andrew meyer

Andrew Meyer handed his camera to a bystander before he took the podium to rant and rave at question and answer session with John Kerry. After screaming obscenities and doling out several conspiracy theories he was asked to leave by cops. He refused and then was surrounded subdued and eventually was tasered.

Andrew Meyer Taser Video a Set Up: Has Own Video, Jokes With Cops

But was it all a set up? According to Ocala.Com Clarissa Jessup, who was standing near Meyer just before UF Police Tasered him and took him into custody, said Meyer asked her to film him asking Kerry a question just before he approached the microphone. No wonder he was making such a fool of himself - he wanted something for his website.


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And he appears to love the attention and the camera. In a 12-page report, which gives accounts of the incident from the perspective of eight different officers who were present Monday afternoon, Officer Nicole Mallo writes that Meyer would only resist officers when cameras were present.

"As (Meyer) was escorted down stairs (at the University Auditorium) with no cameras in sight, he remained quiet, but once the cameras made their way down stairs he started screaming and yelling again," Mallo wrote. Mallo was one of two officers who actually rode in the vehicle as Meyer was escorted to the Alachua County jail, and she said said he told them during the ride: "I am not mad at you guys, you didn't do anything wrong, you were just trying to do your job," according to Mallo's account.


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Mallo also wrote in her report that he asked, at one point, if cameras would be present at the jail. So - he wanted the publicity and he got it. Now let's get this nut on some major television news shows so we can hear the tin foil hat wearing crowd's views on the world.

Oh and get this in most of his posts and on his Facebook.com profile he refers to himself as The Andrew Meyer.

Watch the video here.
Andrew Meyer, the UF student who was Tasered and arrested by University Police Department officers Monday, was released from jail about 9 a.m. Tuesday.

Meyer, a telecommunication senior, spent the night in jail but was in good spirits, said Robert Griscti, Meyer's lawyer.

Griscti said Meyer and his family are very surprised at the UPD officers' actions and do not think Taser use was appropriate.

He said UPD has not attempted to communicate with the family.

Aside from some minor traffic violations, Meyer has had no run-ins with the law, Griscti said, adding that the pair would fight for complete dismissal of the charges.

Meyer left jail around noon with his parents and lawyer.

During a press conference Tuesday afternoon, UF President Bernie Machen said he had not talked to Meyer or his family, but would be willing if they wanted to.

Machen announced five actions UF is taking in response to the incident.

UF will ask the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to conduct an investigation of the appropriateness of Taser use.

Two officers, Eddie King and Nicole Mallo, have been placed on paid administrative leave.

UF will also create a panel of faculty and students to review campus safety protocols.

UF administrators and UPD officers will conduct an internal investigation of the police department.

Finally, the State Attorney's Office will decide whether to go forward with the charges.

Machen said there has been no mention of possible charges against UF or UPD.

Jack Thompson, a first amendment lawyer from Coral Gables, said he thinks Meyer would have a case against the officers.

"Anybody with a brain who's involved in prosecution will say, 'We made a big freakin' mistake' and pray to God he doesn't turn around and sue for what they did to him," Thompson said.
The tactics of police in Florida who Tasered a cheeky student as he tried to question former presidential candidate Senator John Kerry have been called into question after a video of the incident was posted on the internet.

The officers responsible have been suspended on full pay while the debate rages over whether the student was a victim of police brutality or an attention-seeking prankster who got what he deserved.

The student, Andrew Meyer, who was well-known on campus for his practical jokes, was Tasered after jumping the queue to ask Mr Kerry a series of questions in a Florida University lecture hall on Monday.

Event organisers were unhappy with his line of questioning and switched off the microphone as police officers moved in to escort him out of the hall.

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Mr Meyer refused to leave quietly, and as police officers grabbed him, he repeatedly tried to wriggle free while shouting: "What did I do?"

After a scuffle, the police fired several thousand volts into Mr Meyer, but not before he coined a new slogan for the YouTube generation: "Don't Tase me, bro!"

Video of the incident was posted on websites, attracting student laughter, right-wing fulmination and, of course, T-shirt merchandise. Half a million people have watched the original post and the footage was replayed by television channels around the world.

Mr Kerry has criticised the arrest of Mr Meyer, suggesting that he could have dealt with the heckler himself.

"In 37 years of public appearances, through wars, protests and highly emotional events, I have never had a dialogue end this way. I believe I could have handled the situation without interruption," he said.

Mr Meyer was released yesterday after a night in the cells, while students protested outside the police station claiming police brutality had been used.

He was arrested on charges of resisting an officer and disturbing the peace but the State Attorney's Office has yet to make the formal charging decision.

Mr Meyer's lawyer, Robert Griscti, said it appeared his client had been shocked after handcuffs had been put on him.

Bernie Machen, the University of Florida president, said that the episode was "regretful". He placed the campus officers involved on leave and asked for a state probe of police actions.

Students at the university organised a protest yesterday and marched on the police station shouting "Don't Tase me, bro" and demanding that stun guns were banned from campus.

Benjamin Dictor, an arts student, called for the officers to be disciplined and the charges against Mr Meyer to be dropped.

"For a question to be met with arrest, not to mention physical violence, is completely unacceptable in the United States, especially in the halls of education," Mr Dictor said.

Not everyone has sided with Mr Meyer. Critics have suggested that the entire incident was a planned attempt to win attention for a student who has already posted dozens of videos of himself on his website www.andrewmeyer.com.

Indeed the video of the arrest was taken on his own camera, which he had brought to the John Kerry Q&A session.

Police claimed that Mr Meyer's behaviour was very different when the camera was no longer rolling. One officer told the Associated Press that Mr Meyer asked, "Are you taping this? Do you have this? You ready?" before beginning his questions.