Student Arrested, Tasered at Kerry Event

[Lord Poe]

I thought the guy meant that if they let him up he would leave the room. What difference does it make whether he was a douche or not. They had no reason to arrest or detain him.
He was just taking to long to ask a question. That happens and Q&A's all the time and is no big deal.

Yes, they did you fucking idiot. When they tell your your time is up, you relinquish the floor. This guy was clearly there for his own agenda, and NOT to ask Kerry a question.

They arrested the asshole because he was resisting their attempts to escort him out of the auditorium, because it was clear he wasn't going to leave when they repeatedly asked him to. Matter of fact, if you would have watched the fucking video, they attempted to escort him out TWICE, and both times, he started acting like an asshole.

At that point, he was placed under arrest, which he RESISTED. Once the police place you under arrest, you cooperate fully. Get it now, idiot?

[Superman]

So what if he was a truther?

Good job using the worst fucking made up word this side of "gravitas."

[Kamakazie Sith]

I thought the guy meant that if they let him up he would leave the room. What difference does it make whether he was a douche or not. They had no reason to arrest or detain him. He was just taking to long to ask a question. That happens and Q&A's all the time and is no big deal. Kerry was willing to answer the guys question and Kerry later said that he could have handled the guy on his own. The police should have kept their hands to themselves like he told them to. They had no reason to taser him, he was on the ground and handcuffed. I also thought he made some good points about the 2004 election even if he could have expressed himself better. The attack on Meyers was an attack on all of us and I am very concerned about what this incident portends for civil liberties in America.

It's amazing how ignorant people are of certain laws. Do you realize that if you're ordered to leave a private facility and you refuse the police can be called to remove you in one of two ways.

1 - They order you to go, and you go. End of problem.

2 - They order you to go, and you refuse. They arrest you. (OP situation)

How the fuck do you think he didn't deserve to be arrested? Do you think it's your right to go around causing a disturbance anywhere you please?

[Napoleon the Clown]

Let me state my position clearly. I think that for the most part the cops handled this appropriately. If they used a TASER like a stun gun and simply zapped him to get compliance then I don't have any issue with that.

My problem would be if as they held him down, another officer shot him with a TASER, sending 2 spiked barbs into his body that would then need to be pulled out by an EMT.

Versus strangling him with a nightstick, which could well send him to the ER with a cracked windpipe. Or beating him senseless. Risking broken bones. Or severe internal bleeding. Or just trying to manhandle him and getting kicked, bitten, scratched, and possibly causing injuries to his muscles and connective tissue for both the jackass and the police.


What the fuck should they have done? Controlling a struggling person is not easy, even if you're stronger and outnumber the person. Eating high voltage hurts like a motherfucker but it causes less injury than the kind of beating it would take to equal the pain level. Loss of muscle control is another benefit to the taser. If you want to make someone collapse by hitting them, the easiest target is the diaphragm. And that's meaner than the taser. And more dangerous to boot. If you beat someone into submission they're gonna need medical care just as much as if you hit them with a taser.


What do you propose, Flagg? Keep in mind, manhandling him wasn't working too well.

[Flagg]

Let me state my position clearly. I think that for the most part the cops handled this appropriately. If they used a TASER like a stun gun and simply zapped him to get compliance then I don't have any issue with that.

My problem would be if as they held him down, another officer shot him with a TASER, sending 2 spiked barbs into his body that would then need to be pulled out by an EMT.

Versus strangling him with a nightstick, which could well send him to the ER with a cracked windpipe. Or beating him senseless. Risking broken bones. Or severe internal bleeding. Or just trying to manhandle him and getting kicked, bitten, scratched, and possibly causing injuries to his muscles and connective tissue for both the jackass and the police.


What the fuck should they have done? Controlling a struggling person is not easy, even if you're stronger and outnumber the person. Eating high voltage hurts like a motherfucker but it causes less injury than the kind of beating it would take to equal the pain level. Loss of muscle control is another benefit to the taser. If you want to make someone collapse by hitting them, the easiest target is the diaphragm. And that's meaner than the taser. And more dangerous to boot. If you beat someone into submission they're gonna need medical care just as much as if you hit them with a taser.


What do you propose, Flagg? Keep in mind, manhandling him wasn't working too well.

It wasn't working too well? I see him on the ground with police holding him down. He wasn't enough of a threat to use a TASER on as he was already incapacitated. This was some scrawny jackass activist, not Hulk Hogan. We don't even know that they shot the little fuck with a TASER, anyway. They probably did what others have suggested and simply shocked him with it like a stun gun, which I have already said I have no issue with.

