That's cruel, there was no reason for the officers to use such force. Kerry wanted to answer the question, there was no harm in this student asking him a question. Unbelieveable.

The guy abviously went over his time limit, what does he think, that he's not going to get tasered for it? The kids today!

"Excessive "FORCE…used on College Student should alarm citizents to the "NEW POLICE" state the republicans have put in place….

…."Its Criminal what the Police did and this registered Voter, and Vet USAF, is "OUTRAGED!

…America is now a POLICE STATE where the Police have more rights then do the citizens, and as Master's Candiate in the Masters Program here at East Tenn State University, I am disgusted with what the Republicans have Done to America and what the Police are allowed to do, to citizens who no longer have "FREE SPEECH" in a country where Free Speech was once founded and now no longer exists!

IN conclusion, Our jails and prisons are Proof of what Im saying to be true they are busting at the seems with American's who committed petti offenses and petti misdeameanor violations, where you are arrested for simply speaking out in a land that no longer allows you to speak out!

…"TRUE PATRIOTISM HATES INJUSTICE IN ITS OWN LAND, "MORE…."THAN ANYWHERE
…ELSE." –Clarence Darrow

Sincerely, Tommy Birchfield, Voter,
Vet USAF, Class 2007 East Tenn State
University

Master's Program, fall….2007

He should have remembered he was in Bush country and most cops think Bush is wonderful. They'd have been waiting for him outside anyway . . .

What has happen to America - Freedom is gone and we are a police state. I blame it all of the Republicans and the American people for not fight for Al Gore and John Kerry more and now we are paying the price. Now I see the same people beating up on Hillary Clinton and if it keeps this up a Republican will steal the White House again. God bless America!

This is such an outrage, watch the video. I am downright disgusted. Now we get arrested for voicing our questions? Or just overextending our alloted microphone time? Either is ridiculous. What about excessive force? Four athourities surround this young man and they have to taser him?

Get a moderator like Chris Matthews who simply talks over a "problem" questioner and interrupts repeatedly. Like many questioners, he's no Tim Russert and still apparently doesn't know how to ask a short direct question that isn't compound.

WOW, Police abusing Power? USA!USA!USA!USA!

What a joke, Kerry ought to be embarassed.

why is this news? maybe less people would be doing outrageous things if we didnt make it so celebrity

This is despicable. There is absolutely no valid reason why this student should have been detained by campus security, let alone tasered. He was completely within his rights to ask those questions, which Sen. Kerry attempted to answer before campus security unjustifiably intervened. I hope the student and his family bring legal action against the officers in question as well as the university. Maybe the ACLU could take up his cause instead of Sen. Craig's…

But, in all seriousness, what has happened in this country where we can no longer voice our opinions, ask questions of our leaders, and simply be heard in an open forum for discussion? It's all the more disgraceful that this happened at a university, where we should be challenging our young people, nurturing their intellect, and encouraging them to speak up and engage in healthy debate. This sad display does just the opposite.

This is an outrage!

What has happened to America…TASERED?!~wtf for asking questions at a political rally?

america is no longer a democracy..we are a police state…torture no habeus corpus..fearmongering and Gitmo.

I hope that boy sues and wins 700M dollars for the police preventing him from exercising his right of free speech.

anyone who sees this should give money to the ACLU!!

Kerry's taking enemy fire again.. I wonder how long before he puts in for another purple heart?

What a joke those cops are!! Four of you have the guy detained, and then you taser him? Talk about wimpy cops.

I watched the whole video - the guy did nothing more than ask a long-winded question. And the police result to force! 5 on 1 and they use a taser!

Sorry, but there's only one word for this: fascism.

What are those police going to tell their children? Guess what? Mommy tasered a boy today because he went over his alloted time. Have they no shame?

How can you honestly blame this on the Republicans! It's like anything that goes wrong in this country is automatically their fault. Kerry's people were the one that cut out the mike and had the police there. It just got out of hand which is a shame on the policemen and women involved.

All this talk about "free speech" and CNN deletes posts. Typical.

The guys was belligerent and got tazered for disturbing the peace and resisting arrest.

This is funnier than the "Leave Britney Alone" video.

