None of the four comments noted above in ANY way justices tasering a student asking a question at a university-sponsored event. I have worked in a university environment for over 30 years, from Harvard to, now, the University of Central Florida (not to be confused with the University of Florida, where the tasering in question took place). I can safely say there is never a speech or a forum where somebody doesn't ask a rude question or hog the microphone or annoy others in the audience. I can also safely say that I have never witnessed six police officers drag one student out of such an event and taser the student in order to "subdue" him or her. When we do get to such a point, we really are living in a police state, as I have feared for some time.

I think the police did their job correctly.

One video shows the police repeatedly asking the resisting student to stop resisting, and allow his hands to be handcuffed.

The student of course did not stop resisting until after being tasered.

Note: the kid was a big lad and easily broken free of two police officiers who first tried to pull him from the mic. It took six officers to subdue him.

Kerry's response to this incident was pathetic. But then he couldn't even defend his own military record when challenged by a bunch of draft-dodging, chicken hawks.

Blaming Kerry in any way for this participant confrontation and outburst is ridilucous. This was poorly handed by both the student (instigator) for not complying with police and remaining obstinant escalated it and the fact six officers cannot control the situation without a taser shows poor skills.

No one likes to see the authorities abuse their position but that is not applicable here. The student is responsible for the outburst and escalation.

I would be very careful about saying that the audience was applauding his removal. From my point of view, they were applauding his statement. Please re-consider your post.

Florida-style democracy:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=CheY0jYXJjY

Uhh, Petras, what right do the police even have to cuff the guy? He may be a fanatic, he may have been annoying people, but the proof is on the tape. The kid isnt militant and posed no threat to anyone. A big lad? Huh. Was he swinging his fists? Weilding a weapon? There were like 5 cops around him with bill clubs and electric tasers. Give me a break. This kind of behavior signifies the onset of a military junta in this country. As long as we continue to spend a trillion a year on defense/"security", and discourage the right to civil freedom, we are going down this path...

I agree. The audience definitely seemed to be applauding his statements and questions. Then again, in Florida we were responsible for "electing" Bush in 2000. What do we know?

I hope this brings about a serious dialog about tasers. Having a weapon that causes pain (USUALLY) without permanent harm gives the police more power to intimidate people out of exercising their constitutional rights. The student may have been annoying, but he was not a threat to anyone. However, the reaction of the police is yet another indication that it is our democracy that is truly under threat.

How do we know that the audience wasn't clapping for Meyers and th questions he was asking. You have no idea who the audience was clapping for but I see that you are trying to slant the article saying that people were against Meyers from the beginning. That's great journalism right there.

wow, ironic that a democracy criticizes a citizen for asking "too many questions." not to mention that Kerry, the guest of honor, didn't think there were too many questions. did this kid monopolize the microphone for 20 minutes? a student body asking too many political questions of its political guest - if only every university could be so lucky.

Morale: never try to ask questions "famous" people don't like, else "Police will do the correct job". No freedom for speech in forum

Yesterday was Citizens day. The anniversery of the ratification of the US Constitution.

Congress shall pass no law " " free speach.

Can you fill in the empty space. A student tazzered for exercising his constitutional right. Petra this is not nazi germany or Iran, Iraq, India, Pakistan. This is America. If that had been my son and I was there, I would have picked up anything at hand and defended my son from the assualt he was enduring........... This is a blatant assault on a student by law enforcement. Abject losers the cops are!!!!!!!!!!!!

From what I saw from the video it appeared that the police moved in immediately after the student asked a pro-Bush anti-Kerry question. I would like to ask if the man was persecuted because of his political position?

anyone who thinks that tasering this young man was appropriate might as well roll up in a ball and let the government kick you around. the man didn't do anything wrong. the only reason why he was resisting arrest was because he DIDN'T COMMIT A CRIME!!!!! how can you people be so stupid not to see that? they could have easily told him to sit down and shut up..or leave the place completely. But to tackle him and tase him?? Are you serious? How can you find this justifiable?? For asking a few questions? AND OH MY GOD...he took 2 WHOLE MINUTES ASKING THEM?!?!? HOW DARE HE!! Good Lord, you people are a joke...and so were those cops. Andrew asked them why he was arrested and they said he CAUSED A RIOT. Definition of RIOT: "a public act of violence by an unruly mob". WHO'S THE MOB!? The 21 year old college student asking a question? Or the 9 cops surrounding him, holding him to the ground and tasering him? I mean, if I was arrested, tackled to the ground and tasered, I'd be scared that they'd take me away and hurt me too, who wouldn't?!!? GET IT THROUGH YOUR THICK SKULLS PEOPLE, HE DIDN'T COMMIT A CRIME, HE SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN TASERED. EVERYONE HAS THE RIGHT TO ASK QUESTIONS AND TO HAVE THEM ANSWERED. John Kerry wanted to answer the question and they wouldn't let Andrew listen!! And how the hell does John Kerry not know he was being tasered when he clearly yells for mercy from it?!? I can't believe almost 50% of the people who took a poll thought he deserved it. I guess everyone who voices their opinion that may be different from the majority must be put down. They aren't welcome here in the good ol USA.

I'm really shocked...i'm italian, so i'm not involved in US Politics, but such a fascistic way to act...

If they are going to start tazering people for rude and obnoxious behavior, can we start posting some of those cops in the movie theaters? How about grocery lines? Shopping malls during holidays? Most every concert event? well.. you get the idea.

The little kid from Weston got what he deserved. The 2004 election is over and the question about Skull & Bones was totally off base.

To those of you who think the police were doing their job correctly because they asked the student to stop resisting, you are completely wrong. The student was resisting an unconstitutional arrest.

John Kerry, although he said he wanted to hear the question, is still a weakling for not speaking out against the actions of the police.

This is an outrageous example the erosion of our free speech.

Agree that Kerry's response was pathetic and that this goes to show that he is not a leader but a strategic bystander. He is probably the only one in the room that could have diffused the situation. It's scary when questioning your charges and unjustified removal constitute resisting arrest. He's lucky he wasn't shot.

O'Keefe's 4 alleged justifications for this event are so off-point....They have nothing to do with the event and are obvious attempts to "make it OK" that a kid was arreseted and then tasered for questioning his arrest. And his crime: speaking in public.

This is part of a long slide downhill that the US has been making in recent years. This has happened before, but those who do not learn from history are forced to repeat it.

Us foreigners note (and can talk freely about it) that while America tries to act as the world's cop when it comes to human rights, US human rights violations at home and abroad are multiplying at an alarming rate.

I was there when the student was tasered. To clarify, the event was scheduled for 2 hours(from noon to 2 P.M.) not 1 hour. The event was ending early, and some students who had been in line to speak were agitated that so few questions were taken. That said, the student did make an outburst which was uncalled for and he refused to follow the rules, i.e. wait your turn to talk. Even so, the tasering was not necessary as the student was already being held down by several officers and was pleading with them not to taser him. this is another unfortunate case of police using force where it is not necessary.

he didn't commit a crime he didnt have a weapon a student tazzed was not necessary
they should have just pulled him outside away from the forum.

what ever happened to freedom of speech. As long as Sen Kerry was trying to answer the question, the police were out of line.

