Police Brutality at Sen. Kerry Event

[Glenn the Great]

Alright folks, this really got me riled up.

Yesterday John Kerry was at a Q&A forum at the University of Florida, and one of the students was asking him many pressing questions. Someone at the forum called the police to take him away (apparantly because he was asking too many controversial questions), and he resisted. A swarm of police then proceeded to brutalize him in front of Kerry and everyone, the whole time Kerry was telling them to stop, and that his questions were alright and he wanted to answer them. He was tasered and taken to jail.

The biggest part of the story is that it was caught on tape by multiple people. Different videos are going around the Internet, and the best view of this student being brutalized by the demons is at this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bVa6jn4rpE

Note that I said demons. For a long time I've held hate against law enforcement, and now it's been amplified greatly. Every last one of them can die like the abominable filthy piece of shit demon spawn they are. Crush. Burn. Sterilize. Destroy.

Here is an article on the story:

http://www.mercurynews.com/natbreakingnews/ci_6929002

[Freedom]

Welcome to communist Russia.
Back in the U.S.S.R!

[The_Amaster]

Due, this is going to get big. I mean really big. The media haven't really gotten into their groove yet, but when they do, it's gonna be a sight to see. I mean, this is the kind of thing that if your a modern newsperson you'd give your left leg to cover. Not only that the kid was taken, tackled and tasered, but that Kerry protested the entire thing, and the police kept going.

[Pineconn]

...Very interesting. I'm curious to know if the audience was applauding at when the police first began to arrest him (00:23) -- at the arrest or at his resistance?

And yes, it is a sad thing knowing that police/government officials think they can do anything they want. How disgusting.

[Starkist]

http://www.starbanner.com/article/20070918/NEWS/70918007/1053/BREAKING_NEWS

The kid was playing it up as a publicity stunt, in front of the cameras. I hope he gets tasered again.

[Freedom]

Maybe so, but that's what the first amendment is all about, is being able to speak your mind in that very situation.
I hope the cops get 5 years each.

[Beldaran]

http://www.starbanner.com/article/20070918/NEWS/70918007/1053/BREAKING_NEWS

The kid was playing it up as a publicity stunt, in front of the cameras. I hope he gets tasered again.

Yes, to hell with the constitution. People who are vocal about their opinions should be tortured by the government.


http://www.trollop.org/files/us-nazi.png

Do you think Jesus would advocate the government torturing people who are outspoken?

[Starkist]

Grow up, Beldaran.

1. He was not tortured. The taser is a legitimate tool used by law enforcement to subdue people who are resisting, as the kid clearly was. Would you rather we go back to the days of billy club beatings?

2. Name me one Constitutional right that was violated in this situation. The First Amendment guarantees freedom of speech, but it does not guarantee freedom to interrupt organized gatherings such as the one in question, ignore the organizers and moderators, turn the event into a mockery and a show for the cameras, and finally to ignore police demands to leave. Every American is guaranteed the right to speak, but not the right to their own televised pedestal.

3. Since you do not believe in any God anyway, then I will not consider responding to any hypothetical questions about my own faith.

[Daarkseid]

Do you think Jesus would advocate the government torturing people who are outspoken?

I'm sure fundie Jesus would, yeah.

[biggiy05]

Do you think Jesus would advocate the government torturing people who are outspoken?

Bel please don't turn this into a religious debate seeing as how the topic is about police abusing their power.

[Glenn the Great]

Starkist, have you ever been tasered? Just curious.

This taser was used in Drive Mode (without the dart). Drive mode has no muscle incapacitating effects. The entire purpose of the drive mode, in which the prongs are just touched to the skin, is to force coercion through sheer physical pain. Torture.

[Freedom]

Grow up, Beldaran.

1. He was not tortured. The taser is a legitimate tool used by law enforcement to subdue people who are resisting, as the kid clearly was. Would you rather we go back to the days of billy club beatings?

2. Name me one Constitutional right that was violated in this situation. The First Amendment guarantees freedom of speech, but it does not guarantee freedom to interrupt organized gatherings such as the one in question, ignore the organizers and moderators, turn the event into a mockery and a show for the cameras, and finally to ignore police demands to leave. Every American is guaranteed the right to speak, but not the right to their own televised pedestal.

3. Since you do not believe in any God anyway, then I will not consider responding to any hypothetical questions about my own faith.

