agreed 100%.

it's really a catch 22 for the officers, but they did what they had to do. ya know... that whole "duty" thing that some of you are totally unfamiliar with.

I am glad i was not the one who posted this as i cannot handle half of the absurd replies on this thread.

I agree the dude was acting it up as a publicity stunt but whatever happened to free speech?

Cutup:
Bro thats a great speech but none of the scenarios you presented were in line with what happened with this college student. Punishment should fit the crime and in this case it was blown out of proportion.

If this kid in the same tone would have praised Kerry then nothing would have happened BUT since he asked some in your face questions he gets tazed

So now we should start tazing everyone who gets a little loud just incase he doesnt have gun. Is that the suggestion here?

Why not put some security screening like they have in high schools nowdays and there goes your justification down the drain.

^^ so what would you have done if you were one of those campus police officers?

Police officer job was providing security, was his questions physically threatening to the senator?

No. Not at all. So would you have just let the disruption continue endlessly?

Are you suggesting that cops should start tazing every citizen who asks unpleasant questions to politicians?

So now politicians need to come with their own entourage of people who do nothing but kiss their ass so these incidents never occur in the future.

I asked you a question. I suggested nothing of the sort. To answer your question, no. Now can you answer mine?

WHO FUCKING CARES ABOUT SOME DOUCHE GETTING TAZED!

That is all.

so basically it would have been best for the officers to just sit there with their thumb up their asses until the guy was done ranting?

I don't care about him one bit. However, I am interested in finding out some of the reasons a couple members feel the way they do about the situation.

Well maybe because they were never spanked when they acted up as a child.

Just to add, how does one isolated situation where people are considering this "excessive force" mean the break down of freedom of speech, police brutality and whatever the fuck was also mentioned.

I will let Kerry answer it for me

"In 37 years of public appearances, through wars, protests and highly emotional events, I have never had a dialogue end this way," Kerry said in a statement. "I believe I could have handled the situation without interruption, but I do not know what warnings or other exchanges transpired between the young man and the police prior to his barging to the front of the line and their intervention. I asked the police to allow me to answer the question and was in the process of responding when he was taken into custody."

Political Radar: Kerry Condemns Heckler Arrest

+1. This question should NOT be lost in the shuffle. I'd LOVE to hear explanations of this sentiment. Explanations that are actually well-thought out. Unfortunately, I think it's probably not going to happen.

That's John Kerry making the politically-correct statement about it that he has to make. And it's actually a great answer.

My question might have been ambiguous, but its intent was to echo codese7en's question of how you would react - but from the officers' perspective, not Kerry's.

You will never get an answer. I have already tried.

I already told you the officer job was to provide security and you agreed earlier that Kerry was not under any physical threat.

If they needed to intercede then it could have been done without the taser.

That's the officer's job as you perceive it. I don't think it's a stretch to believe that they have the authority to take action of some sort in reaction to something short of physical threat. What I'm saying is that I disagree with your idea that the ONLY appropriate time for the officers to act is when someone's physical safety is endangered. Thus my agreement on the single point that Kerry wasn't under physical threat isn't too relevant.

So you still haven't answered the question. If you were the officer, would you have done nothing but stand by until you felt that someone's safety was in danger? If so, does that then mean that if that guy kept on with an endless shouting session from afar, you would still have taken no action?

I can discount the above as your perception too.

IF statements dont mean shit when you are discussing a factual event as it occured. There were plenty of officers there that could have dragged him out in a minute or less.

Here is some more news
In the clip, officers force Meyer down as the student says he will walk out of the auditorium if officers let him go

Some experts believe Meyer could claim the use of excessive force in the incident.
“I would find it highly likely that he is going to sue,” said Greg Lukianoff, president of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education


"People have a reasonable expectation to ask questions in a public setting — even if they are aggressive and some disagree with their position — that is free speech, plain and simple," Howard Simon, ACLU of Florida executive director, said in a statement.


I can agree that this was done as a publicity stunt though.

^^LOL, my "if" question was asked as a follow-up question if you answered the preceding question in the affirmative. Now you're just being ridiculous, which is my cue to disengage.

I forgot to give you the link
FOXNews.com - Florida College Student Who Was Tasered, Arrested at John Kerry Campus Forum Is Released From Jail - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News



One isolated incident? and you got a +2 for this comment?
I dont want to derail this thread but you seriously need to read more news.

No dont disengage. Allow me to tidy up my previous response a lil

There were plenty of officers there that could have dragged him out in a minute or less.