We are becoming communists now. That is what the elites wanted. Russia is not dead, they have been pulling our strings to make us like them. The whole world will become communists. The real freedom lies in the muslim lands. That is why the rest of the world is made to hate them, because they still live by God and by man made rules. You don't have to be a Muslim to see what's really going on.

I wish the Muslims would come here and put us out of our misery before our country gets worse.

Watch the video. The guy is a jerk. He was not "asking a question". He comandeered their microphone and was insulting John Kerry, also babbling on about god-knows-what. When security went to remove him, he resisted. And do you think its just coincidence somebody happened to get a video of this? This guy was a jerk, and this was clearly a set-up.

Like it or not, there are rules and these events, and they do have security. You don't have the right to be a tool, and they do have the right to remove you.

This is what should happen to all protesters that can not act in an orderly fashion at a public event. Remember those pink old gray haired lady's making a fuss at the Iraq hearings?? Taser'em!!

Is this still the United States of America? Do we still have the right to speak freely? This forum was held on a college campus, a place where one goes to learn and educate them selves. Asking questions is a vital part of learning, questioning is how we understand. So even if this young student got “out of line” or went over his allotted time limit, should he be tasered?!?! I am outraged and disgusted at this gross use of excessive force. Each one of the security guards involved should be fired.

Chris, I wasn't going to comment again, but I've always been told that the purpose of terrorism is to drive us to be more like the terrorists; Islam fears us because we are diverse and have a secular government. If they can scare us into stamping out diversity and appointing a religious dictator, then their ayatollah and our ayatollah can come to terms. As long as we allow Britney's buttocks to hang out, they will fear our freedom (I know, it's a hard price to pay, y'all). Right now those cops are having another super day explaining why they lost their tempers and beat a political dissident, but somewhere Osama is smiling.

This is unbelievable. I cannot believe that this happened. I am speechless at the moment. No matter what he was saying…I don't think that was right. How could it be right? Just because of words he was saying? Wow…there needs to be accountability for all of those officers, I think…and I think that they need to be reprimanded…

Watch the video. The guy is a jerk. He was not "asking a question". He comandeered their microphone and was insulting John Kerry, and babbling on and on about god-knows-what. They asked him to stop. They turned off his microphone. He kept going. What's the next step? They called secutiry. When security went to remove him, he resisted. And that's a pretty big guy, look at the size of him compared to the security guards.

And do you think its just coincidence that somebody happened to get a video of this? This guy was a jerk, and this was clearly a set-up. This reminds me alot of the stuff Michael Moore used to do.

Like it or not, there are rules at these events, and they do have security. You don't have the right to be a tool, and they do have the right to remove you.

Totally inappropriate Homeofthebrave. Don't deflect what this story is about with a stupid tasteless attack on John Kerry. The abuse of police power in this incident is disgusting and had nothing to do with the honorable senator. He did attempt the answer the question. As a war veteran myself, I find your comment reprehensible.

Gitmo? Go check a history book about how many people we illegally detained during World War II. The list is slightly longer…by like a factor of a thousand.

This is classic politics. Even a politician that wants to respond isn't allowed by political correction from staff and party members. We can't even hear our politicians because the parties are too busy screaming everything for them. The problem in America is the Democratic and Republican party. The problem is campaign funding. The problem is the ability to communicate with our representative officials, whom are more interested in statistical polls than our opinions. They are more concerned with reelection than actually serving their constituents. There is no leadership, they simply pander to the masses. Anyone with half a brain doesn't get involved in politics anymore.

The cops panicked and made a stupid move. Every cop in the world is either laughing or saying 'glad that wasn't me.'

Looks like the Gestapo are alive and well in Florida.

Hope this kid sues and wins millions and those cops lose their jobs!!

Incredible!!!

What the hell is going on at University of Florida!!!!!!!!!!!

Those thugs in uniform wanted to shut this guy down after speaking for a minute
about a belief that Bush stole the election from Kerry. So what! Big deal!

This is the land of the free and free
speech is the most basic and fundamental cornerstone of freedom.

God help us!

I hope this poor victim of the emerging police state once known as the state of Florida sues all offending parties in this most disturbing incident - thankfully it was caught on tape.

I hope that Kerry makes a stink about the way this young student was treated
in this public forum. I'm sure he will!

