A University of Florida student arrested and tasered for ‘Disrupting a Public Event’ and ‘Resisting Arrest’ and sent to county jail.
In this video, which is closer to the taser incident, you can hear the discharge of the taser at the Town Hall Forum.
Senator John Kerry (D-MA) was at the University of Florida – Gainesville to speak on the Middle East, Iraq, and diplomacy. Andrew Meyer, a student attending the speech, rushed the microphone of the Town Hall Forum after the speech shouting that Senator Kerry should “spend time to answer everyone’s questions!” and taunted the University of Florida police officers while asking odd questions directed at Kerry. He asked if “President Clinton was impeached because of a bl–j-b, why not Bush?” The disorderly student asked Senator John Kerry if he was in the same secret society (Skull and Bones at Yale University) as George Bush. John Kerry tried to answer the question and said, “that’s alright … Let me answer his question,” as the police began to arrest the student. The student was flailing his arms while yelling, Whoa, whoa, is anybody watching this?’ … ”Help’ … ‘Help me’ … ‘They’re arresting me’ … ‘Get away from me man’ … ‘What did I do?’ … Why are you arresting me? … ‘If you let me go, I’ll walk out of here’ … ‘Get your hands off me’ … ‘Why are they arresting me?’ … ‘Can someone do something here?’ … ‘Get the f— off of me, man.’ I didn’t do anything’ … ‘Don’t taze me, bro’ … ‘Don’t taze me’ … ‘I didn’t do anything!’ … [spark of taser] … ‘Owwww! Ooooowwww’ … [continous screaming in pain] … ‘Let me go’ [more screaming in pain] … ‘No’ … ‘Let me go’ … ‘Oh my God’ … ‘What’d I do? [repeatedly … ]. The audience applauses Meyer briefly at the beginning of the incident, but then sits quietly with some occasional gasps.
An officer aims the taser weapon at the student with students in the vicinity and in the background. A police woman points her finger at the student and orders him to stop resisting. Meyer is also warned that he will be tasered. A male is heard telling Meyer to ‘shut-up.’
John Kerry was telling the audience, “everybody cool down … everybody cool down.” Senator John Kerry then began to answer the initial questioning, ‘Well we didn’t have enough evidence of the voter suppression in 2004’ while the disorderly Meyer was being tackled, ordered to stop resisting arrest and eventually tasered in the back of the auditorium.
Keywords: Taser, arrest, resisting arrest, resisted arrest, excessive force, civil disobedience.
First video by Kyle Mitchell.