When individuals are acting in an agitated manner around political figures it's not unusual for police / security to escort them from the area. No, it's not illegal for him to ask a question, but they have to act in the manner that they feel best serves the safety of the figure. Just from watching the video, I can see why they felt he might do something unexpected as he's behaving confrontationally.

That said, once an arrest is beginning even the ACLU will tell you...never resist arrest. If you do, the resistance becomes the problem, not the initial infraction. Once you start fighting the police or resisting arrest the situation is only going to escalate.

More proof that the police don't seem to understand the very Constitution that they're supposed to uphold. I'm much more afraid of the cops than terrorists.

Hello What Country are we living ? If student ask question to the senator, he gets handcuffed and tasered, what a non sense, where is human rights and we go complaing about the China and third world county. It has SHAME on us, the arrest is made for no reason and tasering, guy cried for helped and not a single chicken got up and helped him. Welcome to DEMOCRACY

This is definitly an all too common sight that is being pushed under the rug in the current administrations post-patriot act dictatorship (it IS a dictatorship). The validity of Andrew's question is of unimportance. First of all, everything he said is correct and always will be. That is for the American public who still support this administration to always have on their hearts. However, the most important idea that is being threatened here is another continued complete obliteration of our freedom of speech. The administration (shown never capitalized for a reason- they deserve no official notice) has set up this country to be their own personal war machine using the police and military to keep the people subdued, even, and especially, if it means by use of force. The campus security should never even have the authority of police, for whatever facade they have live their life in thinking they have power is ridiculous. They are strictly there for the SAFETY of the students. Andrew did nothing wrong- with hands in the air he was CLEARLY not initiating violence. This is a disgrace. Those officers should be the ones thrown in jail. No PAID VACATIONS. No LOSING THEIR JOB. They deserve to be tasered in the chest and then THROWN IN JAIL. Andrew had that happen to him and for SO MUCH LESS. THESE POLICE ARE CRIMINALS. THEY DO NOT EVEN DESERVE OUR RESPECT ANYMORE. THE PEOPLE OF THIS COUNTRY MUST TAKE IT BACK.

I agree that the first two points made above do not warrant this type of force by police. The student's reaction to police, I believe, was appropriate given that his actions were not unlawful - though, perhaps, were annoying to some. This type of behavior on behalf of police, especially UNIVERSITY police - a university ideally being a safe place for the exchange of ideas - is despicable.

Kudos to the University of Florida Police in their response to Andrew Meyer. This was not the first time during a public discussion that Andy pressumed, because he knows how to yell, his voice was the most important one. Just because this guy has read Allen Ginsburg and scored a 1400 on his SAT's doesn't mean he is entitled to a prolonged disruption of a senator's speech. He is certainly not entitled to resist arrest. If he had been a homeless man outside a liquor store acting the way he was, police would have rightfully responded the same way and, be sure, the event would not have ended up on CNN.

Andy, I'm sure you're busy with lawyers and the ACLU, but I'll offer you advice anyway: If you don't want to be tasered, then A) try outsmarting your interlocutor rather than screaming over him, B) simply stop being a public nuisance (remedies include friendships and dating), C) resort not to the Toys-R-Us temper tantrums of your youth when interacting with the police, D) be sure the delivery of your insights on the country's foreign policy does not conflict with the basic civil laws of a university.

Why did Senator Kerry not stop this? I wonder what would have happened if I a 68 year female would have asked the same questions? I would like to ask them also. This kid did not deserve the treatment he got. Obviously they were laying for him and had him tagged so when he said the words "Skull and Crossbones they grabbed him. Tasers should be taken away from overly gung-ho police. This country has a fear mentality to everything thanks to the neo-cons and their actions and beliefs and constant lying.

"That said, once an arrest is beginning even the ACLU will tell you...never resist arrest. If you do, the resistance becomes the problem, not the initial infraction. Once you start fighting the police or resisting arrest the situation is only going to escalate" that's cowardly. had he not resisted, this never would have made the news. it would all be swept under the carpet. i wish more people would have resisted with him.

I am absolutly sickened by this. It is time for a revolution in this country. I will not live in a Police state!

Despite Andrew Meyer's caustic approach, his actions did not warrant any degree of retaliatory police violence.

When such a heavy-handed response occurs - and when citizens support it - you know you're living in a police state, as Dolores aptly says.

Kerry comes off looking horrible in this situation, and this is coming from a someone who actively campaigned for the guy in 2004 and who has admired him for many years. First of all, I agree with the first poster above who said that the kid should not have been arrested, let alone tasered, in this educational forum. Second, with that in mind, Kerry could have diffused this situation once started, but he failed to do so. His campaign claims that he tried. Fine. But he still failed. And if President Bush had committed the same failure (frankly, he has), or the president of the school had done so, I would be just as critical. This was a pathetic display -- by the obnoxious student, by the over-reacting police, and by the would-be leader of the free world standing who ineptly let it all happen.

@Your Conscience

Please, these people call themselves, "Leaders". He should have got down off the stage and requested the police let the questioner sit down to hear the answer.

this country is going down the tubes.

I think every one of those cops should be shot in the head. There is absolutly no reason that student was tazed other than the police lost their temper. I can't believe no one in the audience came to help this poor man.

First of all Kerry is an employee of the citizens of this country (IE.Senator). And any employer has the right to question the employee. Second, the University forum is the one place where one has a constitutional right to debate. (I see major law suit on infringement of freedom of speech). Third this is the right place to ask questions of a politician that are not canned such as the idiotic questions asked at debates. Fourth does anyone remember when Kerry made a statement that he discussed the US policy with foriegn governmnet officials during his campaign? And when he was asked as to who he had these discussions with by a voter, he responded by telling the voter "It is None Of Your Business as to who I talked with"
It is beyond me as to why the people of Massachussetts continue to vote this coward to a senate seat. Gee did I say coward??

My kids are not allowed to visit the USA. Here in UK we fought the nazis and we STILL hope not to see one of them again.
Your country is sad, freedom is no more your goal.
Where is ONE, omly one place in the world where someone dream of the USA?
None alas.

Agree with Lauren! She is 100% on the money.

This is a kid. He was just asking a question. He was totally in control. He is a journalism student for heavens sake. This is a learning body.

For those who think going beyond one minute is ground FOR TERMINATION you must be a certifiable idiot (or a mindless cop). (Same thing really). "We do as we are told " gestapeau morons who never stop to ask what the hell they're doing.

Kerry's response was truly pathetic. He should resign his post for NOT REPRESENTING PUBLIC INTEREST, JUSTICE, NOR FREE SPEECH.

He is a kid. He is just asking a question. Going over your minutes is NOT grounds for getting tasered. Pay close attention to how many times people go over their minutes. People in the audience go over their minute ALL THE TIME. All the time. Whoever organized this thing at that school ought to be fired, and all the officers put on leave. And Kerry should do us students a favor and not show his face in public again.