I come from a family of generational police officers here in New York and
even they were outraged by this abuse of power and embarrassed by this rank
unprofessional use of force.

SCARY!

Welcome to the lovely land of wheat and honey, oh and a taser for those who speak there mind. Even if he was being a jerk, that doesnt give the gestapo the right to taser him. A perfect example of a POLICE STATE at its best. Coming to a town near you, if not already in place. Like rolling roadblocks, which by the way are not legal. You cant just pull everybody over looking for drunks etc etc. You HAVE TO HAVE PROBABLE CAUSE. Just cause you do something in the name of saving lives still doesnt make it legal. roadblocks/checkpoints are illegal. But the POLICE STATE would make you think its perfectly okay to do so. What is the USA coming too. BTW we aren't the only free nation, there are plenty others "AL CIA DA" could chose to attack, so the whole argument "they hate us for our freedoms" is bs. Our government are the real terrorist, not CIA trained henchmen. Wake Up or Waco

This is an event at a college of all places with a liberal speaker and somehow you geniuses are blaming the Republicans for this.

Wait, the guy who cut off the mike had to be a Republican or at least two of the police……………

"Tommy" Birchfield as a fellow vet, I appreciate your service, but should we let people out of jail just because the crimes as you say are "petty", why not make them "not crimes" anymore then?

Nice to see colleges are still teaching and brainwashing the populace with liberal ideals, just like when I got my Masters "Tommy".

Heaven forbid someone put Kerry's feet to the fire, but why would Republicans cut off a mike and taser someone that was questioning Kerry?

5 Police on one student at a University? Ask the Jena 6 it is just a school fight. Atleast the police did not beat on him after he was tasered. And this is a democratic police state. He should be glad it was not Hillary because he could have meet the same fate as some FOB's.

Yes, this was George Bush and the Republican's fault! Yes, we don't like it when college students ask hard questions of Democrats or behave rudely. (eyes rolling)

Come on people, the guy obviously had an agenda other than asking his question and sitting down. Security has the right to remove protestors and people disrupting the event. Instead of listening to security he decides to fight. He gets tasered.

I am more frightened of you nutcakes that will be outraged that security did anything. How many hours until an ACLU attorney has taken this guy case and suing the University and City. This will go to trial and a few more nutcakes will think 'gosh, this poor little college student was just trying to express his 1st amendment right as he was fighting and resisting the police'.

Let me ask a different question. What is Kerry doing in Florida when he is running for his Senate seat in MA? It's not like he is running for President or anything national.

I think the kid was being irrational but i think the police overreacted in terms of tasering him. I think he deserved to be removed but i don't think it was to the point of tasering him.
It appears they already had him pinned when they did it and there were 4 or 5 cops on him.

Everyone is so out of it! I'm a democrat and live in Florida and I don't particularly approve of Pres. Bush, however this particular student had a choice, he made his choice and he paid the price! what about his respect to the forum and to the university for being allowed to ask questions of Sen. Kerry? liberty comes with responsibility and civility. Perhaps taser should have been the last resort for security, but obviously the student did become enraged and was not going to calm down or back off either… clearly not a stable individual… did any of you heard the sort of questions he was asking? his freedom of speech should not trample the freedom to assemble peacefully.

Every student across the U.S.A. should be registered to vote — EVERY student should be researching the Council on Foreign Relations, Security and Prosperity Partnership and the North American Union — the globalists have your future planned — find out what it is.
Meantime — call your senators and demand they remove "the Dream Act" amendment from the defense appropriations amendment — granting illegals college grants/loans and instate tuition wherever — meaning less seats/opportunities/money for American Students who pay higher rates!!!

Tell me who in his right mind would want to become muslim Chris. You don't even know what you are talking about, maybe your the one that needs to be remove from this beautiful country.

John Kerry, the champion of antiwar, says he'll answer the question AFTER the poor guy is tackled to the ground and tasered. What happens to the brains of these people after they become elected officials? How about standing up for the guy before. Now the first ammendment is gone in addition to the rest of the constitution that Bush and Chaney have deemed useless.

I'm just glad it wasn't a minority student. At least we now moving in the right direction of equality for those we abuse.

