AP Demonizes Tazered Student As 'Prankster'
Police cite Meyer's "laughter" in aftermath to justify tazering;
Media tracks 'stunt' behavior to websites displaying irrelevant
frat-boy humor and writings about Iraq War

Aaron Dykes / JonesReport.com | September 18, 2007

RELATED: Left Cheers Student Brutally Tazered After Asking John Kerry a Question

As Andrew Meyer, the student who was tazered and arrested for asking John Kerry 'too many questions,' gained national media exposure, the AP demonized him as "a known prankster" and the author of a "disorganized diatribe"-- though the basis for the labels bears no relation to the incident.

"But details from his online writings and videos raised the question of whether his harangue during the forum was genuine or some kind of stunt."

The AP dredges up harmless videos parodying "Harry Potter" and 'a man hitting on another man in drag' supposedly posted on Meyer's personal website and refers to Meyer as "a known prankster" in its lead paragraph.

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While the real issue is clearly one of free speech and police brutality, Travis Reed of the Associated Press focuses on the unrelated and unspecified personal website as evidence of something more sinister.

"The site also has what is called a "disorganized diatribe" attributed to Meyer that criticizes the Iraq war, the news media for not covering the conflict enough and the American public for paying too much attention to celebrity news."

The focus on Meyer's "disorganized diatribe," is nothing more than an attempt to portray his political opinions as frenzied, as though it were the Unabomber's manifesto, when the words are only two of several used to summarize his heartfelt column about the death of his friend's father in the Iraq War and the media's hypocrisy in covering those deaths.

See video of the incident below.

Yet, these details, obviously irrelevant to the incident, somehow constitute a pattern of behavior that would justify excessive force by police and the violation of Constitutional rights. The AP reports:

"An officer, however, said in the police report that Meyer's "demeanor completely changed once the cameras were not in sight" and that he was "laughing" and "lighthearted" on the way to jail."

For AP reporters, this connects with more descriptions of Meyer on the web, though the Meyer released from jail looks anything but lighthearted (see above).

"Another site had pictures of Meyer licking a woman's face and making a suggestive pose as he stood behind a fake cow. The site listed his activities as "getting wasted" and "being ridiculous."

While the "damning" behavior defined above might describe any given college frat-boy and constitutes no criminal behavior, in reality, it is political involvement and the willingness to ask tough questions that stands out.

As for the charge of lightheartedness-- even if such seemingly grave questions were asked in jest or merely to gain publicity, there is still no justification for what took place in this forum-turned-forceful incident with police.

Rather, it is the unconstitutional and violent 'stunt' performed by the officers in this video that should be condemned and characterized in negative light. Unfortunately, the de facto threat of force for exercising free speech will likely sway far too many from speaking out in the future.

Already, an editorial from another student at the university warns, "There are lessons to be learned from Tasered student," which starts by saying "I hope nobody feels sorry for the young man who got Tased."

The columnist Kyle Cox goes on to implore that "insisting on your rights can get you burned."

"No matter how adamantly you feel about an issue, remember police are allowed to bust a move as they feel necessary. In protesting, you have to be aware of the consequences."

While Cox clearly feels that Meyer was not "standing up for a relative issue" and that his "protesting went overboard," this is beside the point. Police do not have license to do whatever they feel is necessary-- they must respect the rights of individuals and abide by the law in enforcing the law.

The issue here is with the police who used excessive force and violated the Bill of Rights-- shame on all who wish to avoid that fact and lay blame on Meyer's personal politics or behavioral background.

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