The U of Florida Taser incident, what is your oppinion?

greengo

The subject was using the forum for his own reasons. He was not asking appropriate or valid questions, he was just out for the notoriety, which he got.

The cops were justified in hauling him out. Did they have to use the taser? Well, I don't know, but it looked like fun. I'm not sure what other methods were available to subdue the subject. Obviously, they should use the one that is least harmful.

ohiofirefighter42

1) He did not have the right to speak, when he attended the forum he agreed to abide by the rules of the forum. The right to free speach stops as soon as you leave the public sidewalk. That right does not extend to my living room, your workplace, or the property of the university of Florida.

2) Obviously they couldn't physically handle him, after several minutes they were still wrestling him, therefor he was tasered. A cop does not have an obligation to get hurt.

3) Once he talked beyond his limit then refused to step away from the mic he was tresspassing, as soon as he physically he resisted the police he was a criminal.

Laissez-Faire Guy

Probably #2.

The guy was obviously deliberately causing a scene, and hamming it up big time while he was resisting his arrest. Still, they had 5 cops on him as he was down on the floor. I think that's enough force without resorting to Tasering him.

I think "Don't Taser Me Bro" will go down in the American Lexicon like Rodney King's "Can't we all just get along."

Shay

Well, this guy sat patiently and listened to Kerry, then was called upon to ask his question. He had a few for Kerry. He, like all Americans, has a right to free speech.

If you watch the video, right when the security put their hands on the guy, you can hear Kerry in the back ground telling the guards that it was okay and that he would answer the question. Yet the guards continued.

The guy kept asking what he had done. As a journalist student he knew he had the right to free speech and he wanted his two questions answered.

Also, while he was on the ground I did hear him say he would get up and leave. Was he ever asked to leave in the first place?

The tasering was horrible...why couldn't five men cuff him? Ever heard of pressure points?

This guy will probably sue and end up with millions...

The Wise One

The student just wanted the fame - it was a set up

vladoviking

Well Kerry even offered to answer the question, repeatedly.
Security moved in without any visible provocation other than the guy was asking questions that nobody wanted to hear and they wanted to get him out of the forum. Because they were apparently inept and ill trained they lacked the wherewithal to do this efficiently and this resulted in a spectacle lasting much longer than necessary. They had sufficient numbers, he brandished no weapon, no a taser really wasn't necessary if they knew what they were doing.

crazy frog

John Kerry could have diffused the whole incident altogether by just answering the guy's question. What he did is just as bad as bush first of all by holding a forum with people who will not oppose his views and if they do have them escorted out and if not willingly then by force. No, what did Mr. Vietnam War hero do? He stood by silently and had the opposition removed while everyone in the room stood by just watching, not even questioning why. Did you notice they were all looking away as if that would make the situation just go away. John Kerry has no backbone, he is just another puppet in the world of politics who will never get a vote from me.

CHARITY G

2. possibly a 3.

bluddy_well_pissed

It was a disgusting abuse of a person's right to free speech.

Just because someone is obnoxious or asks an uncomfortable question, that doesn't make it against the law.

I hope he sues for millions.

trooper3316

By the numbers:

1. The right to free speech does not include being loud and disorderly. Senator Kerry was there for everyone, not just to appease one person.

2. Yes, they had the right to arrest. His actions met the elements of disorderly conduct, and resisting. How big he is and how many cops there are has nothing to do with it. You can clearly see the cops hollering at him to stop resisting, and you can see his arms flailing. The other option was to wait until he got tired, but that is when people are most likely to get hurt. The cops job was to end this as quickly as possible.

3. If the student is not charged, it will only be because of the public outrage from misinformed people on how this was handled. He was an embarrassment to the school in front of a visiting dignitary.

kveryeffective

3 without a doubt.
The more is coming out how he does this all the time.
Listen to his question and of course his cries were while the camera was on him.
Once the camera was off he told the cops they didn't do anything wrong but once the cameras came back on well he cry again.