Here is some more news
In the clip, officers force Meyer down as the student says he will walk out of the auditorium if officers let him go

Some experts believe Meyer could claim the use of excessive force in the incident.
“I would find it highly likely that he is going to sue,” said Greg Lukianoff, president of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education


"People have a reasonable expectation to ask questions in a public setting — even if they are aggressive and some disagree with their position — that is free speech, plain and simple," Howard Simon, ACLU of Florida executive director, said in a statement.


Maybe you can send them a small email on perception as well

I don’t think anyone here was saying tasering, or any other form of physical contact, should NEVER be used.

The way I read it, there was objection to the use of a taser - in THIS instance.

And I tend to agree.

Yeah the guy was a bit worked up,
But he wasn’t doing a home invasion, or waving a gun around like a complete nutjob.

He was asking a few questions in a public forum.

So how about we all let go of the absurd hypothetical scenarios, and focus on reality.

Maybe Kerrys press statement was politically correct (well of course its going to be, he’s actions and attitude surrounding the incident would come under close scrutiny)

But the general thrust from Kerry’s statement is true.

Any politician worth their salt, should have EASILY have been able to cope with those questions

There was absolutely no need for the campus cops to intervene when they did.

If things didn’t calm down after Kerry was given the opportunity to respond, then sure, I think the police would have been justified in taking SOME action.

But from what I saw, I reckon there was absolutely no way a tasering was necessary.

If all them cops couldn’t handle one scrawny lil commie student, without the use of a weapon, then I think they need to have a serious look at other career options.

One of the cops did handle him pretty well. He carried him by his mid section AFTER trying to escort him by the arm. See 0.40 on this video (it can be found at the very bottom of the page)Taser incident sparks more protest

When they got to the top the guy turned around like he was ready to fight and the big officer tries again to grab his arm to get it behind his back. The guy struggles more so they take him to the ground. He is not a small guy but the big black guy could have fucked him up pretty bad if he had wanted to. At this time he is warned to stop resisting several times. He says not to taze him and they tell him again not to resist. Then he gets it.

To keep someone like that immobile it takes a knee to the back and then you must throw all your weight on them. Sometimes that does not work and other moves have to be attempted and all of that depends on the space available, the size of the person and how much they struggle. It takes more people to keep from hurting someone than it does to hurt someone. The most important thing is to keep them from hurting others first, the officers second and the suspect last.

So if they cannot use weapons how should they "handle" him?

Also on the same page there is this article.

Taser incident sparks more protest

Police report student told them: 'You didn't do anything wrong'
5:52 p.m., Sept. 18, 2007

Police have released the incident report detailing the Tasering of a University of Florida student during a campus forum with Sen. John Kerry Monday, and the officer who actually Tasered Andrew Meyer wrote in the report that Meyer later told police, "You didn't do anything wrong."

In the 12-page report, which gives accounts of the incident from the perspective of eight different officers who were present Monday afternoon, Officer Nicole Mallo writes that Meyer would only resist officers when cameras were present.

"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.

Mallo also wrote in her report that he asked, at one point, if cameras would be present at the jail.

The report details the events leading up to Meyer's arrest, saying that Meyer was in line to ask a question of Sen. Kerry when it was decided that no more questions would be allowed.

Meyer continued down the aisle toward Sen. Kerry angrily, according to police, saying he wanted the senator to answer his question because he had been waiting for two hours.

Though Sen. Kerry directed that Meyer be allowed to ask his question, police reported that Meyer did not ask any specific question and instead "badgered" the senator, and at one point said something about President Clinton being impeached over a sexual act.

At that point, police reported that ACCENT Director Max Tyroler turned off Meyer's microphone and asked police to escort him out of the auditorium, saying, "He had said enough," according to Officer Mallo's report.

Officers then proceeded to attempt to remove Meyer from the room, but when he resisted, they placed him on the ground and tried to handcuff him. The six officers who actually took part in holding Meyer down while he was being handcuffed reported that they were only able to get a handcuff on his right hand because he was squirming so much.

The supervising officer, Sgt. Eddie King, attempted to Taser Meyer on his chest, but he reported that his Taser would not deploy. He then instructed Mallo to Taser Meyer, and she Tasered him on his shoulder, according to one of the officer's report.

The officers were then able to fully handcuff Meyer and escort him from the building. Each of the six officers reported that Meyer yelled things like, "They're going to kill me," and, "They are giving me to the government," while he was being taken from the room.

-- Alice Wallace/The Gainesville Sun

I am sure that many will want to discount this article because it is from the point of view of the arresting officers. They are "the man" so it must be all lies. I can almost guarantee that the whole conversation in the car was recorded so if he did tell them they did their job they will have record of it. What it really boils down to at the end of the day is that he is a white kid who was brought down by several minorities. I wish him well with his lawsuit that will waste taxpayer dollars.

Oh lawdy lawdy, two incidents?