Wowza tasered for asking a question? What is next? Your parking time runs out and they bust a cap in your behind? Honestly, I think Kerry needs to stand up for the kid and rebuke the police department for overreacting! I would have expected this from George Bush/Republican meeting but a Democrat meeting? Where is Nadar when ya need him haha

At least Sen Kerry is accomodative to let the student ask a question and was ready to answer back. Imagine this was Bush's forum! First of all the audience is screened. And even if there is someone who wants to embarass Bush, he or she will be thrown out. That is the difference between democracy and dictatorship.

"Can't we all just get along" - Rodney King

I can't believe the people that are 'outraged' and calling this a police state! Then blaming Republicans on top of that, please.

Speaking of Rodney, wasn't he tuned up during a Democratic administration?

Put your partisan hackles back in their place. What would you do if you were one of the cops and you continually asked the guy to chill, he doesn't so you try to physically restrain him and it becomes worse. Do you just let him go on and disrupt the whole assembly?

What if someone was robbing your house, you ask politely for him to stop, when he doesn't what do you do? Try to escort him out peacably and hope he doesn't object? Call the police and …oh wait, they would probably taser him or something, can't do that….

I would probably get my gun, let him know I have it and tell him once "You have about 10 seconds to put my stuff down, wait ouside while the police come or I'll drop you where you stand."

Your call

Happy Tuesday,

As in 1965 the young dude was playing a clown for purposes of awakening some of our forgotten bad memories.(Kerry's loss), needed to be done. Really silly but,as when Abby Hoffman went to the floor of the stock exchange,He was in a forum that should have heard him. I notice no other audience members got up to storm the police. That was as pathetic as the smile on the cops face in the video. I would have opened my mouth and have shown in my own precious life I will not shut up until you Put my 60 year old Grandma ass in jail. For those about to rock, I salute. For those about to torture, say hi to jerry falwell. What about the unecessary facism in this country.Can we not assume every one belongs in jail. Thanks

What the does that have to do with Kerry? Did he do the tasing?

The guy was long winded but should not have been tased. He should, after some time, been tossed out of the room. Period.

He's a guy who is always looking for attention and got it.

They were showing a video clip of him holding up a sign that read "Harry's dead" before the book came out… I don't care about that but it shows what kind of person he is.

Anyone who thinks free speech is alive and well on college campuses just need to ask the editor of a conservative campus newpaper who has had his papers stolen, and the administration do nothing about it or a conservative student belittled by a liberal teacher.

About the video: Where there rules for people asking questions? If so what were they?
Did the questioner violate the rules and refuse to comply with the campus security?

He was loud, he was excited. John Kerry told them he was more than willing to answer the questions and not to worry. But at least 4 University Policemen saw it fit to use force to remove this student, okay they are cops. But then they crossed the line. He was subdued, there was no reason to handcuff him for the removal, he was on the ground asking why he was being arrested, no one answered him, he saw the taser coming out and pleaded with them not to tase him, they tased him. It's not a crime to be a jerk, to be loud and rude, this was not a Bush rally where only the hand picked are permitted, he was not a physical threat to no one, he was physically subdued but still he was tasered. I am sorry, this is excessive force by any imagination of the word. These officers were out of line and I hope soon to be out of work, their type of protect and serve is not needed by anyone.

Note: No matter why the police are detaining you, no matter if it is wrong, do not fight them or you will get tasered or maced or what have you You be polite and respectful as you hope they will be to you and if they have wrongfully arrested you at least you won;t now be detained for resisting arrest. People praise police one moment for heroism and the next lambast them for excessive force. This kid's passion does not have to equate violence or irresponsibility.

I don't see why being rude means you need to be tazered. How is someone supposed to bring up a topic that no-one wants to hear without being rude? I thought we had a right to say what we want and to protest in this country. Protesting might be rude but that's the point. Anything that's disturbing is going to be construed as rude and if we need police to protect us from being rude then we are all pretty weak as individuals. If everyone was offended by him they could have all told him to shut up. Instead the police attacked him and then tazered him "after" they had him on the ground. I thought police were supposed to keep the peace. Not torture people who act like jerks.

