t there.
September 19, 2007 at 2:13 pm
Ok, so he clearly was disrupting the event. Asked to leave, he does not. Then he is 1/2 cuffed and puts up a struggle. The cops had the right to tazer him. Oh, and btw, Clinton WAS NOT IMPEACHED for a blowjob, it was about lying under oath about the blowjob.
September 19, 2007 at 2:39 pm
Both parties were in the wrong.
First, Mr. Meyer was in the wrong because:
He obviously did not follow the rules of the forum. The police would have had no reason to try to cut him off and try to escort him of the premises if he was following the rules. Now if it was a case of trying to censor his questions while he was following the rules of the forum, that’s a different story.
Also, he resisted arrest. That in itself is dangerous, even IF you didn’t do anything wrong. If you were wrongfully arrested, you get yourself a lawyer, then sue the pants off of people.
Second, the authorities were in the wrong because:
Sure, Mr. Meyer was resisting arrest, but are you telling me that 5 officers of that size could not get him into handcuffs without using a taser?
Now, brian in post #19 asked if any of us had x-ray vision to see if he had a weapon. But why would we need to check for that in this situation?
The use of violence is only acceptable is when a person poses a threat to others or to his/herself. This was not the case. Could it have escalated to the point where he began to show hostility towards Mr. Kerry? Yes, but thankfully (and correctly) the authorities stepped in before things could have gotten out of hand. But tasering him? I’m sorry, but that’s a step too far, seeing as how he didn’t even assault anyone physically and was already on the ground at that point.
September 19, 2007 at 2:44 pm
He was disturbing the peace. What the video doesn’t show is that he barged to the front of the line, and posed a possible security threat to Mr. Kerry. The police were right to approach him at that point, which is all they did. Then Kerry promised to answer all of the remaining questions, and then when Meyer’s questions began, THEN and only THEN did any of the videos out there start.
While it may seem natural to a liberal to forgo consideration and respect for anyone other than oneself (provided one is a liberal in pursuit of self aggrandizement, of course), badgering a senator in public in this day and age, while he’s trying to answer other peoples’ questions but can’t because you won’t shut up with your ludicrous conspiracy theories and grandstanding is considered disturbing the peace in a lot of places. That’s why the cops continued their already commenced efforts to subdue him. A practical and honest mind will admit that throughout this whole ordeal Meyer never ceased to appear as a possible threat to Kerry and/or the other students.
He might have been led peacefully out of the auditorium and released without arrest had the story ended there, but instead he chose to fight with the officers, and attempt to evade them. That is called resisting a police officer and it’s a crime, even if you find yourself in the unique position of “I didn’t do anything”. They had to wrestle him to the floor because of a choice Meyer made, not them. They showed him the taser, stun gun, or whatever it was, and told him they would use it if he continued to resist arrest. At this point he continued to struggle with them, knowing what would happen next.
I dare anyone to tell me that he wasn’t howling like a sissy in order to play up the whole thing for the cameras that he knew were rolling. In fact, I dare anyone to tell me that he didn’t play the whole thing up, and force the police’s hand in the matter just to make a name for himself, since he had been unable to do so by getting his coveted “gotcha” moment with Mr. Kerry.
Watch the video of him when he doesn’t realize the camera is still on him. You’ll see a lot more peaceful person. And then once he sees a camera pointed at him, he starts begging everyone around to make sure everyone knows he’s being handed over to the “government” so they can “kill” him. Tell me at this point the police don’t have a responsibility to see if this perpetrator doesn’t need psychatric attention. They haul people off to the mental hospitals all the time when they act this way in public, and society is safer than it would be as a result.
Furthermore, I’m seeing reports in the news where the police are claiming that he told them, when the cameras weren’t around, of course, that they “did nothing wrong”.
When you disturb the peace, and infringe upon other peoples’ rights to peacefully assemble, your freedom of speech and right to assemble END. That’s the trouble with you leftists. You’re too selfish to understand that. You seem to think that you have a constitutional right to do anything you want, no matter how it affects anyone else. Other people have freedom too. Yours ends where theirs begins. Get that through your heads and we’ll have less incidents like this.