I have to whole heartedly disagree with you on number two.
It is that VERY situation that the framers had in mind when they added the 1st amendment.
Otherwise we the people will NEVER have any say and those "organized gatherings" will be nothing but propaganda addresses to tell we the people what to think.
It's no secret that is exactly what the game is these worthless politicians like Kerry play, I'll talk but ask ONLY the questions I am willing to answer otherwise you are in violation of my personal right to blow smoke up your a.......

[Beldaran]

I hope someday it is legal to taser people who pray in public. Then maybe you will alter your evil and small minded politcal views.




I will not consider responding to any hypothetical questions about my own faith.

Well, since you are an evangelical christian, you are probably not likely to question much of anything.

[Lilith]

Grow up, Beldaran.

1. He was not tortured. The taser is a legitimate tool used by law enforcement to subdue people who are resisting, as the kid clearly was. Would you rather we go back to the days of billy club beatings?

It's actually considered excessive force and there's a lot of controversy surrounding its use in legal fields aka ~* my law office *~. It's SUPPOSED to be used as an alternative to a gun...so, unless you're going to SHOOT someone, you shouldn't use it.

[Glenn the Great]

I'm realizing more and more how much of an outrage this action was.

Each of those police officers was once a disgusting little baby born to a screaming mother, and it'd be so nice to be able to go back in time and drop those screaming lumps into a vat of molten iron.

[Pineconn]

I think we should have an anarchy. Then acts like this won't seem severe. :D

And I can't add much more to this thread, because Freedom summed up exactly what I was going to say.

[Yoshiman]

Personally, I'm a little split on the issue. On one side, the guy definitely shouldn't have resisted arrest. If you're being asked to put your hands behind your back by a police officer, the last thing you'd want to do is screaming and jumping around like an idiot.

But I also thought the taser was unnecessary. It shouldn't take five trained cops and several volts of electricity to take down one college student. If you watch the longer video, you can hear the taser go off at least three times.

And Kerry was saying he'd answer the questions. Not really sure what kinds of authority he has, but that should count for something, shouldn't it?

[Glenn the Great]

Resisting arrest shouldn't be a crime. Saying it should be is like advocating a surrender to a fascist entity. As soon as you agree that you should always obey the police, you're basically saying that it's okay for them to do whatever they like.

John Kerry really couldn't do anything in this situation even if he wanted to. Kerry and the cops are on totally different branches of government.

[biggiy05]

Resisting arrest shouldn't be a crime.

Someone kills another person and tries to run from the police he better get charged with resisting arrest. If you committed a crime and you try to resist then it's your own fault. I didn't read the whole article but resisting arrest is not in your best interests.

A guy resists arrest and gets away. The cops chase him but lose him for whatever reason. He shouldn't be charged with the additional crime when he is caught?

edit: I watched the video and a few news clips about it. The police on campus that tased him weren't very smart taking the route they did. My thing is how many cops were there and they couldn't take him down without tasering him? I've seen one cop take a guy twice his size without using a taser or weapon.

After watching the video and I haven't seen said website they were talking about but if that's true then the guy is an idiot.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lg9qTD6Z7zE&NR=1

[Dark Nation]

Tasers can be abused, yes, but imagine the possibilities for abuse with this thing:

http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/09/19/202227

A pain gun. It can cause immense pain in someone up to a half a mile away. Imagine every nerve ending on the surface of your skin being stimulated at once. And (this is the truly scary bit) it leaves no visible injury.

[Beldaran]

I don't trust my government with a "pain gun". :|

[Pineconn]

Great. I can't wait until pain guns get into the hands of criminals.

And running away from the police shouldn't be a crime. If they can't catch you, it's their own fault.

[Gerudo]

I saw the kid do nothing wrong. They had no reason to arrest him, and absolutely no fathomable reason to give him the taser. He asked a question, and Kerry even asked the cops to let him answer the kids question. As Yoshiman said, it took 5 trained cops and a taser gun to take down one college student? Obviously the cops weren't trained that well...

Oh, and Bill O'Reilly is a complete moron. Newscasters are supposed to be moderately unbiased in their reporting, which he obviously is not. I watch FoxNews because I like shows like America's Newsroom, Live Desk, and Studio B. I do not, however, watch Bill O'Reilly's show because of the immense faggotry involved in his style of newscasting. He's a dick, plain and simple.