What does 1+1 equal? Kerry's speech, acknowledging a loss that Kerry (and and many others)suffered is absolutely appropriate in this venue. Are you a G-d that you can decide if he was or was not to be tased for speaking? Those police and you can figure it out later. WHY was he seeking attention? To bring to the front a simple truth.
Call me when you see a reason for being tased. For the cops to smirk. I's love to see that group fall down a deeeep well. Bye to Ohio

This is a terrible abuse of power by "officers" who should all be in a mental ward. That man was screaming in agony. That is nightmarish behavior by people enjoying our tax money.

And of course this would happen at a John Kerry event. I don't blame him, but he has the WORST political mojo ever. Futhermore his version of "outrage" was in his typical, drab, flaccid fashion.

Here is a quote: "I was not aware that a taser was used until after I left the building," I hope that neither the student nor any of the police were injured. I regret enormously that a good healthy discussion was interrupted."

This student may have been obnoxious, but there were better ways of handling the situation. I cringed when they played the video last night on CNN and you could hear the poor guy screaming in pain. It's a sad day when someone can't question a politician without the cops using a Taser to silence him.

His behavior warranted removal, not tasering. Four *trained* security officers cannot remove a 21-year-old college student from a campus building without electrocuting him? Sad.
Also, Rodney King was beaten during Bush I's administration, not that that matters.

I find it interesting that the real issue here is not whether the kid was opposing the Democrats and supporting the Republicans, but did the police respond in an inappropriate manner. Who cares what the kid's political views are. Both party's in this video were wrong. The kid should have stopped when he was asked and not gotten beligerent. But the police were wrong for using, my opinion here, excessive force. There are better ways to handle that situation than to taser him. Let's quit bashing the Democrats and Republicans and deal with the real issue.

There is a Kid in Jena Mississippi facing 22 yrs in jail because assualt and battery when the kid he assualted brought a gun to school and threatened him with it get a 3 day suspension from school.

THAT ladies and gentlemen is an OUTRAGE, not some kid that will make a killing in civil suits against the police. This is important enough to get placed on the ticker. But when the AG of Mississippi say "I hold this kids life in the palm of my hands and can do whatever I want"… That is not outrageuous enough to make the ticker

You blinked, and George Orwell's 1984 came true. College students are now being tasered in this country for speaking out, or for running over time limits. The police state is already here. Will we be a strong enough nation to beat it back?

This smacks of the same kinds of stunts that happened on college campuses in the 60's and 70's, and I am not surprised at all that Kerry is a part of the story.

I'm waiting for some fool here to call a cop a "pig".

So, college is a place for free speech and an open exchange of ideas? Tell that to any celebrated conservative speaker who gets attacked by rabid leftists who would rather throw their food than eat it at these speakers.

Useful idiots, indeed.

I bet some of you nut jobs would like to have tasered the high school student who questioned John McCain too.

I'd bet if this kid had been tasered while chanting pro-Bush and pro-war slogans you would all be crying foul and "Papa Bear" O'Reily would spew some garbage about the Left suppressing our 1st Amendment rights.

And you people have the audacity to question the "civility" of my generation. For God's sake take a look at yourselves!

Isa, the problem is not that he was trying to get a question answered, but in the manner he was doing it in. No one, NO ONE, has the right to resist arrest no matter waht the means are.
The guy was a psycho and seeing as how the video cuts out from the time he was actually arrested and the time he was tasered you have no idea what went on during that time. Resistance against arrest IS a criminal act no matter what you may say. The student should've been aware as soon as the mike was cut that he should stop speaking. Most people realize that as soon as your mike is cut that means you should stop speaking and protest later. Not in the middle of the conference. The guy should be justly punished for what he did. Also, how do we know that the guy didn't have some sort of weapon on him? You can't see any part of him, only the cops. You have no idea what they saw compared to what you saw.

Furthermore to everyone, don't try blaming the Republican party for the bunch of psychos that crash your events. That is not only ludicrous but is also very demeaning to your own party.

Seriously!! He tried to ask a question in an open forum and he got his mic cut, arrested and tasered, that is not what this country is founded on. One of the bedrock principles of this nation is the open dialogue between the elected officials and those that they govern. Sen. Kerry did not seem bothered by this man's question, why was he removed and treated with such unnecessary force? The University of Florida has a lot of questions to answer and hopefully will be sanctioned monetarily. I can't wait to hear their official statement. It's behavior like this that caused us to revolt against England. It's BS and everyone knows it.

