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

Question

i think everyone has seen it, but here is the link anyway:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=6bVa6jn4rpE

Here are the viewpoints that I have heard. I am on the fence between two of them:

1) The subject had the right to speak (even though he was being obnoxious, as we could probally all agree on. Nothing should have happened

2) The cops were right when they arrested him, however it was not necessary to use the taser in a crowded auditorium with cameras everywhere when he was clearly a 130 pound weakling that could have been handled with much less manpower then was available in the video, without using a taser.

3)The cops were completely justified in arresting him, the charges that were filed against him (inciting a riot), and the use of the taser was completely justified.

Answer 1

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.

Answer 2

I don't know for sure if legally the police did anything illegal? I believe they could have handled it better, here's how: First, because a guy (in someone else's opinion) asks asanine questions and acts like a jerk, doesn't mean he doesn't deserve the chance to ask. Second. What if the police had just backed off when they could see that he wanted to finish asking his question? I think John Kerry would have answered it, possibly the guy would have responded, Kerry talks some more, and most likely the guy sits down in his seat and that is the end of it. Wether or not it would have happened that way, we'll never know because the police decided that they call the shots and he didn't want to listen. I think the police could have kept this from escalating by just letting him finish. If he carried on considerably after asking his questions, then the police may have needed to step in. In my judgement, they should have just excercised a little more restraint. I believe that the police are responsible for this becoming such a fiasco. If the cops gave him a chance to finish, and this guy continued on some sort of rant, I think the police would have more support from everyone out there watching this video on the net, and it probably wouldn't be such an issue, and maybe nothing bad would have happened at all.

Answer 3

2

Answer 4

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...

Answer 5

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.

Answer 6

I would need to know what other students in the audience yelled out at the tased guy. Apparently they were booing, jeering and heckling him, so in a sense they were equally culpable of inciting a riot.
I think it's a shame that someone can't ask an uncomfortable question and get an answer to it without reactionaries reacting and saying we can't confront politicians in a forum or criticize our government or the actions of a rep. in public.
They should have had an MC that told the questioner to allow Kerry to respond, since there were other Q's to answer. Cut off his mike and turn up the voume of Kerry's mike to answer.
Then security shouldn't come in unless/until the guy kept ranting and ranting trying to interrupt Kerry's answer. But they came early, other students were yelling things, too, and they got away with it.
O.K. the guy kind of acted like a jerk by making his Q. too long, but a calm MC probably could've shushed him to let Kerry answer rather than calling in police force.
The main concern to me, though, is that there is a growing general assault on freedom of speech in Bush's reign, and this is an example of this.
If people like Bush stay in power we can expect even worse incidents like Kent State in the 60's and people in general becoming more and more afraid to speak out and question.
I know you can't yell FIRE in a crowded theater, but we in America should be civilized enough to have a challenging debate over political issues without violence erupting.

Answer 7

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.

Answer 8

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?

Answer 9

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.

Answer 10

3.

He wasn't getting taserd because of the content of his speech, so that throws out the first amendment argument right there. If he had gotten up and said something politically incorrect and they had taserd him for saying something they didn't like, that would be one thing. In this case he was abusing the form, and he was infringing on the free speech rights of the OTHER People there.... the ones who couldn't ask legitimate questions because he was hogging all the attention.

This took place at a State University, not on private property; but still the people who were there (or their parents) paid a lot of money so they could be there; so they could take advantage of fourms like this....(you don't see discussions like this with Senators taking place in the break room at Walmart... it is an opportunity). This jerk was infringing on the rights of the other students because he is an ill mannered boor.... and he was, in a way, taking from them something they had paid for when they went to the University.

So I'm all for the cops tasering him. He was warned, he refused to comply, he refused to obey, he wanted attention and he got 50,000 volts worth of attention... all I have to say is "More Power too him!"

Answer 11

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.