[Rijuhn]

I'm glad they tasered that loud mouth kid. Yep, he deserved that and more for making a mockery of the Q&A going on. BTW, I support Starkist on this.

*Waits for the backlash* :rolleyes:

[Beldaran]

*Waits for the backlash* :rolleyes:

*Tasers Rihuhn* :rolleyes:

[Daarkseid]

Note that I said demons. For a long time I've held hate against law enforcement, and now it's been amplified greatly. Every last one of them can die like the abominable filthy piece of shit demon spawn they are. Crush. Burn. Sterilize. Destroy.




I'm realizing more and more how much of an outrage this action was.

Each of those police officers was once a disgusting little baby born to a screaming mother, and it'd be so nice to be able to go back in time and drop those screaming lumps into a vat of molten iron.


Well, "fuck the police" aside,
it sounds as if somebody needs to be taking their medication.

[phattonez]

Let me compare this to someone running onto the field during a baseball game. Of course they will go after the guy even though everyone in the stands is cheering the guy. They will get him and take him down, even if it means damage to him. On Sunday I was at a game and they had to dive and tackle the guy to get him to stop. The guys that they have there are strong and many, so they don't need a taser. However, I don't know if they needed it or not at this event.

[Beldaran]

Let me compare this to someone running onto the field during a baseball game.

Let me point out that asking a question at a political forum is different than running onto the field at a baseball game.

[copsgotguns]

wow those cops are real tough guys. like 5 or 6 cops surrounding the kid on the floor and they couldnt get cuffs on him? they just tasered him so he could shut up already, which is ofcourse not the intent for using a taser gun.

tasers guns have now become a way for lazy cops who dont want to roll up their sleeves and get a little dirty when apprehending an individual to cause extreme pain and leave no marks.

[phattonez]

Let me point out that asking a question at a political forum is different than running onto the field at a baseball game.

From what I've heard he was disrupting what was going on. Just have an open ear for the analogy.

[Aegix Drakan]

I don't know which side to take here...


The guy did this solely to get attention and make a scene, so I can't exactly say he's blameless.

On the other hand, the cops went WAY overboard. three tasers? Hello, one shock, you're on the floor spasming in pain! Also, the speaker told them he wanted to answer the questions, and not to attack the guy, yet they did it anyway.

So in all, I say both the kid, and the cops were to blame. And while I think the cops did worse, the kid is not blameless.

[Beldaran]

From what I've heard he was disrupting what was going on.

All he did was take too long in asking his question. Senator Kerry said he didn't mind and was willing to answer.

I can't believe how accepting you people are of fascism and government authority. Sheeple. You deserve the world you will inherit.

[Freedom]

Who says he did this solely to get attention?
The news media?
The news media have also drug out every instance on the guys website where he made fun of this or joked about that....
WHAT'S that got to do with it?
You mean if I joke about something on this website, then I can't be serious about politics at another event?

What you have here is the news media jumping in to cover up what they know was a miscarriage of justice on the part of some cops who have no business wearing that uniform.

[phattonez]

All he did was take too long in asking his question. Senator Kerry said he didn't mind and was willing to answer.

I can't believe how accepting you people are of fascism and government authority. Sheeple. You deserve the world you will inherit.

I can't believe how you're against seemingly everything that someone in authority does.

I never said that the cops were blameless, but I'm not going to automatically indict them when I don't have all of the evidence and I don't know what was going through the heads of the cops.

[Glenn the Great]

I didn't think that the student was being overly disruptive. I'll agree that he was being disproportionately loud and obnoxious, but really he was just livening things up. It seemed that the forum was going sort of slow and boring, with it's overly restrictive and subdued format, and it seems like Kerry was actually quite happy to see things get shaken up a bit.

Meyers' oddball questions would have given Kerry a great opportunity to display some humor and get some good press. If I were in the audience, and someone like Meyers ran in and started asking such questions, going over the 1 minute time limit and such, I wouldn't personally feel offended. I'd actually feel very glad that I came to get such entertainment and hear some really creative questions that were admittedly more exciting than anything I'd think of to ask a politician. I feel that much of the audience, and Kerry himself, felt alike.

I do wish that Kerry were more aggressive in his attempts to stop the police. He really choked at a great opportunity for a legislator to display some serious Anti-Executive Branch initiative. I'm disappointed that he failed to be more assertive. He could have re-established himself as a hero, at least among liberals.