KERRY YOUR A LOSER! (For not standing up to a kids rights) LOSER!

When police ask you to do something, DO IT. That is the law. If you don't agree with it, you will have your day in court. If you choose to fight the police (by resisting and not complying) they will fight back. It really is that simple. The kid got what he deserved.

Some people argue the boy caused problem, because he kept resisting when told to stop resisting so that they could handcuff him. Obviously, he is only college boy, and totally panicked when bunch of police force trying to handcuff him.

Give us some break.

Unlike some of the above comments, I do know and understand the law...like inciting, trespass, assult of a law enforcement officer, resisting...when given a lawful command even for a reason you may not agree with at the time, you must comply. Let the courts figure the rest out later. I saw officers doing the job as it is prescribed in law.

This is the 4th video I have watched -- thanks. The angle of this shot clearly shows that the kid had stepped AWAY from the mic, to receive an answer, and the cops moved in for NO reason. Kerry is a liar when he says he didn't know about the tasering -- that's the bull they tried to feed me when I called his office. I am so ashamed I ever gave money to this man!

Disgusting. Amnesty International has called on the end of using Tasers as there have been over 150 deaths from them.

This is a sick use of power, and it people must be held accountable.

i am more outraged by the fact that all these so call liberals sat there in silence, scared like sheeps (except for a lone woman, that i can hear in the background.) i mean, where the hell is their convition, or better yet, principles?
a young man excersing his right to free speech, get arrested and tased, and they all just sat there. how sad is this.

The US has created an image internationally of dealing with any opposition to its policies by the use of force rather than diplomacy, and this case seems to illustrate the perception at a domestic and individual level. I say this a UK Brit who has lived in the US previously.

For those of you who live in the land of the free and the home of the brave, you might ask yourselves how much freedom you have left, and what constitutes bravery.

I'm not familiar with what right the police have within a university building, and whether any guidance had been given to them in advance as to how to deal with issues like the one that occurred. Perhaps this line of questioning should be pursued.

As the gentleman from Italy said, the reported response by the police smacks of a fascist regime's response to unwelcome behaviour. I hope that some closure is reached and lessons learned.

What was his real CRIME? I am not a Kerry fan, but I was under the assumption that we still had some FREEDOMS! The Blue Mafia or Gestapo that Bush and our leaders favor have got to be stopped. What is next, tasering someone who talks slowly or has a stuttering problem? We see this conduct EVERYDAY on the TV. It is almost always RULED JUSTIFIED. They are killing or maiming almost as many people as the Drug dealers. I bet my LIFE, had he been an ILLEGAL INVADER he would not have been touched.

This is the first anyone has reported that Meyers "barged" his way to the front of the mic. Campus Police can be seen harassing Meyers as he delivers his question, then they cut off his mic. Meyers is then shoved into the aisle and defends himself from being unduly manhandled by harassing Campus Officers and is finally gang tackled. He repeatedly pleads to be allowed to exit the auditorium. Instead he is held to the floor and Tasered.

They were escorting him out and he resisted all the way and then started getting physical and ordering the police to back off....If you ever want the police force that we pay for to be effective, you can't allow that to happen. If for some reason he had a gun and was this belligerent and shot somebody, some of you would be railing and wondering why the police didn't control the situation sooner. It's up to school officials and security to provide order and safety at gatherings like this. This kid also had some problems before and maybe mentally unstable. The police could have been keeping and eye on him and trying to prevent someone from being hurt...Police are usually damned if they do and damned if they don't. Hasn't everybody learned by now that you don't resist the police. If you feel you were unjustly treated, you can take it up later.

The use of electrocution as a means of controlling debate in Universities is a novel idea. i am sure Big Brother would agree. Faster and faster America seems to be becoming Orwells vision, Airstrip one is not far behind. And remember these use full words WAR IS PEACE, FREEDOM IS SLAVERY, IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH

Wow. Here we go again. Another discussion blaming Kerry. For what? People like Lilly in this forum move away from the real issues by poking at Kerry for what - "draft dodging?" Pathetic. The student took a long time setting up the question and the University moderators cut him off, not Kerry. Then the police abused their power and attacked him. It is the university's fault. This is not a democrat-republican issue, so calm down...

The bottom line is that this guy was silenced for the content of his speech. He may have been obnoxious, long winded, and slightly incoherent, but he's still got First Amendment protection. When we allow a disapproving public -- and, even more dangerously, armed police officers -- to start deciding who gets to talk and who doesn't, then we're in big big trouble.

The cops in this country are OUT OF CONTROL

Was the boy arrested? I think not. I think he was being 'escorted' away, and had every right not to be detained unless he was arrested. Anyone who saw the sick grin on the face of the beefy white policeman who looked up into the tv cameras after repeatedly tasering this boy with 50,000 volts, knows exactly what the real scenario was. Even if he was disturbing the peace, since when is that an offense that requires corporal punishment? Wake up folks---what happens to the least of us, happens to you.

the police have no right to touch anybody. Asking a question? What do we have left if the police can drag you away and taser you asking a question for some crummy Q&A.

Police touched him. That is assault.

Cleary Andrew Meyer, was being very disruptive during MR. Kerry's speech. This young man appears to suffer from some condition......the police felt it necessary to use the taser to I don't probably place the handcuffs on him. I can only imagine that if he was that excited during the speech, how much adrenaline was running through his body. If you have never tried to hand cuff someone before, don't assume that it is an easy task. Six officers responded to the incident to help isolate the event and prevent it from getting out of control. If the police did something wrong, it will come out during their internal investigation.

While free speech is a right under the constition, so do others have right not to be disrupted. We have laws, you break them, you are disciplined.

OUTRAGEOUS! What have we come to when the very act of democratic discourse is prevented and brutally repressed?

I failed to mentioned though that it was kind of fun watching a total Democratic train wreck.

If the police ever violate my constitutional right to free speech by attempting to arrest me illegally, I will resist that arrest to my death.

Give me liberty or give me death.

What about freedom of speech? I am appalled at the blatant misuse of police power. I would have expected that kind of disregard for constitutional rights at a Bush forum. Welcome to the police state that we have been warned of in the past. I shudder to think what it will be like for my toddler grandchildren if citizens don't wake up and assure that this is not allowed to continue.

The student was intentionally trying to create a scene, and he succeeded, and he got what he deserved. Students like this (and anybody at a university knows people like this) are total egotistical idiots. The student cut ahead of the others and began by intentionally causing a disruption. Anyone with the slightest bit of civic-mindedness would have behaved the way this clown did.

Anyway, it is the thankless job of the police in such a situation to restrain someone who is disrupting the presentation. If the person only then creates more of a disruption, the police are within their rights to use force to arrest him. If he still will not calm down, sorry, but it's standard operating procedure to tase the idiot. I wouldn't wish a tasing on anybody, but it was necessary and the student brought it on himself.

