Jackson Free Press

That's what Andrew Meyer yelled out while police officers restrained him at a John Kerry campus forum. The reason: asking too many questions.

Are tasers being abused by law enforcement? This is a topic that Wake Up Jackson may deal with in the future, and I wanted to know what others think about this issue. Here are a couple more eyebrow-raising videos:

UCLA student tased at Powell Library for refusing to show ID:

Woman tased into oblivion:

KNBC video

What disturbs me the most about the last two videos is that the individuals were tased repeatedly. How do several jolts of 50,000 volts within minutes of each other affect a person's health?

Discuss.

Previous Comments

ID

114788

Comment

My comments from previous post: And did you notice he also kicked her? And when she fell and bumped her head against that car he continued to taser her. Why did he find it necessary to put his foot on her? The cop, who was suspended with pay, is now saying that his taser accidentally discharced several times during the arrest.

Author

blu_n_a_redstate

Date

2007-09-21T12:34:56-06:00

ID

114789

Comment

How can I post nice youtube links like you? I've tried that [code=] stuff but can't ever get anything to work. email me if you need to.... Anywho... "Don't Tase me, bro!" meets Chocolate Rain. I think my youtube idled brain just collapsed. BTW: You haven't gotten the T-shirt yet?

Author

pikersam

Date

2007-09-21T12:37:32-06:00

ID

114790

Comment

Well, first of all, resisting arrest is never a good idea. But I do think the taser use is excessive especially in the last two situations. With the woman, it looked like she was trying to get up and get into the car, but they knocked her down again. With the library scene, I don't understand why all those big burly cops couldn't just pick the guy up and carry him out instead of saying "Get Up!" over and over like a broken record. What became of that UCLA thing? This is the first I've heard of that one. I mean, the guy needed to be subdued somehow because he was obviously not cooperating, but those cops could have gotten him out of there quicker without having to tase him so many times. I don't know how that affects the body, but I can't imagine it's very good for you.

Author

music chick

Date

2007-09-21T12:48:43-06:00

ID

114791

Comment

Pike, it only seems to work in the post itself because it's HTML. When you post comments, only BBCode works for me. That just may be how the Web site is wired up. I hadn't been inspired to do a T-shirt, but if I think of something, I'll let you know. In the meantime, here's a version someone else made that looks cool.

Author

LatashaWillis

Date

2007-09-21T12:52:18-06:00

ID

114792

Comment

Tasers or whatever they're called have to be tried out on somebody. The persons we used to try all kinds of medical and cop's procedures out onagainst their will and consent, don't take as kindly to this any more. They march, protest, sue and burn down stuff now. Cops are encouraged to participate in this informal tasering research. We don't know what tissue or nerve damage is eventually done to our victims as of yet because not enough people have been tased or tasered. However, if things continue as they are, we'll know something soon. Joe, the neighborhood policemen.

Author

Ray Carter

Date

2007-09-21T12:55:39-06:00

ID

114793

Comment

LOL! I saw those. What those cops did to that woman what horrible! The second I saw him push her with his boot it showed he was treating her like an animal not a human. But, they may need to re-think the taser thing. It doesn't look like they work very well.

Author

pikersam

Date

2007-09-21T12:57:36-06:00

ID

114794

Comment

The cops need to learn is that when pain hits manypeople they can't be still. Add the right amount of alcohol and/or drugs and many people won't or can't heed the police's command to be still. Seems pretty simple to me.

Author

Ray Carter

Date

2007-09-21T13:01:32-06:00

ID

114795

Comment

...we could go back to simply shooting everyone. I'm sure that'd work.

Author

Ironghost

Date

2007-09-21T13:01:52-06:00

ID

114796

Comment

I might add, that particilar cop who tased the woman is sadistic. He had to be getting some enjoyment from that abuse, or hated the image or representation of that women.

Author

Ray Carter

Date

2007-09-21T13:03:20-06:00

ID

114797

Comment

Back when I was in college the students wouldn't have put up with some whiny kid in the library screaming don't touch me to campus police, especially if it was over something like showing an ID. Not like he was voting. I know at Vanderbilt they were super careful that only Vandy students could have access to their libraries.

Author

pikersam

Date

2007-09-21T13:05:00-06:00

ID

114798

Comment

What became of that UCLA thing? This is the first I've heard of that one. I mean, the guy needed to be subdued somehow because he was obviously not cooperating, but those cops could have gotten him out of there quicker without having to tase him so many times. I don't know how that affects the body, but I can't imagine it's very good for you. According to Wikipedia, a lawsuit was filed. [quote]On January 17, 2007, Tabatabainejad filed a federal lawsuit alleging the campus officers used excessive force, and that they violated the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. He is seeking unspecified damages. According to the lawsuit, Tabatabainejad has bipolar disorder and informed the officers of his condition, but was treated in a way that constitutes discrimination under the ADA. His attorney, Paul Hoffman, has said that a February 2008 court date has been set.[/quote]

Author

LatashaWillis

Date

2007-09-21T13:05:20-06:00

ID

114799

Comment

I still don't understand why the police would tase someone that is already in handcuffs. Someone explain that to me, please.