If the statue of liberty could cry, there would be tears of shame pouring from her eyes over this one. I could not believe what I was seeing. Someone should let bully police officers know that cameras are rolling everywhere, and WE'RE NOT GOING TO TAKE IT ANY MORE!!!!

AMERICA - Land of the Free?

I am not naive enough to believe that this is incident is representative of the norm, but nor is it an isolated case either. The overt and blatant disregard for this individuals personal and constituional freedoms is so incredibly sad and disgust me beyond belief.

First, to those who think the questioner was attacking Kerry, familiarize yourself with the Greg Palast book he referenced. He wasn't attacking Kerry.

Second, as a liberal, I must say it's nuts to think Republicans are responsible for the taser incident.

Lastly, the questioner was disorderly and needed to be removed; civil liberties don't authorize you to monopolize or disrupt organized gatherings. But at four-to-one odds with a non-aggressive (if struggling) perpetrator, tasering was unquestionably a case of excessive force. I hope he sues, wins, and gets a few thousand for his few seconds of pain.

Cops carry guns for self-defense in lethal situations, and tasers for self-defense in non-lethal situations. The cops weren't in danger from this guy. He wasn't doing Bruce Lee kung-fu chops at them, he was pleading with them NOT to taser him.

This was a scene that you would expect to see in the former Soviet Union or China. The student's civil rights were clearly violated and he was definnately beat up by an uncalled for number of security officers.

John Kerry should have pleaded to cease the attack on the student. As he did not, he was condoning the clearly unlawful actions.

The tasered student was infringing on the rights of others to participate in a peaceful forum. The police were right to remove him and when the student resisted, they were right to taser him. It’s not the Republicans fault, its not George Bush’s fault just as the Rodney King beating was not Bill Clinton’s fault. Its time to stop pointing fingers at the opposite political party. Its time to grow up and take responsibility. Something the tasered student needs to do as well.

I don't even no what to say about this incident. I find it disturbing and saddening.

I also find it absolutely disgusting that people, like Ann Curry on the Today Show, tried to defend this abuse of power by saying that the kid was obnoxious and vying for attention. Also, every news show I have watched today has made sure to point out that the kid has an extremist political website and (gasp) tried to ruin the Harry Potter books! Well then, maybe he deserved what happened, right?

Even if he was obnoxious and loud, which he was, I never realized that being obnoxious was grounds for being dragged away by police officers. I never realized that being obnoxious was grounds for being tasered. It was excessive. And it was chilling to me that people just stood there and watched it happen in basically dead silence.

I wish I could Josieaini?? However, the whole world is now under control. The Middle East is the last frontier for global control. The only thing left is total destruction and rebuilding of Gods kingdom.

You are wrong about Muslims by the way. You only understand them as you are fed by the news. Yes they have gone astray from their faith as many of us Christians, but nevertheless are Godly people. You'll see soon.

Only Jesus can save you Josia. Sorry, I can't remember your name. Be well friend.

once again we see why the is no freedom of speach. i watched this video and even though the young man was extremely sarcastic it goes to show that young americans are just not allowed to speak their mind. john kerry has serious issues concerning his past and his future and although no motion was shown i am sure it was sent by either kerry or his minions. i am proud sgt in the USMC and i am ashamed that kerry was ever even a service member.

Whether the young man was "a jerk" or not, he has a birth-right and aduty as a U.S. citizen to question his leaders.As a former Force Recon Marine I am disgusted that what has been defended at such a cost could be abased in such a manner. If Kerrt's handlers felt he couldn't handle a heckler; he shouldn't have been allowed in this type of forum. The fact that this occurred in Florida is no surprise to me. Any-one know wher the United State of America is? I would like to go home.

I am appalled at the shameless way this story has been portrayed by CNN and other media!! How can JUSTICE prevail when you are already influencing the tased young mans' side as injusticely handled. I want the truth as I'm sure most Americans do. But when you cast shadows of doubt on the officers without having all of the facts, YOU ARE WRONG!
Please give US fair facts and let the State Attorney do the investigation. These officers, too, have family that can and are being hurt by this kind of "spin" move.
You are creating controversy and casting suspicion on people who may be innocent of any wrongdoing. This is NOT fair and inpartial news.
I am so disappointed in how callously you seem to be willing to throw people to the wolves. It seems as though you are trying to boost your ratings. That is a very sad day for JUSTICE.
I could not find a blog for the general news department and I know how you are very good at "Keeping Them Honest."