The amount of posturing going on by the student, by the blogosphere, and by the media is disgusting.

The only reason that everyone is excited about this situation is it happened at a university, where police are regarded as evil and it is the right of every clown to disrupt everything to his heart's content (apparently). And because it was caught on video.

The icing on the cake, and this was absolutely priceless, was the student calling "Help!" and "Can't anybody do anything?" when the police (you idiot) were trying to arrest him. Basically, he was playing up his part as the victim to the absolute hilt. He was completely in the right, and anyone who would enforce the rules against him had to be restrained themselves--by who, you loser? What a complete idiot.

1. Its frightening to know Jorge exists.
2. frightening to know a Presidential candidate would let the Nazi show progress.
3. Truly frightening to know someone in charge of that audience uses EXCESSIVE UNREASONABLE UNCALLED FOR force against a person there just to ask a question. HELLO! This is a university. Ever heard of Free Speech?

As stated by the 30year Harvard gal, people ALWAYS go over their alloted time. Always. What? You want to start taking the tasers out for some rule someone just made 10 minutes prior to the speech?

THEN you need to have the FEDS come in, stand on your foot and read you excerpts of the US Constitution. I dont know which country you Gestapeau cops you think your living in, but give me your names, i'll have the feds pay you a private visit.
"The little kid from Weston got what he deserved. The 2004 election is over and the question about Skull & Bones was totally off base.

Posted by: Jorge | September 18, 2007 02:48 PM "

-----
"My kids are not allowed to visit the USA. Here in UK we fought the nazis and we STILL hope not to see one of them again."

----
Please, these people call themselves, "Leaders". He should have got down off the stage and requested the police let the questioner sit down to hear the answer.

this country is going down the tubes.

Posted by: me

Mr.University of Florida President,

He was assualted plain and simple. Nothing you say can justify the actions of these brownshirts.............

The constitution?? never heard of it. -shrub

Police in various jurisdictions -- Miami, New York, Portland -- have been gassing, beating and otherwise assaulting peaceful anti-war and anti-globalization protestors in the streets for some time now, without a peep from the national press. Suddenly, a pro-Bush student gets tasored by some overzealous campus cops and it's big news.

Your liberal media at work.

Why was there a police intervention in the first place?

He wanted attention, he got it. Snide, arrogant, full of himself. Who cares about the last election or the paranoia of secret societies. Get over it. Doesn't mean the Barney Fifes of the college security field had to overreact that way.

Hey Dave, you idiot, the student's "constitutional right to free speech" was hardly being violated. He was disrupting the proceedings. Nobody has a constitutional right to skip to the front of the line and start shouting questions and otherwise making an ass of himself.

Stop posturing, you maroons.

When I was in college, schools did not have tasers. Back then, they used water cannons, Billy Clubs, and real guns on protesters. Kids today have it too easy -- no draft, no double-digit inflation, no gas lines, no corporal punishment, no exercise, and no discipline. They will never amount to anything. Just look, after 35 years they can't even put another man on the moon! They are too busy playing video games. China and India will rule their world.

The kid was being an idiot. His questions were irrelavent and were only meant to cause a ruckus. Then, when asked to leave he immediately threw his hands up and started yelling instead of getting out (or even sitting back down). Had he just left when asked, he wouldn't have gotten tasered. But if he had, then his immature, undignified way of making a point would have failed. So he got EXACTLY what he wanted to happen. I hope he thinks twice next time he tries to act like a pompous opinion-leader.

I get so embarrassed for people who don't have the mental capacity to realize that there are appropriate ways of acting, and inappropriate ways. Who cares about this kid's free speech rights? He was acting inappropriately.

What justification is there to taser someone who is already handcuffed and surrounded by several police officers? I hope this kid sues the hell out of the police!

Hey people. He wasn't being arrested when he started to resist. The cops were escorting him out and he blared out "why are you arresting me?" He was arrested for resisting. I get escorted out of places by police all the time. They never arrest me b/c I don't start flaying around like a moron. Be careful what you wish for.

Sorry to disagree with many here, but this kid was being a self centered immature jerk. With rights come responsibilities. If his agenda was really to ask a question, he could have done that without the pompous front end rant. I think his plan was to create a disturbance focused around himself, and in that he succeeded. Don't blame the police - they were dealing with an out of control individual in a public forum who refused to listen to their requests. He continued lead the escalation, complete with obscenities, forcing them to do the same. Freedom of speech does not guarantee your right to be a boring nut case at a public forum in front of a US Senator.

Kerry's political career is over. It ended in disgrace because he failed to stand up for the most important American value. (He could have easily stopped this incident, but chose not to interfere.) I hope Kerry's weakness does not reflect negatively on other Dems.

One account of this incident online states that Meyers entered the room with 4 or 5 officers in tow. This implies that there was an incident even prior to the question, and prior to what can be seen on the videos. Even if we assume the officers had reason to arrest or take Meyers into custody before he made it to the mic, the entire scenario seems bizarre. It would mean the officers suspended their pursuit of Meyers while he asked his question, and then resumed as soon as he had finished on the mic. At NO POINT during any of these videos can we hear or see any officers telling Meyers that he's being placed under arrest, nor do we hear his Miranda rights being read. I believe that this is an important part of the officers "doing their jobs". In addition, one angle even shows one of the female cops pointing what looks like either a gun, or pepper spray, at Meyers. In the middle of this public event. He was unarmed. It's obvious this kid is annoying, but he still has the right to be that way. It's not against the law. I'm sure I would have been alarmed to have 5 officers tackling me at a public event without knowing why, and what would be even scarier would be to watch people looking and laughing complacently as it happened. He's a rabblerouser who has exposed the exact reason why people should be speaking up more. They want us to go quietly.

The guy posting at 3:11PM "clearly Andrew Meyer"

Why don't you unplug from the matrix already. Freedom of speech. The cops touched him after he asked a question. What right do the cops have to touch anybody?? Your problem is that you believe cops and the government rule over the people. The US constitution(you spelled it incorrectly BTW) was created to limit the powers of government, not to limit the rights of people. Thats one huge reason why the USA was created. The USA was created to get away from a busybody authoritarian government crushing citizens for talking freely.

The cop had no legal right to order him to stop talking. Once that cop layed a hand on that guy, the cop was in the wrong. Cops have no right to touch a US citizen.

God I pray for freedom, do not let individual freedom guaranteed by God and the US constitution perish.

While I admit the video troubled me greatly, the worst thing to witness is the long list of people who are desparate to make sure their need for order is protected by their keepers. Sad little zoo creatures, in love with your masters and proud to defend them, as they lock up another voice that won't sing unison. You think that's civic virtue! It's the worst kind of funny, in the saddest sort of way. Homo domesticus, railing at individualist "liberals". Delicious.

Be Quiet are you bleeping nuts............

THE COPS ASSUALTED THE YOUNG MAN NO MATTER HOW YOU CUT IT. HE WAS A REAL THREAT!!!! THIS IS A&B Committed on a citizen by law enforcement for speach.