And since the last post I see here as I’m typing this derisively mentions the 1950’s, I’d like to take this time to inform its author and any like minded leftists that a lot of the problems we’ve faced as a country and as a world since the 1950’s have been a result of leftists trying to fix things that were not broken. You created a lot of the problems as a result of trying to fix other perceived problems. The more you mess things up, the worse they get, and then we hear you complaining about the very problems you created. Blame yourselves.
September 19, 2007 at 3:07 pm
IDIOTS! This kid is an accomplished prankster…he puposely set the whole thing up with the prupose of getting tasered. he was laughing when the cameras stopped rolling. Watch- these details will finally be disclosed by the liberal media starting today, a day late
September 19, 2007 at 3:24 pm
If you REALLY want to know why this is a problem, a HUGE issue, read this at the Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/naomi-wolf/a-shocking-moment-for-soc_b_64909.html
As a Gator and a freethinking, independent American…. obviously I think this is disturbing… the factthat noone else seemed to try to stop the attack, the fact that Kerry kept talking [answered the question! what was his answer?] and especially the fact that so many people in cyberworld seem to think its OK… one of the first signs of a dictatorship/police state/whatever you want to call it is when people lose their own desire to defend themselves…apathy
Maybe Mr. Meyer was talking out of turn, full of his own opinions, and asked too many questions…I’ve met a few guys like that… sounds like a future politician to me, no wait he’s a journalism major, so maybe he was doing what the rest of the media has failed to do
ASK QUESTIONS SPEAK OUT DEFEND YOURSELF
September 19, 2007 at 4:25 pm
I cannot believe some of the things I am reading in these responses. Calling the police “Barney Fifes” and “Rent-a-Cops”? Grow up, people. These are the kind of responses you get from people who get upset when they’re arrested for smoking pot. The microphone was shut off for a reason. His time was up. If he really wanted Kerry to answer his question, he should have shut up and listened to the answer, instead of making a scene and and resisting law enforcement officers. The police (and make no mistake, university police have all of the powers of any other local police agency) were trying to remove him because he was making a scene. They did not try to arrest him until he resisted this. As for the taser, police officers have procedures they are supposed to follow when someone refuses to cooperate. If he had walked out quietly with the officers, he would not have been tased, and he would not even have been arrested. It is his own fault.
September 19, 2007 at 5:46 pm
You have to break down what happened into real time and not focus on the fact he was screaming “what have I done, what have I done.”
Overlooking the fact, the guy had over run his question time and had his mic cut off, he was given a chance to leave peacefully with the officers but chose not to. He resisted arrest all the way through and I would ask that you put yourself in the officers position when you have have a suspect refusing to cooperate.
What would you do? Have a coffee and wait for him to calm down? Give him the freedom to stand up on his own and risk him causing a bigger problem?
Its very easy to be an armchair critic of police tactics but do the job and you realise that rules and procedures are there for a reason no matter how aggressive it all looks like.
September 19, 2007 at 6:03 pm
The kid was clearly not acting in an aggressive manner. There was no need for the cops to use that sort of force.
September 19, 2007 at 7:09 pm
There was no reason for him to be tasered. It was unjustified. He wasn’t armed and he was no longer resisting when he was put to the floor by all those cops. They could have easily picked him up and hauled him away at that point.
September 19, 2007 at 8:51 pm
“Andrew Meyer’s screams are a frightening reminder of how times have changed.”
1798 – Alien & Sedition Acts
1918 – Sedition Act
1940 – Smith Act
2001 – USA PATRIOT Act
Times haven’t changed, but history repeats.
(A point of clarification: the police seen in this video are actual police, not to be confused with campus security. Some schools–such as this one–employ actual police officers to maintain order on campus…Police act as the government, so the government is denying this young man his 1st Amendment right)
September 20, 2007 at 2:59 am
For all the folks who think Andrew deserved to get tasered, despite the fact that police were plentiful to control any alleged wrong-doing, and he was only one young man against many officers, wish they would have a try at getting tasered themselves! Are you bold enough? Put your money where your mouth is then! Next time you try to use your First Amendment rights (what ever is left of them) and ask a question of your elected representatives, you should consider being tasered yourself to feel what Andrew felt. So, they were trying to protect Kerry, huh?? Mr. Kerry, however, is not God, let’s face it, and when an elected representative does not support a citizen’s right to speak, then I submit to you that he is a *poor* representative of the people who does not deserve to be sent back for another term. The problem is, people sure seem to enjoy being beat-up, shut-up, kicked and tasered for expressing their right to speak! A right that is fastly and sadly deteriorating into mere memories. That’s the sad fact and many have proven that already by their postings in favor of being Shut-Up and electronically Shocked when they speak up. Again, hope you get the chance to be tasered next time you feel you have an important question to ask of your elected representative. And when you do, Keep Quiet about it and just relax and enjoy it, after all, you are a proponent of tasering We the People! Now, hope YOU get a taste of your own medicine!