Why is anyone surprised by this? They taser 6 year-olds in Florida, so in no way am I shocked that this kid was.

For everyone saying "I hope this opens people's eyes," do any of you remember the USC student that was tasered last fall? Didn't think so…

Sorry if you resist arrest you get tasered that's how it works.

Watching this makes me sick to my stomach. We need more accountability among our increasingly aggressive and overzealous police. Education would help too! Police should have to have a college degree!

What happened to the Constitution of the United States of America??? The government has been overstepping their bounds for a long time now, and it's starting to become painfully obvious. This man was asking a question. He had every right to ask his questions. He should have never been treated like a criminal for seeking knowledge. This is a sad day for America. The really sad part is that most people will ignore this news story while they watch their reality tv shows and further stupify themselves into submission. 9/11 was an inside job. It's all part of the political agenda.

Indeed, Rodney King was on Bush Sr's watch. I stand corrected. I guess as I age, I should put less trust in my memory.

Bush I, Bush II, Rodney King, tazer incident. There you have it Connect the dots.

Nads, Atlanta. Thak you for pointing my mistake out.

Have a great evening,

Thak you????? What the ….?

Not only is my memory fading, I can't type!

What next?

Do you See Alice?

When the cops outnumber the problematic person 4-1 the taser should not even be an option. Only possible expection being if the guy is 300 lbs and ripped which was not the case here.

But hey what do you expect from a bunch of glorified security guards on a college campus. They are probably underpaid and didn't want to get hurt so using the taser seemed like a good idea.

I think both sides, us and the enforcement folks, should exercise our action. For us, well … we know, we are not supposed to agitate and force the law enforcement folks to the limit. The would say "we do our job". For the enforcement folks, you guys should avoid excessive force only because you do your job.

This kid is a punk and was clearly creating a public disturbance. The right to speak freely means you can say what you believe. It does not mean you can disturb the peace, become indecent in public, or break the law when you are saying it.

Tasering him was probably a little over the top. I personally think he deserved a "noogie" instead.

kristen, Your inability to see the rights as others as well as you see the rights of the police and their little friends (I didn't say it before,I'm saying it now) The Bush Club, have no reason to assume anyone should hold still for abuse. HOLD STILL TO BE BEATEN-No Stupid, and keep your drugstore how to book ethics; to yourself-No one indeed. I would probably be in chains if arrested, just like our police questioning BROTHERS ANDS SISTERS cause standing still is not what I understand to be the correct speed in the constitution.

OK we all watched the video right? Did you see those jumps in the video? They are called edits. It's when they remove information from what really happened and only show you the information they want you to see. What was taken out for times sake shows him first off cutting in line of other people waiting to speak. Then when they capitulate and allow the jerk to speak he rants off questions and does not allow them to be answered. He then refuses to leave the mic and stand down when asked to do so. They then shut the mic off and still he won't leave. Then they try and remove him and he resists for quite some time and more and more campus police are needed to subdue him. Eventually getting around to the best part of tasering the obnoxious self centered, self important unrelenting kid.

And all the tree huggers here are whining about his rights. What about the rights of the students who were politely waiting their turn to speak? And then were inturupted because some jerk thinks he is better than them all? What about the safety he posed when he went nuts for refusing to leave?

I wonder where Jessie Jackson and Al Sharpton are on this one. Clearly the student was Tased while he was on the ground and not resisting. I'm so glad we have troops in Iraq fighting to protect the rights of the rent-a-cops to taser people when their microphone time expires !!! I hope all of them get fired and the student gets a big payday from the university.

CNN Censors in full effect today. For god sake don't try and explain that the clip has been edited to suit CNN's need to show this kid as a victim and not the obnoxious jerk who refused to go quietly when asked several times, resisted arrest and was tasered as a result.

Liberal bias is still a bias CNN. Just because some of us have seen the unedited clip that shows how many chances this kid had to go simply and easily and try to explain to some people how CNN has edited the clip to suit its own agenda.