I think it was case the cops did him a service by giving his shock treatment.

Lesson learn: Don't tell cops that have you on the ground "Don't taze me bro"

gottapee

though he might have been annoying that is no reason for an arrest. you cant physically take control of someone when there have been no laws broken. He might be seeking fame and all which is wrong, but that was ridiculous to even arrest him. then the reason for arrest was resisting arrest does that make sense? how can you arrest someone first then state it was for resisting when he wanted to know why they were arresting him to begin with.
Can you imagine if we tasered Martin Luther King jr. whenever he tried to speak out. or any of our political canidates when they critisized another politician or our government.
If I was john Kerry I would make sure those officers never work again or serve some time thier selves.

Stone K

3....

But I think "Sparky" got off easy. In the old days (pre-Tazer) the Cops would just pull out the billy club and beat the guy in to submission. Honestly he should be grateful this was not one of those situations, it would have been a heavy price to pay for being an attention grabbing idiot.

notadummyrat

I think all Internet conspiracy nuts should get electroshock therapy.

Officer

He was a plant, it's not the first time he has been arrested for that kinda thing. How else would he have had his attorney already at the booking area waiting for him.

gonzo735

Its tough because hindsight is always 20/20, but a Taser is a tool that was developed to REDUCE OFFICER INJURIES.....I think people tend to forget this....it was not a tool to prevent us from shooting someone.....NOW, let me ask you this.....is it completely reasonable to assume that when someone is shouting, squirming and kicking that it increases the amount of force used to "move them?" I would say so, and the fact that a former Presidential candidate is standing in the open, with a maniac screaming and kicking and attempting to get away, makes the situation that more serious. WHat would everyone be saying if the Police allowed the man to hurt or even kill John Kerry...I think it was a no-win situation for the Police.....What I like to say to people is this.....PUT YOURSELVES IN MY BOOTS AT THAT VERY MOMENT...and remember this, you have but mere SECONDS to decide on a course of action.......and your career, your department's integrity, your city/county and your FAMILY (civil litigation) all depend on it......................Now, what would YOU HAVE DONE?

ak6702

He deserved it.Last I looked resisting arrest is against the law!They were trying to subdue a man restisting arrrest.What would have happened if he injured a officer or a person in attendence?

LDS Mom

If you don't comply and are being disruptive, then BZZZZZZ!!!!

DON'T TAZE ME BRO!!!

tehabwa

No, I haven't seen it.

The link you provided stopped loading, so I've not seen very much of it.

I wonder who told the cops to go after him. (I could hear Kerry saying he wanted to answer.)

I don't see why he shouldn't have been able to wait for the answer to his question.

When attacked, he tried to get away. The few seconds I saw (a bit after he said "Is anyone seeing this?") he wasn't instigating anything.

Given that he asked a question, and Kerry wanted to answer, I wonder WTF was going on that he was attacked.

I didn't see him doing anything wrong.

he was involved in a intellectual discourse? where is the freedom of speech>?

Chinagirl

The guy was sent by Moveon.oink to rattle Carey while he spoke...no joke.
Taz boy deserved every volt too.

Kevy

3.
It was not a freedom of speech issue, he had his turn in accordance with the rules of the Q&A forum and broke them.
He was given his turn to speak and was asked to step away from the mic, he refused and when the police asked him to leave he became irate and ripped his hands from the officer. What this now becomes is failure to obey a lawful order from a police officer, and when he refused to comply to the arrest, he was resisting arrest. If he would have flipped over and allowed the officers to handcuff him he would not have been tazed. he REFUSED to COMPLY and was subject to the lowest level of force needed to restrain him. He is lucky they had tazers, the alternative is to use physical force to make them comply.

MrKnowItAll

It's sorta number 1.

He was speaking, but then right in the middle of a sentence they cut him off. And as you saw, he spoke just a few words before he was tackled by the cops. This differs totally from the "official" version making it sound like minutes had gone by between each of those incidents, rather than it all happening in a span of several seconds. The officers obviously over-reacted - probably on orders too - and the tasering was an act of torture.

