So stupid, it skips GC and goes straight in the funhouse.
As you may or may not know, I'm a student at the University of Florida. The school where the tasing thing happened. No, I didn't attend the assembly. I don't like John Kerry too much. I haven't talked to anyone I'm certain went either. However, I've done some research, read about every article I've found, and watched the videos a couple times.
I'll pain the scene: A student organization invited Senator John Kerry to speak, and Kerry accepted the invitation. He wanted to have a "Town Hall"-type forum, speaking for about half an hour, then receiving and answering questions for an hour. Originally, he was going to speak in May or April, but something congressy tied him up, and the date was postponed until this past Monday.
So the event began. Kerry spoke, then answered the questions of students who had lined up. I believe he took half an hour extra, beyond what was planned to answer questions, and he decided to wrap things up. He announced he would answer the current student's question, and that would be the end of the session. At this point, a student, Andrew Meyer, rushed down from the back of the line, holding a book, and interrupted the student due to ask the last question. Immediately, the University Police present acted on the student, but John Kerry said he'd get to Meyer's question, provided Meyer allowed the kid who was supposed to ask the last question to finish. In passing, it was Meyer's extended turn.
Meyer quickly began to ask a question about why Kerry quickly conceded the 2004 presidential collection, that there was evidence that led some to believe the votes had been mis-tallied. Somewhere in this first question, a police officer interrupts, and looks to politely ask him to leave, though the cop's voice is not picked up in the videos. Then, continuing on, before allowing Senator Kerry a chance to respond, he asked why the Senate had not yet impeached the president. He states that they impeached the former president over a blow-job, and if that's a good enough reason to impeach the POTUS, then Bush should be impeached, as well. Meyer continues, asking about the Skull and Bones society.
At this very point, the power to Meyer's microphone is cut, and Meyer immediately asks why, also saying that he practiced his questions. Two or three police officers try to lift and carry Meyer out by his arms. Here they aren't trying to arrest him, I believe, though, they are trying to remove him from the building. Meyer begins to thrash about, screaming and shouting things like "Help! Help! What did I do wrong? All I was doing was trying to ask a question!" He's kicking and waving his arms wildly, and seems like he might have thrashed into some of the rows of seats, and comes very near accidentally hitting other students.
Eventually, the UPD get Meyer to the back of the room. They are able to force him gently to the ground, and successfully put one of his hands into handcuffs. At this point, Meyer is surrounded by 4-6 officers, and is mostly obscured from those around him, as well as cameras. He's still shouting, only know, he includes "Don't tase me!" and "Don't tase me, bro!" in his screams, and the police can be overheard, warning Meyer to stop resisting. Now, it's possible to hear Meyer scream at the same time a taser goes off, which lasts from about four to six seconds, and then it stops, though Meyer continues screaming. It is presumed that the UPD are able to finish cuffing Meyer at this time.
Now, still on camera, Meyer is taken outside of the Auditorium, and into the lobby of this building. The university police tell him to calm down and ask him who he is. They ask for identification, and he replies that he didn't bring his ID with him, he didn't think he'd need it. They move him downstairs, nearer to the exit, all while he is in handcuffs. Meyer sees the camera person, looks at the camera, and says, "They're going to kill me." He begins to put up a slight struggle, but doesn't try nearly as heartily as before. His audience is three or so police officers, two or three girls, and our off screen camera-man. The police ask him who he is again, he answers, and then looks at the camera and says, "You know me. Tell them who I am. You know me. Ask my friends. I have friends here." Things to this extent. The police, frustrated, begin to take him away. The camera follows, and you hear Meyer say, "They're going to kill me." and "Don't break my wrist." as he is being taken out.
That covers the events leading from before and then immediately after the incident. I've only watched the part where Andrew Meyer is outside of the auditorium once, so things there may be slightly out of order, but the entirety of my depiction is pretty accurate along the accounts and videos I have read and scene, respectively. Immediately before, during, and after the tasing, a girl or two are screaming at the officers not to do "that," in reference to the tasing, and even before that, but after Meyer is removed from the microphone and had been thrashing, Senator Kerry said they should let him finish and that he'd answer his questions, once more.