[Flagg]

I will say this: If the device they are equipped with has no way of simply delivering a shock by contact then yes, at some point I would say that shooting him with a TASER would be justified.

[CJvR]

1 - They order you to go, and you go. End of problem.

2 - They order you to go, and you refuse. They arrest you. (OP situation)

3 - You resist arrest. They will use what amount of force is required to arrest you anyway.
(By now it is WAAAY to late to say "Sorry I will leave peacfully".)

[Illuminatus Primus]

It's pretty sad the way the media has been completely on his side in this matter. If someone tells you that your turn is over and you start physically pushing and shoving against officers who try to enforce that, that's a hugely different situation than "being tasered for having a big mouth", which is how the media is spinning it.

It really is too bad. Especially since at least one of the tapes was set-up by him and his friends in advance - he was obviously looking to provoke a confrontation for his Fifteen Minutes and website. www.theandrewmeyer.com, for those interested. According to his acquaintences, he actually calls himself "The Andrew Meyer." This kid was an egomaniacal dipshit, and his Come Lately supporters are a bunch of other attn hungry dumbfuck kids who wouldn't know real police brutality (the kind suffered across America in inner cities on probably the same day, but hey, this is some attn whore white college kid) or the First Amendment from the business end of a nightstick. The cops are suspended with pay. But its still a joke; you get escorted from an organized event if you are publically disruptive. If you do not comply, you get arrested. If you resist arrest, police are authorized to use judicious force to make you comply and to avoid personal risk to others. The wishy-washy bullshit on this so soon after the opposite-polarity paranoid reactions regarding Virginia Tech is just amazing.

[Darth Wong]

It's pretty sad the way the media has been completely on his side in this matter. If someone tells you that your turn is over and you start physically pushing and shoving against officers who try to enforce that, that's a hugely different situation than "being tasered for having a big mouth", which is how the media is spinning it.

It really is too bad. Especially since at least one of the tapes was set-up by him and his friends in advance - he was obviously looking to provoke a confrontation for his Fifteen Minutes and website. www.theandrewmeyer.com, for those interested. According to his acquaintences, he actually calls himself "The Andrew Meyer." This kid was an egomaniacal dipshit, and his Come Lately supporters are a bunch of other attn hungry dumbfuck kids who wouldn't know real police brutality (the kind suffered across America in inner cities on probably the same day, but hey, this is some attn whore white college kid) or the First Amendment from the business end of a nightstick. The cops are suspended with pay. But its still a joke; you get escorted from an organized event if you are publically disruptive. If you do not comply, you get arrested. If you resist arrest, police are authorized to use judicious force to make you comply and to avoid personal risk to others. The wishy-washy bullshit on this so soon after the opposite-polarity paranoid reactions regarding Virginia Tech is just amazing.

I had that instinctive reaction the instant I saw the tape. The way he's protesting and the kind of things he's saying, it just seems really obvious that he's putting on a show. Particularly the way he keeps saying things that are not consistent with his actions, like saying that he'll go peacefully while continuing to struggle physically. That's one of the reasons I'm so irritated by the media's reaction (and for once, the Daily Show and the Colbert Report went right along with the herd, which pisses me off more).

[Honorable Mention]

I've noticed a lot of semantics arguments too. As in "They never really asked him to leave the premises, just the mic! They should have asked before dragging him away!" But, how do you politely ask someone to leave if they're jumping around and throwing a fit after only being asked to leave the mic? The whole situation escalated because of his actions and, really, he just did the real life equivalent of 'flamebaiting.'

[Sean Mulligan]

I thought the guy meant that if they let him up he would leave the room. What difference does it make whether he was a douche or not. They had no reason to arrest or detain him.
He was just taking to long to ask a question. That happens and Q&A's all the time and is no big deal.

Yes, they did you fucking idiot. When they tell your your time is up, you relinquish the floor. This guy was clearly there for his own agenda, and NOT to ask Kerry a question.

They arrested the asshole because he was resisting their attempts to escort him out of the auditorium, because it was clear he wasn't going to leave when they repeatedly asked him to. Matter of fact, if you would have watched the fucking video, they attempted to escort him out TWICE, and both times, he started acting like an asshole.

At that point, he was placed under arrest, which he RESISTED. Once the police place you under arrest, you cooperate fully. Get it now, idiot?

What video were you watching? They cut off his mic and tried to take him out of the auditorium even though Kerry wanted Meyers to finish his question and Kerry was willing to answer it. They had no reason to arrest him and he was well within his rights to resist an unlawful arrest. People are upset about this because it shows how free speech has become more restricted in America. First "Free Speech Zones" and how this. How long will it be before a Senator is tasered for asking the wrong question. Meyers was the victim, end of story. The attack on him was an attack on you and all Americans and you should be very outraged about it.