[Freedom]

The way I see what happened is this;
The guy started asking questions of Kerry that made Kerry look bad.
Some people in the room started booing and hissing the guy for asking such questions.
The guy wasn't going to be intimidated buy those Kerry supporters so he continued and the louder they got the louder he got.
Then he was branded the trouble maker, and the cops were called in to remove him.

That looks like exactly what happened to me, and if so the people that wouldn't allow the guy to ask his questions should have been the ones arrested since it was rightfully them that disrupted the meeting.
Instead the cops let themselves be used like storm troopers right out of communist russia to stop the guy from exercising his 1st amendment right to hold these politicians accountable for exactly who they are and what they are doing to this country.

If we the people let this stand, then whomever the politicians hire to scream the loudest will soon have our first amendment rights in their pocket.
When we speak out, they'll simply have us arrested for disturbing the peace and tranquility of the "organized assembly", when it truth what it really is, is public political meeting where ALL voices are guaranteed the right to be heard, by the first amendment.

[Glenn the Great]

What I don't like is when people say things like:

"The first amendments grants you a right to free speech, but not the right to a public pedestal."

That's sort of like saying:
"Sure, I'll let you be pacified with your freedom to say what you want... just please don't say it where someone might hear you. I wouldn't want you actually spread an idea, or anything like that!"

[phattonez]

If you want to speak do it at your own venue, I think that works better. If someone doesn't want you to say something at their even then more power to them. However, the other person should have the right to be able to speak to the same amount of people and respond.

Hopefully that makes sense.

[Freedom]

If you want to speak do it at your own venue, I think that works better. If someone doesn't want you to say something at their even then more power to them. However, the other person should have the right to be able to speak to the same amount of people and respond.

Hopefully that makes sense.

Wait a minute here...
WHAT do you mean "at your own venue"?
That was Kerry speaking at a campus correct?
Doesn't that make that ALL students attending that campus "their venue"?
And if that campus is collecting my tax dollars, doesn't that make that MY venue?
Or are only democrats allowed to ask questions of democrats when they come, and only republicans allowed when republicans come?
Sorry, but that just won't work that way, anytime a politician gets up on a soapbox they should be expected to hear whatever comes their way regardless of who is saying it.

[phattonez]

The person hosting the event gets to decide who gets to go or who doesn't get to go.

[Freedom]

That will make socialism/communism a breeze to get enacted in this country then, we'll just exclude anyone who wants it otherwise, all the while we'll spend THEIR money to host our events.

[phattonez]

So then you would want Republicans spewing out whatever the hell they want at the DNC and not to be thrown out? Really, a limit has to be drawn somewhere.

[MottZilla]

Tasers need to be highly restricted. Considering the average "cop" or security guard is of low intelligence and most likely an asshole who really believes they are in charge, they don't understand or care what they are doing. They like to tell you that the taser is a non-lethal weapon, which is bullshit. Electrical current going through your body does bad things.

If you watch the video, every single one of those cops should be fired. They all gathered around in a mob and just zapped him for fun. If you cannot grab and restrain someone, why the fuck are you a security guard? When you have something like 5 "guards" there you have no excuse to use a taser. It doesn't matter if this guy was being loud and annoying. That is no reason for use of a taser. Just imagine if the guy had some kind of heart condition and died. Then we'd really be talking.

Also, I too don't support the idea of cops or security having any sort of greater than you "authority". If you cannot deal reasonably with people you shouldn't be in that line of work. It's certainly a good thing there are so many cameras everywhere because now such bullshit by police is caught for all to see. There was recently a story in my area where a guy had a camera in his car when he was pulled over and in the end of it all the officer was fired for his misconduct.

[Freedom]

So then you would want Republicans spewing out whatever the hell they want at the DNC and not to be thrown out? Really, a limit has to be drawn somewhere.

Republican ~ Democrat is all the same to me, one is a bullet to the head and the other cancer.
If a politician is going to stand up on his soapbox and field questions then he better be willing to take on ALL comers and NOBODY should be treated like that boy was for asking the tuff questions and then not backing down until he got an answer.
The cops were wrong and they should receive their just reward as well.

[phattonez]

So at a presidential inauguration people should be allowed to get up on the microphone and speak out against the president? It just doesn't work. Protesting it is fine, but you're gonna disturb it? That's just not right.

