Everybody keeps piling on the cops, when the organizers are the ones who were in charge. Everyone keeps complaining about the people who have to carry out the orders, and ignore the people who give the orders.

The organizers were the ones who decided when the questioning would end – they probably had the hall for a specific time period, and couldn’t just allow things to continue. Meyer waited until after the question period was over to cut in front of a lot of other people who had waited for a turn and went into his performance. If he had really been interested in getting an answer, he could have been one of the first people at the microphone. If he had done that and been thrown out his case would have been about a violation of his rights.

Whig, most people don’t realize that a nightstick is almost never used to “beat people” when it is used properly. Swinging a nightstick is ineffective. A nightstick is used to “jab” with the point or to leverage arm strength. Hitting someone over the head with a nightstick produces a bloody scalp wound that does almost nothing to impede their ability to beat the crap out of you. We had an officer get a dozen stitches on his scalp from a book. The scalp tears easily.

The ACLU will take your case if it has merit, and most institutions are a good deal more afraid of courts than publicity, as the Christianist know, The problem with this case is that he will have to sue the sponsor of the event, which is probably a student organization or faculty committee, not “the man.”

Meyer is ignoring the officers and waving the book around.

None of the officers seem to be carrying a nightstick. I think that they have replaced the nightsticks with Tasers with just about guarantees it will be used. This is a training and policy issue.

He could have had just as much effect continuing to rant while complying with the handcuffs, always a good piece of film. I suspect the options of the officers have been limited by the purchase of the Tasers.

If he refused to comply, it was the Taser or a gun.

This was political theater, and had he been led off quietly without a scene it would not be news. He should not have been tasered. Tasers should not be used to subdue or silence people.

I am far less concerned with punishing a college kid for being outspoken and perhaps a bit obnoxious in his politics. He’s been tasered, and that’s punishment before trial.

I assume most of the audience was sick of the ranting or annoyed at his cutting in line, but he may have had “friends” with him. College kids are not exemplars of rational thought.

i can diagnose people over the internet just as well as the next guy can, so i’ll take a swipe at it: he’s less interested in taking a principled stand on an issue that’s important enough to go to jail for, and more into being a garden variety rabble rouser.

a more charitable interpretation: he’s a 20-something college kid and his intended audience is 20-something college kids. it’s not an age group that’s broadly noted for sophisticated political savvy or finely-tuned social skills.

the officers’ collective adrenaline levels may have been up, but teh audience, let me show you it. even the rabidly pro-andrew meyer commenters at various spots around the web have loudly bemoaned the audience’s almost total inertia.

[this coment brought to you with the "help" of several kittens]

If someone is struggling and you are trying to use metal cuffs, the possibility of injury is very high, which is why I liked the flexicuffs or the “mental health” restraints we had available.

I don’t understand the guy’s attitude. He would have made just as much an impression being led out in cuffs, and wouldn’t be facing felony charges. He is toast at the university. He was out before the Taser was used for failing to comply with the request of the sponsor and then the campus police.

If he had left when the first officer talked to him, he would have a solid first amendment complaint, but he has blown that away in the Florida system.