‘Don’t Tase me, bro’

If you’ve seen the YouTube video of Andrew Meyer’s arrest at a University of Florida forum featuring John Kerry, in which Meyer squirmed and yelled as he was escorted out, you’ve heard the question he keeps asking. It’s not the one he asks John Kerry that’s important, but rather the one he asks police. During the arrest, he repeatedly demands, “What did I do? What did I do?”\nSince then, it seems everyone who has heard this story has pondered the same question. Some people have decided Meyer was treated too roughly, but others say he deserved what he got. \nBut all it takes is the sound of the Taser going off and Meyer’s resultant howling to realize how unfortunate the situation was. Being able to see it unfold makes us wonder if it was appropriate for six officers to tase a student whose resistance was not actively aggressive. Organizers, officers and the student himself all made regrettable mistakes. And without delving too much into armchair criticism of an event that happened in real time, suffice it to say that the university did not have an effective policy in place to deal with this type of event.\nIt is unquestionable that Meyer knowlingly violated the rules of order set by the event’s organizers and that he did not at any point so much as feign an interest in Kerry’s responses. Rather, he was interested in getting his own opinions heard. In fact, his Web site seems to suggest that his dialogue with Kerry was intended as an attack, and the video was to be a trophy. This event boils down to an issue of conduct. \nThis was a university-sponsored event, and it was the hosts’ decision to cut Meyer’s microphone. To get his message out, he could easily have posted his criticism of Kerry on his Web site or a picket sign to be carried out front. Or he could have asked, as he was permitted, a single question delivered with polite demeanor. But if he wanted shock value, he ended up with 50,000 volts of it. \nMoreover, Meyer’s resistance to the police officers who at first attempted to escort him outside effectively sealed his fate. Once he tried to wrestle free of police, he crossed a line, and he could not easily have turned back. It does not matter how fiercely one believes himself to be innocent. After all, police merely enforce the law – ultimately questions of guilt and wrongdoing are left to the court system. Resisting apprehension is in itself an offense. \nBut situations like this are not a rarity at political events, making the lack of policies to address such situations harder to forgive. A look at recent visits to IU from Ann Coulter and Ehud Barak is proof that harassment during question and answer sessions is nothing new and can be handled effectively. The event’s organizers committed an oversight by not planning for attention-seeking questioners more effectively. \nColleges need firm policies when it comes to rowdy, passionate interrogators to avoid a case like Meyer’s. Had there been better procedures in place, the unpleasantness of this debacle could easily have been averted.