[Big Phil]

I thought the guy meant that if they let him up he would leave the room. What difference does it make whether he was a douche or not. They had no reason to arrest or detain him.
He was just taking to long to ask a question. That happens and Q&A's all the time and is no big deal.

Yes, they did you fucking idiot. When they tell your your time is up, you relinquish the floor. This guy was clearly there for his own agenda, and NOT to ask Kerry a question.

They arrested the asshole because he was resisting their attempts to escort him out of the auditorium, because it was clear he wasn't going to leave when they repeatedly asked him to. Matter of fact, if you would have watched the fucking video, they attempted to escort him out TWICE, and both times, he started acting like an asshole.

At that point, he was placed under arrest, which he RESISTED. Once the police place you under arrest, you cooperate fully. Get it now, idiot?

What video were you watching? They cut off his mic and tried to take him out of the auditorium even though Kerry wanted Meyers to finish his question and Kerry was willing to answer it. They had no reason to arrest him and he was well within his rights to resist an unlawful arrest. People are upset about this because it shows how free speech has become more restricted in America. First "Free Speech Zones" and how this. How long will it be before a Senator is tasered for asking the wrong question. Meyers was the victim, end of story. The attack on him was an attack on you and all Americans and you should be very outraged about it.

Go fuck yourself asshat. You've completely ignored everything in the news or the video itself that suggests Meyers was not a completely innocent victim, in favor or your own ridiculous story. If you're going to use a brick wall style of debating, shouldn't you be over in STvSW?

[Gaidin]

They had no reason to arrest him and he was well within his rights to resist an unlawful arrest.

Because that's not the court's responsibility at all.

[General Zod]

What video were you watching? They cut off his mic and tried to take him out of the auditorium even though Kerry wanted Meyers to finish his question and Kerry was willing to answer it. They had no reason to arrest him and he was well within his rights to resist an unlawful arrest.

No, he wasn't within his rights you fucking moron. You do not have the right to resist an arrest in many states, and you especially don't have the right to resist by pushing the cops away attempting to arrest you after being politely asked to leave. So how about pulling your head out of your ass before posting, mkay?

[Illuminatus Primus]

Just try to contest the next arrest you are in by physically resisting law enforcement, rather than cooperating and challenging its legality on your day in a court of law. Let me know how it goes.

Anyway, he cut in line and violated ACCENT event policies for ticket holders asking questions. It is against their regulations to rush the podium, cut others in line, and say blowjob and take 3 and a half minutes to ask your question. When they ask you to leave an organized event, you may not elect to disrupt the time that others stood in line for tickets for because you want something for yourself alone. You are not to physically resist. You have a recourse in the student legal system and student government to petition ACCENT's policies and even protest or picket their events. But if you are disruptive in an organized event and asked to leave by law enforcement, and then you physically struggle and refuse to comply, you've committed a crime.

[Sean Mulligan]

What video were you watching? They cut off his mic and tried to take him out of the auditorium even though Kerry wanted Meyers to finish his question and Kerry was willing to answer it. They had no reason to arrest him and he was well within his rights to resist an unlawful arrest.

No, he wasn't within his rights you fucking moron. You do not have the right to resist an arrest in many states, and you especially don't have the right to resist by pushing the cops away attempting to arrest you after being politely asked to leave. So how about pulling your head out of your ass before posting, mkay?

The U.S. Surpeme Court has ruled in several cases that people have the right to resist an illegal arrest. Their decisions are binding on every state not just some. Read about it here. http://www.constitution.org/uslaw/defunlaw.htm
http://www.counterpunch.org/cooney09202007.html
Also read this analysis of the arrest and the attitude of people like you above. Also, why don't you stop your ad hominem attacks on other people when your debating Mkay?

[Illuminatus Primus]

Of course you have the right to resist arrest; for practical purposes this doesn't actually mean you can resist arrest and expect that the cops to let you go. Your rights provide you with legal remedies in a court of law. For practical purposes, you should comply fully with the arrest, and then contest the legality in court later rather then stacking the charges against you.

[General Zod]

The U.S. Surpeme Court has ruled in several cases that people have the right to resist an illegal arrest. Their decisions are binding on every state not just some. Read about it here. http://www.constitution.org/uslaw/defunlaw.htm
http://www.counterpunch.org/cooney09202007.html

The problem is there was no unlawful arrest taking place, ergo you have all of jack shit. The moron was being politely asked to leave, and then was going to be escorted out of the building. So far no arrest had been made until he started physically resisting being escorted out, at which point they did arrest him as pushing an officer away justifies doing as much. Now kindly go fuck yourself.

