Student Tasered in Front of John Kerry

[KBCraig]

The official explanation of why he was being booted (multiple questions, went past his allotted time, etc.) doesn't even make sense. They claim his mike was turned off (it obviously wasn't), and police waited until he finished his question before trying to arrest him.

[Dan]

Better video at http://liveleak.com/

The sound of the taser is more revolting in this one. 
You can hear the mic get cut and here him question it.

[CNHT]

I clearly heard Kerry say, "It's alright, it's a valid question, let me answer it..." but then the guy was by this time overtaken and starting screaming....

I'd sue the pants of these jokers! 

[picaro]

This is an outrage. 

It is heartening that cameras are catching more of these acts violence by the state.

[Braddogg]

According to news reports, the kid jumped to the front of the line of people waiting to ask Kerry a question.  The rest of this post stems from watching the video linked at the bottom (must have been someone next to him recording it).  After the first 30 seconds or so of talking about the 2004 election, he was told by one of the officers to ask his question, he said he was going to preface his question and put his hand toward the officer's face indicating for her to leave him alone.  Then he asks Kerry why he conceded the 2004 election.  Then the officer tells him that's enough.  He says he's "not even done yet," he's got two more questions.  Then he asks Kerry about impeaching Bush (to prevent an invasion of Iran), and then he asks about Skull and Bones (90 seconds into his rant).  He gets the question out, then goes on to repeat it in varied forms two or three more times.  Midway through his second asking of that question, you can hear the mic cut out.  He then sarcastically says, "Thank you for cutting my mic."  And then the police descend.

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=657_1190085332

The kid also has a history of taping his own pranks and was not unknown to campus police.  This might have been a prank that went too far.  The officers first tell him that he is under arrest for inciting a riot; the formal charge ended up being disturbing the peace, then resisting the officers.

[dalebert]

That's what I kept thinking.  There was no voice of opposition from the crowd.  Why the hell wouldn't a few people get involved? 

If you watch the livelink video above, you see a girl trying to get the police to leave him alone. That's all I saw.

[penguins4me]

That's what I kept thinking.  There was no voice of opposition from the crowd.  Why the hell wouldn't a few people get involved? 

If you watch the livelink video above, you see a girl trying to get the police to leave him alone. That's all I saw.

I'd heard what sounded like two other distinct voices protesting the arrest, and a general negative noise from the crowd when the cops got involved.

Does sound like the kid bit off more than he could chew... but then again, the response from the cops just seems WAY out of line to me. Make him sit down, let him go out the door; they'd already cut his mike, so what else was he going to do? And then there was Kerry stating he'd like to answer the question... :P

[grasshopper]

   I'll not say what I feel on this, this is why I do not go to political rallies where questions are asked.   I do not put up with armed thugs doing shit like that.
  Learn their tools, learn to use them well.  Get to know your local police as I said in a prior thread.  If they know you it will be harder for them to "Just doing my job" you.  This is what happens when Police Officers put up with too much shit from the populace.  They get disengaged, we have to keep them IN our lives, they are people like us that do a shitty job that I could not do.  We need to know them and get people like us to become officers.  It is not "us against them", if we keep this train of thought it will be us against them and they are trained to deal with "people like us" with tasers and clubs and scoped rifles, they think it is funny to club "people like us", this is why we need to engage these people and let them know that we are them.
  did I lay it on too thick?)

[Braddogg]

Does sound like the kid bit off more than he could chew... but then again, the response from the cops just seems WAY out of line to me. Make him sit down, let him go out the door; they'd already cut his mike, so what else was he going to do? And then there was Kerry stating he'd like to answer the question...

The kid was very agitated throughout his time at the mic, and became doubly so once his mic was cut.  I don't think he would have left or sat down if the officer simply asked him to do so.  Once he started getting manhandled by the cops, then yeah, he probably would have chosen leaving rather than getting tazered.  But by that time the cops already had him on disturbing the peace.  The officers tried to get him to leave (roughly), in fact, but the kid ran FURTHER INTO the auditorium.  Their first response wasn't "cut the mic, then tackle and taze."

[penguins4me]

The kid was very agitated throughout his time at the mic, and became doubly so once his mic was cut.  I don't think he would have left or sat down if the officer simply asked him to do so.  Once he started getting manhandled by the cops, then yeah, he probably would have chosen leaving rather than getting tazered.  But by that time the cops already had him on disturbing the peace.  The officers tried to get him to leave (roughly), in fact, but the kid ran FURTHER INTO the auditorium.  Their first response wasn't "cut the mic, then tackle and taze."