Author

LatashaWillis

Date

2007-09-21T13:10:01-06:00

ID

114800

Comment

I still don't understand why the police would tase someone that is already in handcuffs. Someone explain that to me, please. THAT's what I'm sayin'. He was in handcuffs. Pick him up and carry him out. He couldn't stand up if they kept tasing him. It's interesting that Mr. Longname (i'm not even going to try to spell that out!) said they violated the ADA. I'm not exactly sure they did that as much as they just overdid it with the taser and did not use effective strategy to get him out of the situation.

Author

music chick

Date

2007-09-21T13:14:19-06:00

ID

114801

Comment

I don't know LW? Ask the cops who hit the kid in hand-cuffs here in Jackson?

Author

pikersam

Date

2007-09-21T13:14:35-06:00

ID

114802

Comment

Is it wrong that I initially laughed at his reaction? "Don't tase me, bro!"? I might have lit him up a bit for that one myself, lol. Seriously, he was the last in line, got annoyed when the person in front of him was told they were the last, Kerry said he could ask one question, he asked four and then started being disruptive. I could understand Kerry’s frustration, even though I think the kid asked a couple of valid questions. Not condoning what the rent-a-cop security did either - tasering to me shows a basic lack of hand-to-hand training, as they massively outnumbered the guy, and probably could've easily hauled him off physically with any number of holds.

Author

Jeff Lucas

Date

2007-09-21T13:17:31-06:00

ID

114803

Comment

If I hated you or the behavior or image you portrayed, and I was an a__hole, I could tase you just because I happened to come your way. Dogs and billyclubs were used against peaceful people not because they were doing anything illegal or really criminal, but because the cops or powers that be didn't like the people or the idea that they were disrespectful or indifferent to their positions and socializations. Many men would have said this is a woman, I'm not tasering her. This guy didn't. Perhaps the fact she was apparently drunk bothered him, if she was indeed drunk. Something outside of the job duties was driving this police officer to tase that woman the first time and repeatedly. Otherwise, this officer had the mistaken belief that being a police officer means torturing someone into submission no matter the situation at hand.

Author

Ray Carter

Date

2007-09-21T13:23:02-06:00

ID

114804

Comment

Is it wrong that I initially laughed at his reaction? "Don't tase me, bro!"? I might have lit him up a bit for that one myself, lol. Not entirely. The situation itself wasn't funny, but the way he said that was unforgettable.

Author

LatashaWillis

Date

2007-09-21T13:24:34-06:00

ID

114805

Comment

the way he said that was unforgettable. and that is why it's on a T-shirt now!

Author

music chick

Date

2007-09-21T13:46:57-06:00

ID

114806

Comment

Florida State linebacker tased at bar fight according MSNBC. LW, we're quickly running up numbers so as to answer your inquiry. Joe, the policeman.

Author

Ray Carter

Date

2007-09-21T13:51:25-06:00

ID

114807

Comment

Paul Harvey reported, on his noon radio cast earlier this week, that the video of student who was tasered at the Kerry function was an elaborate hoax. A practical joke directed by the student. Anybody else hear this as well?

Author

FrankMickens

Date

2007-09-21T14:10:20-06:00

ID

114808

Comment

Reportedly, this guy has a history of making public spectacles that he videos and later posts on his website. Frankly, I don't care how much of an attention seeking loser this guy is. Unless the security guards felt lives were in danger and their only other option was to shoot the living hell out of him, he did not need to be tasered IMHO. A lot of people seem to forget that despite what some police departments may or may not have as their official policy, tasers were not designed, built or marketed to be the human equivalent of cattle prods. They were intended to be a *hopefully* non-lethal method of subduing a perpetrator in situations where the police would normally be forced to shoot them.

Author

Jeff Lucas

Date

2007-09-21T14:23:51-06:00

ID

114809

Comment

I heard Meyer was a prankster, too, but I still think the Taser was overkill. They could have just gotten him out of the room. I didn't know that some of the students had a protest Tuesday. The article says that the campus is divided over the issue.

Author

LatashaWillis

Date

2007-09-21T14:55:23-06:00

ID

114810

Comment

http://www.billoreilly.com/store Free...while they last.

Author

xxgreg

Date

2007-09-21T15:15:29-06:00

ID

114811

Comment

You have to see the other Andrew Meyer tasing video. It's a different angle and shows some guy in a suit telling the police to get him outta there and not let him finish his questioning. You can hear John Kerry telling them to stop and let him answer Meyer's questions. What you had here was a case of some suit not liking the questions, especially the Skull & Bones, or whatever that secret group is called. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=or85SRArYMQ And for an analysis. Gotta watch this one too. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOlmNBxke-E

Author

LambdaRisen

Date

2007-09-22T06:52:42-06:00

ID

114812

Comment

The first one made me dizzy because the videographer was moving around so much, but you could hear the dialogue very well. When Meyer was tased, you could hear someone saying, "Oh, s***!" The second one was a good "play-by-play" analysis. I suggest that everyone look at it. I think this video of the arrest that followed is a must-see also. It helps you better understand the mindset of Meyer and the officers.

Author

LatashaWillis

Date

2007-09-22T07:35:08-06:00

ID

114813

Comment

Okay, I couldn't stand it any more. I made two T-shirts: White shirt Black shirt

Author

LatashaWillis

Date

2007-09-23T18:21:14-06:00