nbc6.net
Wednesday, December 3, 2008, 12:03 am
Ari Odzer & Ron Magill take a
student on the trip of a lifetime.

Search 
Search IBS  Search the Web
news
E-Mail News Alerts
Get breaking news, daily headlines and more.
More
Andrew Meyer, a UF student from Weston, is tasered and taken away by police after asking John Kerry a question during a speech.
UF STUDENT TASERED

Caught On Tape: UF Student Zapped With Taser

POSTED: 6:18 pm EDT September 17, 2007
UPDATED: 6:15 pm EDT September 18, 2007

A University of Florida student with a history of taping his own practical jokes was Tasered by campus police and arrested after loudly and repeatedly trying to ask U.S. Sen. John Kerry questions during a campus forum.

Related Content: Video | Images | Survey | UF President's Statement

Andrew Meyer, 21, spent a night in jail before his release from jail Tuesday morning on his own recognizance. He had no comment when he left. His attorney, Robert Griscti, did not return messages seeking comment.

Videos of the Monday night incident show officers pulling Meyer away from the microphone after he asks Kerry about impeaching President Bush and whether he and Bush were both members of the secret society Skull and Bones at Yale University.

University spokesman Steve Orlando said Meyer was asked to leave the microphone after his allotted time was up. Meyer can be seen refusing to walk away and getting upset that the microphone was cut off.

As two officers take Meyer by the arms, Kerry, D-Mass., can be heard saying, "That's all right, let me answer his question."

Audience members applaud, and Meyer struggles for several seconds as up to four officers try to remove him from the room. Meyer screams for help and tries to break away from officers with his arms flailing at them, then is forced to the ground and officers order him to stop resisting.

As Kerry tells the audience he will answer the student's "very important question," Meyer yells at the officers to release him, crying out, "Don't Tase me, bro," just before he is shocked by the Taser. He is then led from the room, screaming, "What did I do?"

Meyer was arrested on charges of resisting an officer and disturbing the peace, according to Alachua County jail records, but the State Attorney's Office had yet to make the formal charging decision. Police recommended charges of resisting arrest with violence, a felony, and disturbing the peace and interfering with school administrative functions, a misdemeanor.

University President J. Bernard Machen issued a statement Tuesday saying he requested the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to investigate the arrest. Officials said it would determine whether the officers used an appropriate level of force.

Machen called the situation "regretful" in an afternoon news conference and said two officers involved in the incident were placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the probe.

"We're absolutely committed to having a safe environment for our faculty and our students so that a free exchange of ideas can occur," Machen said.

Kerry said Tuesday he regretted that a healthy discussion was interrupted and that he never had a dialogue end that way in 37 years of public appearances. He also said he hoped neither the student nor police were injured.

"Whatever happened, the police had a reason, had made their decision that there was something they needed to do. That was a law enforcement issue, not mine," he told The Associated Press in Washington.

Sponsored Links




Links We Like
Sponsored Content
Herpes simplex is more common than you’d think. Learn to recognize the 5 types. More

A little short on space? Learn how to make the best of your limited square footage with these helpful tips to better small home style. More

If you’re worried about STD’s it’s important that you know the telltale signs. Check out the 8 signs that you may have an STD. More

Your bedroom is your sanctuary. Make it a stylish sanctuary with these twelve tips. More

Don’t be left out. Make the switch to Digital TV.

Consumer Info



Sponsored Content Provided by ARA

Portions 2008 Internet Broadcasting Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Advertising Information | Contact Us