September 20, 2007 at 5:14 am
haha you people write entire novels on an indident that can be cleared up in a paragraph. Andrew Meyers had a reputation for pulling pranks. He interupted another person’s question. He went apeshit when the police subdued him. The guy is an a jackass. Not to mention the fact that Kerry wouldn’t have answered his questions in an honest manner anyway. But there were more than enough cops to take him down and out of the building without the use of a taser. It’s not like he was a monsterous body builder or something. Five cops, one average-sized man, and yet a taser is needed? You can watch cops and see two cops cuff people that are getting out of hand without a taser. What a joke
September 20, 2007 at 5:24 am
To those who say he was no longer resisting once on the ground simply did not watch the video closely. Meyer can clearly be seen wresting his left arm away from the officer trying to cuff him. At no point prior to the actual tasing is his left arm secured by handcuffs and this is shown on the long-form video that starts with Meyer’s right profile at the microphone.
Nor was Meyer’s 1st amendment right violated. The Kerry forum was a private function, and Meyer’s right to address the assembly was subject to the organizer’s consent. From eyewitness reports they had already announced the closing of the open microphone portion of the program. At that point, the fact that Meyer got to speak at all was due to the graciousness of the organizers. When it became clear that he was ranting, not giving Kerry any chance to respond, it was not the police who cut his microphone. The organizers shut off the microphone and requested the police remove Meyer.
Even then, from what I could see, Meyer was not being arrested, just escorted from the hall. The other students present apparently recognized the reality of the situation and applauded as the police moved to remove Meyer.
So Meyer was arrested not because of the questions he asked, but because he actively resisted being escorted out of the private function after behaving like a jackass. This is not a landmark civil rights violation. This is not a clarion for patriots to rise and throw of the shackles of oppression. This is a knucklehead whose prank spiraled out of control and has been blown out of all reasonable proportion.
September 20, 2007 at 6:43 am
This kid deserved what he got. I completely believe in freedom of speech, and standing for your rights, but this kid began abusively and improperly. I’m sure the moderator asked him to leave, then when he forcefully declined, the cops were called, probably to escort him out of the building. If you watch the video, he fought back, and rushed the stage. At this point it only makes sense to arrest him. He was resisting arrest, enough so that it took several police to take him down. He was warned that if he didn’t stop resisting, he would be tasered. He didn’t stop. I don’t think people deserve to be tasered for expressing their opinions, but when they resist arrest, the police have to deal with them.
September 20, 2007 at 7:57 am
This kid was trying to be a publicity-seeking idiot and got what he deserved. If you want to act like a goose and carry on like a pork chop to try and get on national TV then you deserve to ride the lightning. They should’ve stuck the Taser in his mouth to shut him up. What a knob.
September 20, 2007 at 8:06 am
Andrew Meyer is the biggest CHICKENSHIT PUSSY of all time!!!!! What a phony!
September 20, 2007 at 2:12 pm
@#67 Dead one. Spot f’n on. He WAY overstepped his bounds and didn’t leave when the organizers asked him to. This isn’t a public park he’s speaking at here folks.Also you have to have some decorum when you are near elected officials. If he had acted half a touch crazier, I’d hate to see what the Secret Service would have done to him.
You can argue that tasering him was too much, but he was still moving even with 4 people holding him. Also, I see lots of people saying ‘he is obviously unarmed!’ really? why because he looks like a suburban white boy? The Virginia Tech shooter didn’t look like the kind of dude who was packing an arsenal either but look what judging a book by it’s cover got us there. Point me to the point of the video where the police perform the pat down. You can’t because it didn’t happen. They have to assume that Mr. Belligerent is packing. You don’t live long on the job if you don’t.