A protected Constitutional Right!!!!!!!!

Anyone who justifies the actions of the cops is pathetic!!!!!!!!!!

Who disturbed the peace.....?
Who prevented who from speaking....?
who grabbed who for speaking ?
who tazzered, who.......
should we go on.....

Mr. Unversity President, Excuse me they should all be fired...............
This is bleeping insane AMERICA!!!!!!

Jeff says: "Police touched him. That is assault." That has to be the most inane thing I've seen in this forum, and basically shows the level of mental ability we're working with here. Police have the authority to touch people, when they are restraining them. That's why we call them "police," Einstein. And they can also tase people who are resisting arrest. If they couldn't, how else would they bring criminals in? What a bunch of posturing idiots.

Hey 3:27 poster, anarchy doesn't work. Get in line.

Its a shame!!! we talk about the other countries and how their government and police take law in their own hand and here we see clearly there is no difference...The only difference between the 2 worlds are the cowards in the audience who sit and let this happen...over and over in many instances where the police used over and unnecessary force and everyone just watched...SHAME ON ALL OF THOSE WHO JUST witnessed this...the difference in other countries is that everyone would have rushed to help the unjust force...ITS a SHAME!!!! no one cares of course until it happens to them...wake up AMERICA and take back our country from these dictators....WAKE UP!!!

This is a bold violation of this individuals God given right to free speech which is acknowledged in and protected by the First Amendment. Further it is a violation against all of us.
This individual had the legal right to ask at a legal assembly , in a public forum a valid question that many of us would like to have had the opportunity to ask.
Mr. Kerry willingly made himself available to be asked questions and by his own statements was even willing to answer this individuals though they may be controversial. Mr. Kerry did not pull the plug...I would like to know who did. That person should be the one that was arrested.

My concern is that the media will focus on the tasering as to whether or not it was justified because the individual was resisting arrest and not on the fact that he may have been arrested for asking the wrong questions. I would like to know why Mr. Kerry conceded so quickly in an election that may have been rigged. Did being a member of the "Skull and Bones" secret society have any bearing on his decision to concede to his fellow "S & B" Brother ?. Rumor has it that requests by fellow members can not be refused without suffering dire consequences much worse than being tasered.

Exactly James Joyce.

Who touched who?
Who grabbed who?
Who prvented who from speaking?
Who tazered who?

Thank goodness we didn't elect Kerry if this is the respect he give for the rule of law. This one person evidently cut the line and monopolized the question answer session, to the cost of those behind him in line. If the authorities will not enforce social rules where the violation of those rules directly and negatively affect others then we motivate other citizens to take the law into their own hands. We create a situation in which those at the back of the line might need to bring their own tasers. Down this road lies rule by bullies and the strong over the timid and the weak. Any society that expects to protect civil liberties must protect it's citizens not only from abuses by the government but also from abuses by other citizens. Most citizens who belong to a minority group are intimately familiar with this need.

This kid wasn't asking questions. He was making provacative accusations in the guise of asking questions, which is an entirely different thing. I'm sure he got exactly what he was looking for. There was nothing new or very intelligent in what he was saying, and it was his manner, not the content of his diatribe to which the police reacted. This is not a free speech issue, i.e. morons do not have the right to vent upon people simply because they hold political office and are standing in front of them in a public forum. The public official has rights, as do others who want to hear the official's answers to legitimate questions.

Hey Justin,

Is a fly buzzing round your head??

Right or Wrong?

Facts:

1) Police had no legal reason to take custody of the man
2) The man did resist a direct order from an officer verbally and physically
3) Backup arrived and 6 officers had the man subdued on the ground
4) After the man was subdued he was then shot with the stun gun

Blatant abuse of power and excessive force were used on this man. Who was the man a threat to face down, no weapon, with 6 officers on his back? Force is legally only allowed to be used if the person is a threat to his/herself or others.

>>From what I saw from the video it appeared that the police moved in immediately after the student asked a pro-Bush anti-Kerry question. I would like to ask if the man was persecuted because of his political position?

Good lord, what country do you live in? The persecution comes from the right in this country, not from the left. Would you accuse the Jews of 1936 Germany of "persecuting good Nazis for their political positions?" Maybe you would, but it would be baseless and ludicrous to the extreme. So is your "question."

A clear case of "undue force" being used. The student was annoyings, but the punishment both inappropriate and unwarranted. The officers need to be disciplined. The student already was!

this is in response to an earlier post by James Joyce. I do agree with your comments, however what I didn't agree with was your inclusion of India within the "axis of evil" states. I believe if this incident had happened at an IIT or a University in Delhi, the fellow students would have given the police a good "beat down" of their own....Indians love their freedom, and would raise hell if it were trampled upon....

Fact is, kerry is a COWARD for allowing this to happen. He is weak and lame. This makes me stop to think, would he have been a good president?

Why is this discussion verges on absurdity? The most important lesson from this is that our leaders are incapable and unwilling to stand up for real American values. Kerry issued a statement which seems a poor excuse for not stopping the police. All he had to say: stop immediately, I'll answer his question.

Kerry has no fire in him to stop our country's discent into Fascism.

Some of you say the Police did their job, fine. The problem is, it took that many officers to cuff one student? Oh yeah, and he was tazed before he was cuffed by five officers. How hard is it to take someone OUT of the room to diffuse a situation. That was all they had to do, but they went over the edge on this.

Kerry is a fool, which could have easily calmed everyone in the room down, some President he would have been.

i agree that the applauding is for the comment.. not the police, this is rediculous, no one should be arrested for asking a question, the "POLICE" or campus officers did a horrible job here, they should have just let Kerry answer the kid or say, no comment. campus officers should never touch a student for speaking... and they call themselves police...

"From what I saw from the video it appeared that the police moved in immediately after the student asked a pro-Bush anti-Kerry question."

Do we really believe that the kid was removed based on the fact that he asked a pro-Bush question? I sure hope not. The guy was being a menace; before, during and after his question. That is the only reason he was removed. Not because they were protecting Kerry from thinking.

Nope, it's getting too cold for flies.

I agree with 3:38. Why didn't Kerry intervene?

no, no officers can touch you. There was no reason to "escort him out" You cant touch anyone for talking.

Wake up, he didn't do anything.

Russ Thayer, I'm glad you're around to judge what's intelligent and worthy of being asked (or accused provocatively) of a public official. So you were bored or didn't want to hear what the kid had to say? He was speaking and presenting his point/questions in a manner different from how you would do it? Guess he doesn't have a right to that. I hope the Washington Post doesn't "cut your mic" on this board. Because I think you're within your rights to sound off here. Even if I disagree.

It was not a pro-Bush question. It was indeed anti-Kerry. And Kerry proved the student right.

To devil's advocate for a moment: Does this guy have a right to be belligerent at the microphone? He sounds angry and accusatory asking his "questions" - is he really addressing the senator, or is he making a statement? It doesn't sound like he was interested in the senator's responses at all. If not, then his comments may have been inappropriate for that forum. It was a place for a dialogue, not for making around claims and accusations.

