U of F Student Tasered, Arrested During John Kerry Forum

A
University of Florida student who was arrested and Tasered during a
forum featuring Sen. John Kerry touched off a debate about campus free
speech and raised questions about whether campus police used excessive
force.

A judge released Andrew Meyer, 21, a student at the University of
Florida, from jail Tuesday on his own recognizance. A phone call
seeking comment from Meyer’s attorney, Robert Griscti, was not returned.

A video of the incident shows Meyer, a journalism student, trying
repeatedly and heatedly to ask Kerry why he conceded the 2004 election
after multiple reports of disenfranchisement of black voters and rigged
electronic-voting machines.

Meyer then struggled with several officers, yelling for help and repeatedly asking “What did I do?”

In
the clip, officers force Meyer down as the student says he will walk
out of the auditorium if officers let him go. They warn him that he
will be Tasered -- an electric shock weapon used by police to subdue
suspects.

Some audience members applauded as Meyer was pulled away from the
microphone, but others in the crowd could be heard telling Kerry to
answer the question. After being forced to the ground, Meyer can be
heard crying out, "Don't Tase me, bro, don't Tase me" before the
electric shock is applied. He is heard howling in pain.

As police intervened, Kerry is be heard saying: "That's all right.
Let me answer his question." While Meyers was being dragged off, Kerry
said, "Unfortunately he's not available to come up here and swear me in
as president."

Two campus officers have been placed on paid administrative leave,
University of Florida President J. Bernard Machen said in a statement
released Tuesday afternoon.

"Administrators and police officials plan to analyze the incident
and conduct an internal review and will consider changing protocols in
response to this incident, if necessary," Machen said.

Kerry's office released a statement saying he was not aware of the severity of the police response.

"In 37 years of public appearances, through wars, protests and
highly emotional events, I have never had a dialogue end this way," he
said in the statement. "I believe I could have handled the situation
without interruption, but again 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 answering him when he was taken into custody," Kerry
said. "I was not aware that a Taser was used until after I left the
building.

"I hope that neither the student nor any of the police were
injured," he continued. "I regret enormously that a good healthy
discussion was interrupted."

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, a free-speech group.

Karen Conti, an attorney in Chicago, said Meyer has a good argument
for excessive force since officers Tasered him when he was under
control.

“I think the police officers were probably embarrassed that this was
going on," Conti said. "I think they weren’t expecting anything like
this and I think they overreacted."

The videotape could help prove excessive force, Lukianoff said.

“One weapon in combating campus abuses is to show the abuses in the light of day,” Lukianoff said.

But in a juror's eyes, the video might hurt — not help — Meyer’s case, Conti said.

“There’s going to be a lot of jurors who are going to say, ‘You know what? That kid asked for it,'” Conti said.

The university launched an internal investigation and also requested
the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to review the incident,
seeking all facts before coming to a conclusion.

“It's easy to look at the video and maybe arrive at a conclusion
quickly,” said Steve Orlando, a spokesman for the University of Florida.

The Florida chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union called the
incident "disturbing" and awaited the conclusion of the investigation.

"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.

Police are recommending a felony charge for disrupting a public event. Prosecutors will make the call.

Students held a protest rally Tuesday afternoon, walking to the university police department on campus.

Orlando said the university welcomes student free speech, but asks them to do it peacefully.

“Students have every right to go out and express themselves, that’s
what they’re doing and they have every right to do it," Orlando said.
"We want to accommodate them.”

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A University of Florida student was Tasered and arrested Monday when he attempted to speak at a forum with U.S. Sen. John Kerry during a question and answer session, university officials said.

Andrew Meyer, 21, asked Kerry why he did not contest the 2004 presidential election, which he lost to President Bush, and why there had been no moves to impeach Bush.

"He apparently asked several questions — he went on for quite awhile — then he was asked to stop," university spokesman Steve Orlando said. "He had used his allotted time. His microphone was cut off then he became upset."

While as many as four police officers tried to remove Meyer from the forum, he yelled for help and asked "What did I do?" Minutes after Meyer started speaking, he was Tasered.

Meyer was charged with resisting an officer and disturbing the peace, according to Alachua County jail records. No bond had been set. Meyer was scheduled to appear in court Tuesday morning, a jail official said.

Orlando said university police would conduct an internal investigation on the incident.

"The police department does have a standard procedure for when they use force, including when they use a Taser," Orlando said. "That is what the internal investigation would address — whether the proper procedures were followed, whether the officers acted appropriately."

The event was sponsored by the UF student government speaker's bureau, according to a news release. A telephone message left at the speaker's bureau office was not immediately returned Monday evening.

It was not known if Meyer had an attorney.