Kerry speaks, student tasered, crowd watches the show

[Drave]

wtf... yes this really happened...

[gremlinz273]

Where was this?

[Aegdaien]

University of Florida. It's on the main page of CNN.com now.

[chaos]

I've been watching Fox News all morning, because I'm at work, and yeah, they've played this like 20 times.

[Soriak]

It's sad that 4 or 5 officers have to resort to a taser to arrest some 21-year old kid. I used to support giving tasers to police here - after all, it's better than using a real gun. Turns out the opponents were right and the taser gets used far too frequently for cases no one would consider using a real gun. Using a nightstick in such a situation would get an officer in trouble (I'd hope), but tasers are considered acceptable, despite the pain they induce.

Of course the kid was being a douchebag, but that doesn't justify such a reaction.

[Twobit Whore]

Kerry's statement sort of condemns the police. He claims it was a healthy discussion and it could have ended without interruption. I believe him. While the kid was a little overzealous, almost fanatical, when speaking.. he wasn't out of line. Unless you can get tasered for saying blowjob in front of a crowd.

[Jabberwhacky]

Go tell that to the cops after they put you under arrest and see how well it flies. Please. Go resist arrest and see what happens. It's not gonna be fun in any circumstance, taser or no. They're "the law" for a reason.

(the above message was directed at Soriak)

[Twobit Whore]

Oh and they charged him with resisting arrest with violence. I'm sorry, but there was no violence.. how does a kid use violence while subdued by 4-5 armed police officers.

[Drave]

lots of interesting reactions to this...

Long thread on [ Slashdot ], and this gem...

[Aamina]

That guy makes me laugh. I especially love his choice of lighting. Truly, a defender of the people.

-Aamina

[Kugbok_Fennin]

The guys questioning was very strong but right on track. His only crime was he was a little loud and didn't allow Kerry to answer. I still fail to see how this warrants the actions that those officers took.

See what pisses me off is they go to detain you for nothing, which is illegal, then when you resist, they charge you with resisting arrest.

[Soriak]

Originally Posted by Jabberwhacky

Go tell that to the cops after they put you under arrest and see how well it flies. Please. Go resist arrest and see what happens. It's not gonna be fun in any circumstance, taser or no. They're "the law" for a reason.

(the above message was directed at Soriak)

I wouldn't resist arrest - I'd go to the station and call my lawyer. However, that kid probably doesn't have a lawyer, nor the money to see it through.

edit: Also, this looks like it was campus security - are they even official police? I always thought they were just hired security, in which case they're not the law and can't arrest anyone.

[Brikker]

This is why people hate local police.

(And if it was campus security, they're lucky the crowd wasn't in a riot mood; I've seen riots erupt from far less than this at my school (University of Oregon)).

[findar]

Originally Posted by Soriak

edit: Also, this looks like it was campus security - are they even official police? I always thought they were just hired security, in which case they're not the law and can't arrest anyone.

campus security(for state colleges) is generally legit police officers with a smaller "jurisdiction". fun note, went to a community college for summer classes and since its campus spread in 2 cities, the campus police had more jurisdiction then either city police.

[Szlia]

You can be sure some association will pay a lawyer for him and be sure some people will be fired. A house with a pool and his college tuition for some taser shocks will not be such a raw deal after all.