Also, a slightly finer point of distinction: I don't think he was "tazed". Barbed darts were not shot into his body. He was struck with a stun gun momentarily, forcing him to cease resisting long enough to get handcuffs on him... That being said, it was a bit much. Six people should've been able to just pick him up and carry him outside.

My son graduated UF. I felt like throwing up when I saw this. I am so ashamed of Florida right now & I have lived here all my life. Those Univ. police need frigging brain transplants & I hope that family sues them blind.

To the writer going on & on about Kerry: you just don't get it do you. For god's sake this isn't about Kerry it's about trying to muzzle an individual's right to speak. His questions were within the norm. I didn't hear any students applauding the police; I heard them screaming in horror. And all this article is concerned about is that it made Kerry look bad--well, you managed to do just that.

I might be mistaken.. but in order to be under arrest.. shouldn't your rights be read first?? After watching the video several times.. I never once caught sound of his rights being read to him.. In that case, how was he resisting arrest?......And I agree that he could have handled himself better while presenting himself to Kerry, but shouldn't every attitude be expected when the mic is open for questions?? Honestly, what happened to freedom of speech??? Maybe next time they should send out a warning to everyone advising them that if a form of expression is presented during questions, they are fair game to be tasered...

What is particularly frightening about this incident is not the police reaction. It is the inane howling that is coming from the Left. The Brownshirts had about the same kind of understanding of basic civics displayed here.

For you Einsteins who need a civics refresher:

1. The right to free speech does not mean you are free to disrupt any proceedings anywhere.

2. Yes, the police have a right to restrain you if you are disrupting the proceedings in a public speech. If they didn't, we wouldn't have speeches, we would have shouting matches featuring posturing leftists.

3. Yes, the police have a right to touch you, when they give you an order they are legally permitted to give you, and you resist.

4. Yes, the police have a right to tase people who are resisting arrest. Yeah, it hurts, but it seems better than bashing people over the head, or doing whatever else is necessary to get people to calm down and cooperate with their arrest.

Why should he even be getting arrested for asking a question at a public forum when there was no sign of a physical confrontation about to occur? Other than when the police stepped up to the student. Kerry even was about to answer his question until the police stepped in and attempted to take him outside. Regardless of if the student "has done this before and was annoying to other people." This brings up some serious questions about why the police believe that they have the right an ability to interrupt a public discussion especially when, once again, Senator Kerry was about to answer the question purposed.

The university hosted an event with specific guidelines for asking questions. If a person violates those rules the University Police have the right to ask the person to leave the property. When the person does not leave they are committing a criminal act thus leading to the arrest.

When the a person resists (as this punk did) he gets tasered. He got what he deserved.

5. (for Ocala Fl) Yes, you are mistaken. The police do not have to calmly take a moment to read rights even while someone is continuing to commit an offense, such as public disruption. The rights can be read after the person is restrained.

Stop posturing.

Arresting and tasering were not only an abuse of power--- they were completely unnecessary.

It would have been much easier to simply cut power to the microphone he was using. An organizer could announce it was time to give someoone else a chance, and offer another mic to the next person in line.

You'd think the organizers of a big event would have considered beforehand what they'd do if any of the questioners monopolized the mic.

I watched the video and thought the young man was very aggitated. If I was in a public place and a person started to act in an way that seems volitile, I would want the police to handle the situation. It looked like his next step was to rush the statge. I swear the participants in this forum would agree with his constitutional right to confront Mr Kerry any way he seemed fit.Once you are asked by an officer of the law to calm down your behaviour, you must comply. my protection depends on the police handling this type of situation. He seemed dangerous.

That was a pretty horrible thing to watch. The student had the right to ask questions in a public forum and to not be hassled and then abused by police. Senator Kerry has come a far way from leading peace marches if he allows a person to be beat down right in front of him as if its Chicago in 1968!

I would make several points here:

1. It appears to me that the guy is there to instigate. His first question sounded like it may have been legitimate, but the other two - impeaching Bush? Kerry as a member of Skull & Bones? These aren't legitimate questions, and appear to me to be designed to instigate.

2. He claims he's being arrested before anybody says anything about arrest. They move to escort him out of the auditorium. He resisted. In my opinion, they gave him every opportunity to leave the building. They warned him if he kept resisting, then he would be tasered. He kept resisting.

3. The guy's entire demeanor is confrontational and belligerent. He was not tasered for asking a question, he was not tasered for being obnoxious, he was tasered because he refused to comply with the officers orders, and refused to be escorted from the building.

The officers, entrusted with the security of the event, have every right to escort whom they choose from the building, for whatever reason. Whether that reason is ultimately good or bad is not the point in this case - the point in this case is that he CONTINUED TO RESIST. He was asked, warned, and then told, and he did not listen one time.

I suspect that the officers followed a strict procedure in their actions. I also suspect that this guy was there to make a scene. He was there to deliberately provoke some kind of drastic response.

Who cares how this reflects on Kerry? I don't. But I care how our other leaders would react in a similar situation. I'll bet that majority would fail miserably, just as Kerry did.

That's true. Had the power been cut off he would have thanked Kerry for his time (even though no one could hear him) and set down politely, waiting for an appropriate outlet for his opinion.

The University Police had no right to arrest this guy after saying what he said. What they needed to do is give him a warning to stop yelling his questions at Sen. Kerry and at least give Kerry the chance to answer one question before moving on to another one. If he wouldn't stop after that then they should have arrested him, and if nessesary, taser him, but thats only in an exteme circumstance. Another thing, if police are telling you to do something, do it, you are NOT going to win. If you think you can scream and struggle your way away from police you're really stupid. The best thing you can do is comply with them and wait until you have your lawyer present before you argue with them.

I am reminded of Rodney King and Wenyi Wang.
I am also reminded of the now deceased artist Jason Sprinkle who amused me very much by welding a giant sized ball and chain to the ankle of Seattle's Hammer Man sculpture in front of the Seattle Art museum in 1993. (The sculpture was much better with the addition! They should weld it back on in tribute of Jason!) I think all of them were arrested for disorderly conduct and resistance- I think it's great. Hope this student lives long enough to contribute something even greater to his art form.

You guys must not have watched the video that are crying about this kid getting tasered. He was a FOOL, If he woulda just stopped flailing his arms and shut up he wouldnt have got tased. They warned him 3 times... cmon... just shut up unless this is what you wanted to cause.

OK, I've had enough. I start reading the comments, and I stopped after hearing that these cops should be "shot in the head" and after hearing that Kerry(!) was to blame for what happened. Those comments are what happens when you let John Q. Public open their mouths in a public forum---they let their agendas run roughshod over the facts.

Here's the facts. The young man was asking questions about the 2004 election, three years ago and the now-dead issue of impeachment. He asked about he and Bush's membership in some secret college organization, and he was beginning to disrupt an event, something that people already say he's done before to the point of being a nuisance. The police stepped in to remove him, and he resisted, so they tasered him. They caught it on video.