Andrew Meyer is a Senior or Junior Broadcast Journalism major. He is a former writer/editor for The Independent Florida Alligator, the school's independent paper, known for controversy and a staunch liberal stance. He is billed by friends and acquaintances as a person who likes to stir up trouble and aggravate others as a way to get his message out. Before the incident, it has been confirmed that he gave a camera to a random student and asked him to take pictures of him. Meyer and this student apparently did not know each other.
Meyer's microphone had been cut off by a member of ACCENT, the organization who arranged for Kerry to speak, because of the use of the word "Blow-job." On the drive to the station, Meyer apparently apologized and thanked the police officers who subdued him, telling them that they had just done their jobs. John Kerry went on to make a public statement that he thought the police went overboard, and that he had proposed a milder solution of letting Meyer finish and answering his questions so that no one would have been hurt. Meyer is uninjured, too. The charges were attempting to incite a riot and resisting arrest.
This is the end of the unbiased facts. The rest is my opinion on related activities and such.
Tuesday, a protest was held over the use of a taser on a student, with some of the main demands being that Meyer doesn't receive charges, that the taser regulations be reformed, and a third thing I can't remember, perhaps that the police who tasered him lose their jobs or something. It was announced that the two cops mostly involved were on paid leave, and the protesting crowd booed, calling them pigs or worse, using profanities and such. The issue has become one regarding taser use on campus and things like that. Meyer is a white male, approximately six feet tall, so he's about the average college student. He isn't a minority of any sort, and could blend in anywhere. Several students around campus believe his freedom of speech was violated, and several think the tasing went to far. The story has been picked up on the national news, and even made the Daily Show and the Colbert report tonight, Wednesday night. Apparently most believe he should not have been tased, yet none show much of the clip at all, most just show the exact moment he is tased, and you can't even see but a small portion of his body in any available video.
To me, I think the police were wrong. He should have been tased right when his thrashing led him into other seat aisles and nearby other students. That's when he became a threat to most nearby. I know that the kid planned the event out to the extent that he wanted friends there to see it, he wanted a nobody to at least photograph it, and that he loves publicity. He was never fired by the Alligator, it's the Alligator's policy to only allow writers a certain amount of time on staff, so he remained with the paper for the full amount of time. In the paper, he was loud-mouthed, bad-mouthing, abusive, among other things, so I already had disdain for him, though I didn't connect the name to the story until it was pointed out. Anyways, I think it's ridiculous that people think the tasing was uncalled for, and it's ridiculous that something like tasing can cause so much uproar. From what I collect, I believe that to attach the handcuff to his other hand, Meyer's arm/wrist might have been broken.
Personally, I feel safer knowing that tasers will be used on campus when the situation calls for it. I'd much rather know that the police here have strong authority over the students for our protection. I'm glad it happened. Tasering is a non-lethal and barely harmful method to reach compliance in unruly situations.
As far as freedom of speech goes, Meyer interrupted another student at what was essentially the end of an open forum. He attempted to deny this student free speech. When said an obscenity, he was cut-off, as well. If he truly wanted to ask a question, he would ask only one at a time, and he would have been certain to make his way to the front of the line before the questions began.
When considering the riot charges, it becomes obvious that he truly intended that some of his friends would try to stop the police. He made sure they were there and he gave his camera to someone else besides his friends, most likely because he thought they'd help his spectacle, should security intervene. Meyer is in a major that requires that he receives notice in order to get anywhere. He likely wanted to use the event to make his way into the spotlight. It certainly isn't out of his character.
So, any questions?
Oh, and while I do consider myself a Republican, and while I am conservative, I am not biased about the school's paper. Wiki it if you don't believe me.
Topic: Don't tase me, bro! (Read 6272 times)