True, that liveleak video does show that he'd displayed a bit of 'tude towards the cops. Then again, does assault (hand-on) constitute a proper response? Does arrest? Does pain-compliance-device?

As for running, looked to me as though he was simply trying to move away from the cops to get their hands off him. A logical response to being assailed, I'd think.

-edit

I don't think he would have left or sat down if the officer simply asked him to do so.

Shouldn't they have, though? Whatever happened to the "force continuum"?

[Braddogg]

True, that liveleak video does show that he'd displayed a bit of 'tude towards the cops. Then again, does assault (hand-on) constitute a proper response? Does arrest? Does pain-compliance-device?

As for running, looked to me as though he was simply trying to move away from the cops to get their hands off him. A logical response to being assailed, I'd think.

Well, let's examine the alternatives.  If the police stood there and just politely said, "Okay, you're done, please leave," I think the crowd is in for another 5-10 minutes of tirade.  The guy didn't look like he was ready to leave.

So the cops say, "you're done," and he keeps talking.  They say, "Time to leave," and he stays.  They grab him by the arms and shoulders and try to muscle him out the door, and he runs away from them toward the audience (rather than toward the door). 

[mvpel]

RSA 644:2

III. He purposely causes a breach of the peace, public inconvenience, annoyance or alarm, or recklessly creates a risk thereof, by:

       (c) Disrupting any lawful assembly or meeting of persons without lawful authority.

[Bald Eagle]

How is ASKING A QUESTION and not wanted to be rudely interrupted "disruptive?"
That's the whole purpose of a Q&A session. 
Since F'ing when are THE COPS in charge of conducting a Q&A session during a rally?
Isn't there a faculty member or other University rep serving as a moderator?
Just because some PIG comes up and voices HIS PERSONAL OPINION that he doesn't like what I have to say, and that I should shut up and sit down or leave doesn't mean that I'm likely to comply.  What, am I the modern day negro slave who takes orders from any cottonfield foreman that decides to come by and boss me around?  Am I a German Jew that sits there and says nothing until one day it's too late?

The kid was animated, sure, but they tried to shut him up just about as soon as he started to ask his questions.  Kerry sure wasn't objecting to his questions, so why do the jackbooted thugs have to step in and started ordering people around?

As far as "us vs them," they do FAR more to warrant a forcible response from the citizenry than people like that kid.  So he had an attitude - SO WHAT - does that justify people beating the F*** out of every tough-guy wise-mouth cop who's got a 6' stick up his A**?  They had an attitude, right?  And as for cops being "trained" to handle "people like us" - maybe you ought to go hang out with your run-of-the mill cops some time.  If there were any more than 3 or 4 prepared, determined and self-trained people fighting for their God-given Rights as human beings, we'd kick their asses.

I don't see why it always has to come to that, but they just push and push and push, and just keep on pushing as hard as they can NO MATTER WHAT.  If someone decides one day that they're going to push back HARD, I sure as hell aren't going to hold it against them and I sure as hell aren't going to go jumping to the poor defenseless police officers' aid to keep them from getting killed if that's what happens.  The deck is stacked so heavily against the citizen in comparison to the cop-mafia enforcers, that I'm not going to interfere with the natural return of balance to the system.  One of the first things you learn about when you carry guns is "escalation of force."  When somebody starts aggravating you or trying to provoke you, you just let it go and try to end the confrontation peacefully.  The police tend to do just the opposite, so sometimes they pay a heavy stupid-tax imposed by Darwin.  Life's tough all around.

At the other extreme, I usually try to compliment one of the truly good peace officers when they tactfully and intelligently handle a situation and don't shift straight into DEATH TO ALL HUMANS mode.  I've met some cops who I haven't agreed with philosophically, and I don't respect their little tin badge, I respect THEM.  The thing is, they're tough enough and self-confident enough to let the little shit just roll of their back instead of getting themselves embroiled in a pissing match.  THAT's why the job is likely to be tough, and these bozos in the video clearly aren't competent to do it they jumped the gun, lost control of their egos, and started a brawl.  I don't give a crap if they "won."  If they worked for me, they'd be fired.

[mvpel]

How is ASKING A QUESTION and not wanted to be rudely interrupted "disruptive?"

It's not.

However, barging to the front of the line, monopolizing the microphone, asking three barking-moonbat questions in a row without even pausing for breath, and refusing to shut up and let the distinguished guest speak when asked by the event organizers just might be disruptive.

I guess as more information emerges we'll see whether or not that was the case.

[error]

But the barking moonbat was the distinguished guest!