Also read this analysis of the arrest and the attitude of people like you above. Also, why don't you stop your ad hominem attacks on other people when your debating Mkay?

How about you learn what an ad hominem actually is before flinging about accusations you don't know the definitions of? Or does that require too many braincells for you?

[Napoleon the Clown]

Also, why don't you stop your ad hominem attacks on other people when your debating Mkay?

Because Mike, the owner of the board, and all the other people in the board administration not only say it's fine but come close to condoning it. People don't play nice here. You're essentially encouraged to call someone a fuckwit when they're being a fuckwit. Fuckwit.

Now, how was this numbskull's arrest unlawful? Unless I'm mistaken, he wasn't on public property. The mall, for example, is legally private property, as with most universities. If the owner or anyone else with the legal right to leave tells you "Get the fuck out of here" you have to get the fuck out of there or you're trespassing. Which is illegal. Mr. Meyers was acting in a physically threatening manner. He broke the rules. If he were walking down the side walk and said the same things to Sen. Kerry then he'd be just fine. But events held on private property have rules. "Freedom of Speech" applies only to government made laws, not the rules held on someone's property. If you walk into a store and start spouting profanity the employees would be fully justified in asking you to leave. Would you sue them for that, you idiot? You're a fuckwit. The guy was arrested for his conduct, not his words. The cops didn't go after him because they didn't like what he said. They did because the people moderating the discussion asked him to step away from the mic and he didn't. It had nothing to do with the First Amendment because the moderators weren't making a governmental ruling.

[The Dark]

It wasn't working too well? I see him on the ground with police holding him down. He wasn't enough of a threat to use a TASER on as he was already incapacitated.

According to the reports I've read, they were unable to finish cuffing him because he was flailing around while on the ground. Rather than risk breaking his bones, they tased him on the shoulder to paralyze those muscles and complete the handcuffing.

This was some scrawny jackass activist, not Hulk Hogan.

And 98-pound grandmas have been known to lift cars with adrenaline going. The cops don't know what he might be juiced on or how dangerous he could be. 20/20 hindsight is a fine thing, but it doesn't help when the situation is unfolding.

We don't even know that they shot the little fuck with a TASER, anyway. They probably did what others have suggested and simply shocked him with it like a stun gun, which I have already said I have no issue with.

According to FDLE, it was a Taser incident.

Assuming it turns out to be true, the most damning portion of the police report comes from Officer Mallo:

"As (Meyer) was escorted down stairs (at the University Auditorium) with no cameras in sight, he remained quiet, but once the cameras made their way down stairs he started screaming and yelling again," Mallo wrote. Mallo was one of two officers who actually rode in the vehicle as Meyer was escorted to the Alachua County jail, and she said said he told them during the ride: "I am not mad at you guys, you didn't do anything wrong, you were just trying to do your job," according to Mallo's account.

[General Zod]

Because Mike, the owner of the board, and all the other people in the board administration not only say it's fine but come close to condoning it. People don't play nice here. You're essentially encouraged to call someone a fuckwit when they're being a fuckwit.

Actually, you're wrong. An ad hominem is a fallacious argument where you're insulting someone in place of a real argument. This fuckwit can't tell the difference between a logical fallacy and a simple insult. (Apparently, he's not the only one that should learn the proper definitions of fallacies before flinging them around).

[Phantasee]

Oh good, so I take it I'm not the only one that laughed when he started screaming like a bitch?

Don't Tase me, indeed.

[Sean Mulligan]

.

How about you learn what an ad hominem actually is before flinging about accusations you don't know the definitions of? Or does that require too many braincells for you?

I'll keep that in mind.

[Death from the Sea]

The taser was used on Meyer without the probes (the projectile barbs) which is called a "drive stun", where the cartridge is removed and the taser is applied directly to the body.

Flagg even when the probes are shot into the suspect, the taser probes can be removed by simply pulling them out. They do not required any special medical attention. Most departments have an ambulance crew come check out the suspect for liability purposes. It is like being stuck with a needle and bleeds about the same as seen here.

He was tased partly because after the handcuff is on one hand and Meyer pulled away, he had a deadly weapon on him. Handcuffs can be used to kill or injure.

[Darth Wong]

They should throw the book at this asshole. Think about how much time and money he wasted with his little performance, and it was nothing more than attention-whoring.