US student brutally tazored... for asking questions
A person being arrested does not have the option of resisting, even if it is a bogus arrest. The time and place to contest an arrest is in the courtroom, not during the arrest itself. The second they told him he was under arrest, his only lawful option was to go with them peacefully. He decided not to do that, and the cops responded as cops will, with force.
That being said, i don't think this was a bogus arrest. The guy's conduct was obviously disorderly, and and whether he was right or wrong was irrelevant once they decided to arrest him.
And for the record, these were not rent-a-cops, these were sworn officers hired to act as security for the event. I see no evidence of unprofessional behavior on the part of the officers in the video, but I do see one loudmouthed fool doing his best to make a spectacle of himself. I think the officers acted with remarkable restraint. Less professional officers would have beat him to a pulp.
This is just going to go on forever isn't it?
Whether he should have been arrested or not is at least debatable. There could be some history with him that we don't know about that would add logic and rationale to the arrest itself.
However, the fact that they zapped him with a taser AFTER he was down and apparently restrained buy four cops is what I believe some of us are arguing. The time for using the taser had obviously already passed. Tasering him after they finally got him down and under enough control was a message of revenge. That and that alone make it police brutality.
It shouldn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that out. ![]()
According to the police report, he wasn't fully restrained when they tased him. They said they had one cuff on him and he was still actively resisting. It was only after they tased him that he finally stopped resisting and they were able to handcuff him and haul him out of there. You can't see on the video exactly what was going on when they tased him, but you can definitely hear him yelling. I seriously doubt he was yelling like that and at the same time cooperating willingly.
Almost from the moment he steps up to the mic, he is being harrased by security. He clearly demonstrates that he is unarmed several times. If he were facing a better speaker, then said speaker would have fielded the questions, however complex or embarrassing or whatever. If he were a faster thinker, he might even have shut the kid down with well thought out responses. To my sight, security shifts rather too fast onto his case for what are in fact perfectly legitimate questions.
Notice laos the sheer panic that creeps into his voice as security become more strong-armed. These are not the responses of a brutal terrorist, or rabble-rousing orator. These are the fearful protestations of a kid who is rapidly getting mugged by half a dozen heavy handed cops.
And again, I point out that attempts to drag someones arms back, as is the case in handcuffing, is a painful experience. people WILL resist it.. because it HURTS. Done badly, it is akin to attempting to break the arm.
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Here's a quote from a student who was there:
"The videos only told half the story," Maskell said. "If Meyer's question had been, 'Senator Kerry, what is your favorite color?' he still would have been immediately removed for his prior disturbance.
"The university police department removed [Meyer] to the cheers of the crowd," Maskell continued. "It is not a question of the freedom of speech. It is a question of how much of an (expletive) someone can be before a cop tases him."
UncleBeer
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Huh? Doesn't that strike you as even a leeeetle bit out of proportion? Being " an ***** " should be enough to get you ejected; not tortured while restrained.
The policy for taser use in most law enforcement agencies around the world is A) when the officer perceives a real and imminent danger to himself or others, and B) as a final and desperate alternative to using a firearm. The situation as shown in the video (and as described by bystanders) fulfilled neither of these criteria.
How should he have been 'ejected'? Magically? He obviously wasn't going anywhere willingly.
According to this article: Policy describes rules for Taser you're mistaken about the taser policy... I think you have that confused with the policy for using deadly force.
I think it's clear that these officers acted within policy.
UncleBeer
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Maybe those four doughnut-gnawing "peace officers" could have carried him out? Or was it more entertaining to try out the new toy on an uppity youngster?
That's certainly the policy in Warren Ohio (population 45,796). The rest of the US and the world have different policies than "Mayberry":
-Weigh the alternatives to the TASER (deadly force, baton…) and use TASER when preferable to alternatives
-TASER's should not replace training and other weapons (defensive tactics, baton, firearm…)
http://www.theppsc.org/Staff_Views/Czar ... ations.htm
According to the police report, Meyer also 'lifted' the female cop 'up' before embarking on a 'kicking' and 'punching' spree.
Makes you wonder what sort of fantasies go down on record when their isnt a camera rolling.
Take a closer look at that video... at 2:15 into it, as they're taking him out, one officer is carrying him out... then the camera cuts out, and in the next instant, they are all further up the aisle and he's on the floor... we didn't see what happened between the time he's being carried and the time he's on the floor... this video has obviously been edited...
That missing section is covered by the second video i posted. Nowhere can Meyer be seen 'lifting' officer Mallo 'off the ground' as she stated in the report.
I see her trying to hold on to his arm, and her stumbling a bit, and then him swiping at her with the book... not exactly lifting her off her feet, but he was dragging her...
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6saJ6VEXOc[/youtube]
In this here video, you can hear her telling him very loudly 'you will be tased', and the male officer tells him the same thing, almost a full minute before they actually tased him, and still he's resisting... in that first video, you can hear the male officer ordering him to turn over on his stomach and put his hands behind his back, which he also refuses to do... and in that second video, just before he goes down, you can see him trying to run away... everything they did to try to subdue this guy, he resisted, they warned him he was going to be tased, and he still resisted, til finally they tased him, at which point they are finally able to take him into custody...
I love the end of this last video, where the guy who's filming it goes 'police brutality, rodney king'
And nowhere, in any of the videos, did I see a single donut...