If I was a lawyer, I would be writing my retirement ticket with the money from the multi hundreds of millions of dollars I would be helping that kid sue for.

Condor

My opinion is that a student during a forum with senator Kerry was politely asking senator Kerry a question. Suddenly from behind without being provoked whatsoever 2 bully and ignorant cops started drugging this student from the microphone. Poor guy could not even understand what is going on. Even Kerry was saying that this is alright and that he will answer a question. What police was doing in this auditorium in the first place? Is it a policy of this college to have armed police officers present in auditoriums during forums? Or is is some kind of a law in Florida that police supposed to be present during student forums in colleges and universities? All this is very much sad. Some useful idiots blaming this student that he resisted arrest. Wouldn't you behave in same way if all of sudden for no reason whatsoever some bully cops will approach you from behind and tell you that you are under arrest. Wouldn't your first reaction be to ask for what? Or you immediately like a dummy or a robot will submit to rude cops for no reason? It just stinks and hard to believe that things like this could happen in the US. Where is this country is coming to? If I were that student, I would sue all hose brutal bullies in each and every court on this land for he last donut they have.

smartr-n-u

As a college student I'd much rather hear from a Senator and former presidential candidate than from a fellow student. It is NOT appropriate for a student to filibuster a speaker whom everyone has come to hear speak. It wasn't right when they did it to The Minutemen Project at Columbia, and it wasn't right this time. The subject does not have the right to deny Kerry his right to free speech. Nor does he have the right to disturb a peaceful assembly. Nor does he have the right to ignore the orders of police officers. He deserved a baton to the head.

Patrioticlib

Angelus2007

First off, he does have the right to speak. But this was a forum with rules, and he wasn't arrested when the officers first took him by the arms. They just wanted to escort him from the room. He started fighting and making a scene. They tried to subdue him and were unsucsessful. Then then proceded to taser him, and rightly so. He was arrested for resisting police, which is a crime.

open thoughts

I am in the middle.

I think he had the right to speak...abused that right, so the cops had the right to remove him. At this point, right or wrong, he HAS to cooperate. Then if he felt he was unfairly treated, he should have fought back in the media or courts. This 130 pound weakling was actually holding his own, was fighting and resisting quite a bit, and was WARNED about the taser. At this point, the last time he tried to escape, he was RIGHTFULLY tased.

My opinion...they could have tased him once for me...I lost any sympathy when he fought the authorities after their command to lay down and put his hands behind his back.

I wish they would have tased that psycho nutcase pink whatever who was screaming her fool head off in Congress.

MrKnowNothing...first, he was at the mic for over 1 1/2 minutes. Second, they had every right to remove him. Third they warned him that if he did not submit, they would use the taser and he did not. If he gets one dime from this case, then it is a HUGE miscarriage of justice.

crazy frog...I am no Kerry fan, but you need to stop listening to Savage. Kerry OFFERED to answer the question at first, but the punk was too obnoxious for anyone to hear. Watch the video again, Kerry said something like "That's okay...I'll take it" I am not going to watch it again...you watch and listen for Kerry's voice about the time the cops approached him.

condor...he was told to stop a couple of times because he was not following the guidelines. When you are at something like that, you are told that you ASK A QUESTION, not spend a minute an a half "educating" (in truth spreading false propoganda) the crowd and asking 3 questions. They had the right remove him...he would not go peacefully. There is nothing poor about him...he disrupts things like this all of the time, and he knew EXACTLY what was going on.

hifi

I agree with the statement made that there were five cops on him taser was not necessary. I do know that The founding fathers of our country who fought for liberty and freedom and the right to the “ persuit of happiness” would be disgusted with this type of behavior and the fact that people are not enraged by the deterioration of the “freedom of speech”! It is barbaric to inflict pain with no remorse as if to enjoy it when perhaps people wanted to hear what the guy said! They hushed him under who’s orders? I would sue!

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