The simple fact is the guy barged the mic after questions were closed, they let him ask a questions, OK he really just unleashed a diatribe, they asked him to settle down, he refused, they asked him to sit down, he refuse, they told him to leave, he refused, the police tried to escort him, he refused, they asked him to stop moving when he was on the ground, he refused. It’s all standard procedure here folks. Always has been always will.
There is, and has NEVER been 100% free speech. If there was people would be yelling ‘fire!’ in movie theaters more often.
September 20, 2007 at 7:06 pm
Proof that Police Officers are chosen for their LOW IQ’s, so they can easily be manipulated by the powers that be!
US man has been rejected in his bid to become a police officer for scoring too high on an intelligence test.
Robert Jordan, a 49-year-old college graduate, took an exam to join the New London police, in Connecticut, in 1996 and scored 33 points, the equivalent of an IQ of 125.
But New London police interviewed only candidates who scored 20 to 27, on the theory that those who scored too high could get bored with police work and leave soon after undergoing costly training.
Mr Jordan launched a federal lawsuit against the city, but lost. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York upheld a lower court’s decision that the city did not discriminate against Mr Jordan because the same standards were applied to everyone who took the test.
He said he does not plan to take any further legal action and has worked as a prison guard since he took the test. The average score nationally for police officers is 21 to 22, the equivalent of an IQ of 104, or just a little above average.
Conclusion:
An IQ of 104 is very low. Yet approximately half of the police have IQ’s below 104!
Have you ever tried to argue with a dog? Its no use….
September 20, 2007 at 7:07 pm
I continue to feel it is a disservice to make this a free speech issue. I don’t believe Meyer was arrested due to the content of his questions, but more for his taking up more and more time, time that no other person would have been allowed to take up either. The real issue here is simply the level of violence imposed so unnecessarily in removing him.
But what’s far more worrisome than the event itself is the public response. I think that it is revealing some very deep seated issues in this country regarding how people feel about authority, power, anger and other issues. The event itself is highly unfortunate, yet I hear actual adult Americans nearly joyful that a 21 year old college kid was violently treated. As I discuss in my post at Emotional Responses to the Andrew Meyer & John Kerry Incident, the whole thing has really hit a raw nerve in this country and brought up a lot of latent anger and revealed the total lack of empathy that exists in many people in our country.
September 21, 2007 at 1:52 am
One of the funniest things I have seen in a while. This IDIOT got what he deserved. Freedom of speech my butt. He skipped the line. went over the time limit. Ignored several orders to step away from the mike. Ignored the police, their orders and then their attempts to arrest him. Swinging his arms in order to avoid being handcuffed is resisting arrest. Causing that type of disruption is disorderly conduct. He is an idiot and I am GLAD he was tasered. I thank him for the entertainment. I have it as my screensaver. I crack up EVERY time.
September 21, 2007 at 6:11 pm
IDIOT or not, how USA can talk about democracy if a man, without gun, cannot say his opinion. It’s a big shame from US
September 21, 2007 at 7:27 pm
what does a little taser shock do?
It is NOT a big deal, right! People are getting treated way worse all over the place.
YES. They are, and that is why we dont need this to happen here.
America must ACT, otherwise we will have nothing to defend!
Check out these videos of my reaction to the Andrew Meyer shocks.
http://www.hotconflict.com/blog/2007/09/florida-student.html
September 22, 2007 at 1:58 am
I’m french, and really happy to live in France.
With which right does USA still want to export his pretended “democratic system” to the rest of the world? IS THIS STILL DEMOCRACY???
Americans, stand up! NOW! Don’t you see that your beautiful land has become a fascist dictature?!?!?
September 22, 2007 at 2:03 am
# 82, “Conclusion:
An IQ of 104 is very low. Yet approximately half of the police have IQ’s below 104!
Have you ever tried to argue with a dog? Its no use….”
An IQ of 100 is average, so, 104 is slightly above average. Why would it surprise you that half of all police are below 104? My dog is smarter than you!
September 22, 2007 at 2:08 am
Freedom of speech only goes far so far as long as the person exercising that right does not step on the rights of others. If he is clearly making accusations toward Mr. Kerry, then this student got what is coming to him.