[Glenn the Great]

It just doesn't work.

Why doesn't it work? Because anyone who tries it gets taken away by police?

[phattonez]

Because nothing would ever be said in front of many people. We would never be able to express our opinions during large gatherings. Imagine on TV, we would never be able to hear anyone say anything because there would be someone else trying to speak louder.

[Beldaran]

I never said that the cops were blameless, but I'm not going to automatically indict them when I don't have all of the evidence.

Well if you're so smart, why don't you apply this same logic to your religion. You've accepted that conclusion without any evidence, why not this one?

[Freedom]

So at a presidential inauguration people should be allowed to get up on the microphone and speak out against the president? It just doesn't work. Protesting it is fine, but you're gonna disturb it? That's just not right.

Where's your logic on this?
A presidential inauguration is the act of placing that elected person into office, not a question and answer period, just like when the president gives the state of the union address, these functions have their purpose and a question and answer forum has its function, how do you logically compare those two?
If the guy had been at the inauguration and stood up and started making a pest of himself I'd be the first to say "drag the bum out", but he wasn't was he, he was asking a question that Kerry didn't want to answer at a public question and answer forum.

[phattonez]

Well if you're so smart, why don't you apply this same logic to your religion. You've accepted that conclusion without any evidence, why not this one?

Didn't Biggiy already tell you not to bring religion into this? I have evidence, you just wouldn't accept it as truth because it's not scientific.

Just in the same way that the people holding the forum didn't want the guy to speak, no one wants anyone to disrupt the inauguration ceremonies (I hate that I couldn't find a more grammatical way to say that).

[biggiy05]

Well if you're so smart, why don't you apply this same logic to your religion. You've accepted that conclusion without any evidence, why not this one?

Belderan I told you on the first page NOT to turn this into a religious debate. It's about police and how much half the country hates them. Don't bring it up again.

It's apparent that a lot of you just flat out don't like law enforcement because they "abuse their power". Out of all the police officers in the country how many of them are actually abusing the power they are given? I'm not talking about going through a red light hot with their lights on. I'm talking about beating someone, pulling everyone over because they can or flashing their gun around.

One cop does something bad and it makes headlines across the nation. Another cop pulls someone out of a burning building, saves someone from death or something of the sorts and they get a pat on the back. How do you know every single cop in the country is corrupted? Because they pulled you over and gave you a speeding ticket? You saw an officer 3,000 miles away from you on the news for beating a black, Mexican, Cuban or Asian?

[Beldaran]

Belderan I told you on the first page NOT to turn this into a religious debate. It's about police and how much half the country hates them. Don't bring it up again.

It's apparent that a lot of you just flat out don't like law enforcement because they "abuse their power". Out of all the police officers in the country how many of them are actually abusing the power they are given? I'm not talking about going through a red light hot with their lights on. I'm talking about beating someone, pulling everyone over because they can or flashing their gun around.

One cop does something bad and it makes headlines across the nation. Another cop pulls someone out of a burning building, saves someone from death or something of the sorts and they get a pat on the back. How do you know every single cop in the country is corrupted? Because they pulled you over and gave you a speeding ticket? You saw an officer 3,000 miles away from you on the news for beating a black, Mexican, Cuban or Asian?

You don't get to tell me what to talk about. If you don't enjoy my posts, don't read them. I am not breaking any rules.

I will continue to not listen to you because I do not respect your authority to modify the way I make my arguments.

If I am banned and this is my last post, very well then. It will have been undeserved and reflect poorly on the maturity of the administration.

Phattonez: Unscientific evidence to support your points is the same as having no evidence at all.

[Freedom]

You don't get to tell me what to talk about. If you don't enjoy my posts, don't read them. I am not breaking any rules.

I will continue to not listen to you because I do not respect your authority to modify the way I make my arguments.

If I am banned and this is my last post, very well then. It will have been undeserved and reflect poorly on the maturity of the administration.

Phattonez: Unscientific evidence to support your points is the same as having no evidence at all.

Just the fact that there are any Jews left in the world with the whole world out to kill them off should be proof enough of the existence of God. ;)

When you reach a point in your life that you are willing to look for God, it's then that you will see Him, not before, until then the fact that you don't believe He exists doesn't make Him any less so. ;)