Taser Draws State Investigation

Mike Vasilinda / WJHG | September 21, 2007

The tasering and arrest of Andrew Meyer at the University of Florida is
quickly becoming the taser heard around the world. A state investigation is already underway, and the incident is raising both civil rights and free speech issues.

The arrest and tasering of Andrew Meyer is quickly spreading around he world. The video sharing site You Tube shows over 4 hundred thousand views in just two days.

Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum is a staunch law and order kind
of guy, and even he questions what happened on the UF campus.

“I think most of us presumably this was excessive force and needs to be investigated. Free speech is important in our country...free speech on a campus, particularly is.”

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The amount of chatter on the internet verges on the overwhelming, with the number of posts in the thousands.

There are plenty of posts unfavorable to Meyer, saying he got what he
deserves. But Adria Harper of the First Amendment Foundation thinks something is terribly wrong with what happened.

“We don’t want students to feel uncomfortable, or any citizen to feel
uncomfortable exercising their first amendment rights. The thought of
being tasered for saying something that may not be pleasing to somebody is certainly scary.”

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the incident. Until the probe is finished, two of the officers involved remain on administrative leave.

But it’s clear Tallahassee wants answers quickly. The investigation is being handled by the FDLE Gainesville field office.

The agency said it would not put a timetable on when a report will be
ready.

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