I think the student stepped over that boundary. For that reason, he got the shock of his life.
50,000 volts is nothing to sneeze at.
Fabiola Castillo
September 22, 2007 at 6:28 pm
There’s no question about Andrew’s behavior being a bit unruly. According to some reports I’m reading he broke to the front of the line. In such cases civil discourse has no obligation to respect those individuals who break with civility. But Kerry did invite his question and 20 seconds into his first question is when he was interrupted for the first time. From there it all seems to go down hill. But in light of the question he is asking, I do see clear moral justification for his disobedience. If the 2004 campaign had serious voting irregularities, and if Greg Palast’s writings have any validity, then it time to stand up and fight for what we believe in. Thomas Jefferson made it clear that we may come to this point. Maybe we should all get tazed!
September 23, 2007 at 12:09 am
Do you really think you americans can be a model for everyone in the sense of liberty and freedom ?. Be ashamed of yourselves !!, every day this kid is remaining in jail, every day your bloody imperialist country is demonstrating his truly nature elsewhere the world.
September 23, 2007 at 12:27 am
I just wanted to note that my sister was actually present at the speaking engagement at UF and she called me right afterwards…petrified. She felt that the police did not act QUICKLY enough. She said that the guy rushed the microphone after the question/answer period and was speaking erratically and that he seemed ‘off’. She was waiting for him to pull out a gun or start going crazy on the crowd. When police originally approached him he yelled, shooed them away, and John Kerry actually tried to calm him down by answering his questions, although those were not making much sense either. In fact, after rushing the microphone rather than starting with questions that he was so adamant about asking started making statements about a recent book he read. He was making very little sense and the crowd was frightened of him. I think that it is despicable that the videos being shown on the news, television, and the internet do not depict his original statements and only start from where the police were actually detaining him. The videos do not show where the first row of people ran away out of fear because they thought that the student was about to become violent. There were no metal detectors and minimal security measures taken at the speaking event. So, how should the police react when an erratic student rushed the microphone, frightened the attendees with his erratic behavior, and shows no respect for authority? If police were to ignore those types of behaviors, it would put the greater public at risk. I would like to add, that had my sister not been at the event; I would share all of your beliefs. The way that the media is telling this story is frightening because I have been a big disbeliever in a liberal slant to the media (being a liberal myself). However, the failure to accurately tell this story from the eyes of the students that were there, really makes me question some of the other recent stories that I have felt have been an attack on our civil liberties, such as free speech.
September 23, 2007 at 7:10 pm
Jesus Christ, people, you all speak as if the man had his nipples hooked up to a car battery because he dared to question the government. The man resisted arrested for disorderly conduct after being hostile and disruptive at a public event; frankly I’d be alarmed if he DIDN’T get tasered.
This has bupkis to do with free speech. It doesn’t matter whether you live in Berkeley or Oshkosh, Wisconsin, if you become erratic and disruptive at a public event, refuse requests to calm down, scuffle with police when they try to remove you from the premises, and then resist arrest, you are GOING to get tasered.
The fact that he did all this while he had little toadies strewn about the audience with video cameras suggests he put the whole thing on as some kind of shitty publicity stunt. He’s not some First Amendment martyr; I’d call him a jackass but I don’t want to offend all the hard-working donkeys in the world.
September 23, 2007 at 7:19 pm
As for you, “WakeUpAmerica,” you woefully undereducated toad, IQ is normally distributed with a mean/median of 100 and a standard deviation of 15. Find the z-score for an IQ of 104: it’s not tough. Take the deviation of the score from the mean (104-100 = 4) and divide it by the standard deviation (15) and you get 0.27. A z-score of 0.27 on the unit-normal table means 10.64% of all scores fall between that score and the median, with another 50% falling below the median. 50 + 10.64 = 60.64%. That’s 60.64% of the world that has an IQ lower than the average American cop, assuming an average IQ of 104.
Now what’s the mean IQ of your average grievance-mongering Eurosocialist, I wonder…?
November 15, 2007 at 11:03 pm
[...] Taser, Vancouver Airport, Video | As a follow up to the previous posts pertaining to Andrew Myer, I have decided to report two pieces of [...]