Since Kerry didn't taser the nuisance himself, he's nowhere close to being to blame for any of this. As this forum shows, just because you have an opinion doesn't mean that opinion is worthy of public expression. As for claims the guy is a Republican who was censored, from the AP: "The site also has what is called a "disorganized diatribe" attributed to Meyer that criticizes the Iraq war, the news media for not covering the conflict enough and the American public for paying too much attention to celebrity news." Sounds liberal to me. And as for the cops, they were doing what we all cheer about when a suspect of unlawful activity (disturbing the peace) resists and the police have to act.

The incident is much ado about less than nothing. What's disturbing is everyone using their agenda to publicly state facts that are wrong in order to suit their own opinions, and to blame everything and everyone except where the fault lies: in the actions of a little boy who wanted to be mischievous for the sake of aspiring to be a Borat and embarrassing public figures for his amusement.

there's a lesson for all here: think before you speak, think before you act, and, in this forum, think before you post.

Maybe the students tone and reaction was out of line, but those 6 or 7 officers were dealing with a student whose biggest conflict in life was probably with a bully in third grade. They could have subdued him and removed with out the use of any thing more than a pair of hand cuffs. Good gracious. Typical over reaction by over compensating types. This wasn't the streets of East LA.

PS, the statement I posted in my prior was from Tyler Antar, and can also be read at the Michelle Malkin website.

Tom Paine,

The issue is whether the cops had any cause to arrest him in the first place. If they did not, then they did indeed commit assault, just as if they had pulled out a gun and shot him without cause, it would have been murder.

While it's pretty stupid to do so, you do indeed have the right to resist an illegal arrest. The proper analysis of this incident flows from that. If the arrest was legal, the cops were (probably) within their rights to taze him as he was not really complying. If the arrest was illegal, then it was an illegal assault from beginning to end and the police will end up paying BIG damages.

I do not see on the tape what a possible charge could have been that would have made the arrest illegal. Disturbing the Peace, perhaps, if he jumped the line but that's a pretty lame, especially if, as it looks like on the tape, the police moved to arrest him only after he asked an embarrassing question rather than when he jumped the line.

This whole incident seems inexplicable. Maybe that Bush memo on organizing rallies that surfaced a few weeks ago got incorporated into the police training manual . . .

As a student at UF, I am shocked at the way in which UPD handled this situation. Are we to fear the police state even in the halls of education? Should we fear to speak up and speak out against the corruption engulfing this beloved nation? Thank god for those cameras and for the little attention these issues get. Just imagine how many times a day the police trample the rights of American citizens and no one sees, no one hears. This must come to light! How can we speak of justice and democracy to the Iraqi people? Look at our situation: how different have we become from the secrete police states of Nazi Germany and today's regimes like the Taliban and Iran. Let us not forget what makes us different: The United States Constitution. A Government of the people, by the people, and for the people!!!!

To clarify: the tasered party has a website, and the AP said about it: "The site also has what is called a "disorganized diatribe" attributed to Meyer that criticizes the Iraq war, the news media for not covering the conflict enough and the American public for paying too much attention to celebrity news."

Get it right, the student's original offense was that he cut into the front of the line. And there is some question also that he arrived with police officers in tow already.

It doesn't matter that he was shouting disrespectful questions. He was deliberately violating the rules of the dialog, and the police were trying to help enforce those rules. When he continued to make a public disturbance, and got even wilder, the police THEN essentially had grounds to arrest him.

Communist China does the same thing with people who don't stop talking "when told" to except they then send the person to a mental hospital for 5 years where they watch "educational" videos 24 hours a day.

In the the DPRK they moved on to just shooting people when they don't stop talking.

Seems the University of Florida is at a point where they start electric shock on people who don't stop talking. My God, I am so sick to my stomach....Where is America?

sick.

Shocking! That child has a legal suit against those idiots if he wants one!

No matter how obnoxious the questions might have seemed, there is no justification to handcuff somebody who is exercising his right to FREE SPEECH in the so-called land of the free, and then subdue him with a stun-gun. Shame on Kerry! He never asked the police to keep their hands off the youngster; that would have done the trick. Good thing he never made it to the presidency... although...frying pan or fire?

I think this is awful. Someone should have done something. It is sad when our fellow Americans sit by and do Nothing while someone asks questions and gets tasered for it. Kerry wants to be our President. Kerry, who sits by and watches his own people get arrested for no reason and forced to suffer physical harm for NO Reason. I do not see how anyone can trust a man with our country, who can sit back and watch an innocent young man be man-handled and abused right in front of him. Everyone in that theater should be ashamed of themselves for having no soul or courage.

Four out of ten (in the poll above) think the student should have been lit up. Assuming the respondents were mostly American, democracy in this country is in deep trouble ...

this does not apply to free speech it works if you a lib looking to get in the news second the police have every rite to subdue someone who resist arrest which he was and they dont want to grapple with him he could get one of there guns and i do remmber the so called peacefull demonstations in the 60s some citys took 20 years to recover from a mob fire boming turning over cars looting i guess thats peace on whos terms not the ones that lost property. and history repeats its self the fall of an empire at the hands of its own people we are no longer the united states of america we are the land of loosers cowards.and worst liberals.

The students were applauding the questions he posed and not his being removed from the microphone, as mentioned above. In any case, it is very rare to see someone as "real" questions and demand "real" answers from a public official. I commend him for being a real American, by demanding his right to voice an opinion, however unsavory it may or may not be. We are not a police state. He was handled by a police officer before being arrested and without having committed a crime or demonstrating himself to be a threat to anyone. His response was never more than defensive. Very very sad.

that's right people, get ready to snoop on your friends and neighbors, look out for "suspicious" activity and report those who practice our unalienable rights, were in it now and very deep! That's right, continue watching the new season of desperate housewives and american idol....you know that ice cold case of coors is only $12.99, and along with NASCAR, it's a very intoxicating experience....(enough such that Bush had won a 2nd term) pass out and then wake up in a world out of an Orwell novel. Soon, if this type of incident were to happen again, that student will not leave custody and would never to be seen again!

w tobias,

You don't think they could have subdued and removed that kid without putting the volts to him. The female officer could have probably done it herself.

We are the People... want our leaders to uphold the right to free speech when it does not incite or threaten an imminent crime or violence. We will take our country back at elections.

His mic was cut off. His question continued by asking if Kerry was in Skull and Bones with George Bush. There's one angle online that shows this happening. As soon as his mic is cut off, the officers grab him. Also, I've read (and please correct me if you were in attendance and I'm wrong), that questions were limited to 2 minutes. He stays under his 2 minutes, even while being harrassed during his questions.

"The public official has rights, as do others who want to hear the official's answers to legitimate questions."
Ah Russ, dude...... He did ask legitimate questions.... I suppose we need a commision do determine legitimate questions and those that are not legit. The fact that Kerry did answer while the "kid" was tazzered I quess does not matter. Hey if Kerry did not take issue with the question, why should the cops, or adminstration, or you????

Tazer a kid for speaking...... Abject bleeping loser....................

If he really wants to make a difference, as so many readers are fooled to believe, he needs to study politics, run for an office, and change the system. Throwing a temper tantrum does nothing.

This kid is a hero and had more guts asking sharp questions. He will get a good lawyer thank God for the rest of us. Next time it could have been you.

I'm not sure why any other citizen, including commenter Alex, would feel that it's appropriate to judge whether someone's questions are "legitimate" in terms of being able to ask them in a public forum. Absolutely Meyer seemed like he was there to instigate. And he's sparked an interesting discussion during a time when protesters and dissenters are being beaten, intimidated, investigated, and jailed without charges. This kid is annoying, and he may have offended many of the attendees, but he did it legitimately and legally as far as the videos show.

Although the police officers were earnestly operating by procedure, their actions fit a traffic stop and not a public forum involving freedom of speech. Whether the student or police made certain wrong moves, even idiots have freedom of speech...

If freedom of speech is so negligible, then
cinema clerks ought to be carrying tasers instead of flashlights.

Hey Anon, you genius, no of course the cops didn't have cause to arrest him in the first place. They did have cause to remove him from the building, though. When he refused to obey their perfectly justified order, they physically escorted him--still without arresting him. When he still refused to cooperate, that's when he was arrested.

Anyone who actually watched the video and has half a brain can see all this.

I hope not all the policemen in the US act like this. I can't imagine something happening like this in Belgium. There wouldn't even be 5 police officers in a square mile around the place to start with. And arresting someone for "inciting a riot" when he is just extending is time to pose a question is just wrong. In the students place I would sue the pollice officers and would consider even torture/abuse charges. This is just unacceptable.

Had the video been in black and white and looked old, I would have confused it with the work of the Gestapo.

Hear that? A guy from Belguim is laughing at the USA. Land of the Free? For Gods sake, where are we headed?

"The university hosted an event with specific guidelines for asking questions. If a person violates those rules the University Police have the right to ask the person to leave the property."

Just wanted to correct/clarify this.

As the U of F is a public university, they cannot legally impose guidelines regarding the content of the questions. They can impose reasonable restrictions on the manner of asking questions e.g., limiting questions to two minutes.

Withing those kind of content-neutral rules, people are free to ask anything they want, as rudely as they like.

It was not a pro-Bush anti-Kerry question.

He said, "Are you a member, were you a member of Skull & Bones in college (with) Bush? Where you in the same" ... (then the microphone gets cut off here) ... "secret society as Bush? Were you in Skull & Bones?"

He asked at least two other questions. You can hear all of his questions on a YouTubes video entitled "Andrew Meyer--Tasered by Police".

This is the only video I've seen where you can actually hear Andrew asking his three questions. They were intelligent questions. I wouldn't categorize them as a rant or diatribe. They were intelligent questions delivered in an passionate yet agitated manner. Andrew was definitely excited, but why not let Kerry to answer the questions?

This is an attack on our constitutional freedoms. And I have a feeling that the directive for the attack came not from the police officers but from another source. What source could this be? Notice that Andrew's microphone was not cut off until his third question was aired asking Kerry if he is a member of Skull & Bones along with President Bush.

The guy was a jerk, probably a right wing scum bag, but still, the cops were being a heavy handed as usual.

Give someone a little power and they abuse it every time.

This is outrageous.
The Cop should be fired
and should and never allowed in law
enforcement.
--Put up Banners during Gators home game
shown on National TV---
This incident is no different than
the stuff they do in Communist China
or any Middle Eastern nation.
Again
--Put up Banners during Gators home game
shown on National TV---

What a bunch of bullcrap posturing, that's really what's frightening about this. You're acting like brownshirts yourselves.

The student wasn't arrested for what he said. He was asked to leave, when he cut ahead of line, and continued to harangue the speaker for longer than the prescribed time, and refused to give up the microphone. That's why his mic was cut off and he was told to leave.

THEN he was escorted out, and he resisted, like the fool idiot he obviously is.

ONLY THEN was he arrested.

Got it?

During Vietnam the Ohio national quard fired on and killed demonstrating students at Kent. Today we tazer them..........

We send men and women to die in war to secure oil, tazzer those who exercise constitutional rights, while Bin Lauden and Al Qaeda still exist. It is beyond me!! Just what America's founders envisioned???? What heros the cops are!!!!

Were you actually there to witness this Mr.Tom Paine?

He started the incident, give me a break lady!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jeroen, get off your high horse. Belgium and Europe has a bad record of censorship.

Here's what your socialist mayor of Brussels has done

http://sioe.wordpress.com/2007/08/10/sioe-recommends-to-sign-petition/

At the beginning of this video the female officer repeatedly looks for a cue to remove the student. I have more questions than this video can answer. The text introducing the video mentions that the student jumped to the front of the line to start asking these questions and this particular student was known to cause "incidents" before. This suggests that the police were asked to remove the student by someone off camera who gave an visual cue to remove this particular student because his manner or questions went over the line. I have seen stuff like this before and usually they are heard and answered and generally embarrass themselves. The problem with this situation was that the questions about impeachement and skull and bones seem to have been considered out of bounds before this student had a chance to set himself up as a victim. So was the student arrested for the questions or for speaking out of turn? No one can argue that his treatment or his behavior after the police intervened was unusual. He clearly thought that he had some Constitutional right and he was wrong.

gville, no I have watched the video closely and read news reports. All of which supports what I've said

Ugly, our society is violent and power is corrupt. The behavior of a police state.

Universities don't need to Taser students... Should Tasers be banned on University Campuses? ------> http://www.youpolls.com/details.asp?pid=535

.

"I might not agree with what you have to say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it..." -Voltaire

If this was truly meant to be a public forum then the man had every right to ask his question regardless how slanted.
What happened to the Patriots of this great land? Where have all the real Americans gone? so so sad... nothing left now but a bunch of cattle that expect the "magic hand" of the government will protect them and keep them safe even from their own civil servants- Our founding fathers must be spinning in their graves-

Yes, the kid is obnoxious, but what right do the police have to pull him away from the mic in the first place? That is the part that really pisses me off. Why are they pulling him away?

Once you're in a wrestling match with police... c'mon, get real, what do you expect to happen? You know that cannot end well. I think we're a little over sensitive to the whole police brutality thing. Maybe the taser was a bit over the line, but it's not that outragous. Again, I don't think they should have put a hand on him in the first place, but once they did and he fought back, all bets are off.

It seems everyone is outraged about the taser, but shouldn't we be more outraged about someone being pulled away from the mic in our precious 'free' country?

Why not a single member of the audience intervened, protested, screamed... etc. I take it back you can clearly hear one woman screaming on top of her lungs. I'd like to associate with people like that; people who are not silent lambs.

Sen asks, "Why not a single member of the audience intervened, protested, screamed"? I'll tell you. Because it was obvious to the people who were there that the kid was speaking out of turn and was not exercising any rights at all.