Keep living up to the Crappy News Network moniker.

People please just keep ranting about nothing. But for gods sake don't critique CNN in your rant and their biased editing of the clip to make you hate police and feel sorry for this jerk.

this jerk got exactly what he wanted…Press, and money. He deserved every volt of electricity.

The latest news is that prior to posing his questions he asked others to be sure they were taping the event. H even, per CNN article on this site, gave his video camera to a young lady and asked her to film what he was about to do. Do you really thing he was interested in a genuine discourse of political or social issues?

This young man's agenda had nothing to do with shining light into the darkened corners of our social and political shortcomings–he was interested in notoriety or something more sinister than a genuine concern for what we Americans have to deal with with the continuing corruption of politicians–both sides of the aisle!

As far as the supposed agony of being tasered–Oh please, if he was tasered by officers that wanted to hurt him you would only have heard whimpers. In this case, I suspect the shock was a very light shock–and it seemed to me he was hoping the officers were going to shock him (for the drama to be captured on film!). A truly tasered person does not scream in pain–the electrical shock shocks the nervous system, and the person is generally incapable of true screams.

Some of you on here are missing the point. There was NO reason to arrest this man. Therefore, charging him with "resisting arrest" is also outrageous. He was not disturbing the peace- he went over his allotted time at the microphone. This was not merely heavy-handed. It's the Bush policy trickled down to the local level. The only way to communicate is to threaten and to use force.

The dems need to take a clue from the republicans, You screen the audience, You know, Go through the parking lot looking at bumper stickers like they do in Iowa and kicking out anyone who might not throw softballs.

Nobody answered his cries for help. Those nearest we too afraid even to look.

Time to issue your cops with brown shirts.

I haven't seen anyone comment about the cheers from the crowd when the cops came to escort him out of there. To elicit such a response, he was obviously causing a disruption.

Move on citizens, nothing to see here.

Re: Bill W, Coatesville, PA

You are absolutely right! To babble into a microphone and go over your time limit should bring about a tasering at MINIMUM!

And hanging out in a student library for too long deserves a burst of mace to the face.

And protesting a war while on Kent State University grounds deserves a National Guard firing squad response.

Bill W, Im glad that you have the right perspective on these important issues. If we dont start applying the jackboot now, these darn students will destroy our great nation with their independent thought and their political protests. Who KNOWS what will happen if we let the young generation make its own decisions and express its thoughts freely? It would be ANARCHY!

Im with you on this one, Bill W. Like you, I say bring on MORE tasers, and MORE mace, and dont forget those stylish little zip-tie handcuffs! I think we oughta DOUBLE the size of Guantanamo!

The only way to win this "War on Terror" is through a generous application of tasers and mace to EVERY university student who dares expect his elected representatives to answer his questions.

Clearly, tasers work, as the video proves.

Now its time to take it to the next logical level: security cameras with built in taser guns on every street corner in the USA.

That way we can taser every funny-looking and loud-mouthed citizen who dares show his face in public. ESPECIALLY those who are under 25. Darn whippersnappers!

And think of all the jobs that those public taser-camera systems will create! Its a win-win situation.

These officers are on a sick power-trip and need to be fired. Why Taser an innocent student for asking a question? He even said he would leave if they let him go…

I want to know who to contact and complain about these "officers".

Stop saying "GOD Bless America" and PRAY TAHT HE DOES because this country needs it!!

How can some people not see what REALLY happened here? Even if the question was not appropriate and the student too much heated, even if he exceeded the time limit and being annoying and trouble to the speaker… he is still a STUDENT! N O T a terrorist! This speech is inside a university campus.And "if" that John Kerry is a public figure and security needs to exist, do officers take orders to act like if they have to deal with criminals? How were they threatened by that student when they used a taser?How even was he a threat to order? WAKE UP sleeping people! Universities are supposed to have an educational role by supporting us with knowledge and allowing us to express ourselves freely!Is that some kind of cencorship, to his question? A campus must not be like the outer world: corrupted, full of suppresion. I'm a student in Greece and I feel really embarrased by the way police treated to a fellow student.In my country no police officers are permitted to enter a university campus. And believe me: NO CHAOS exist and NOTHING goes wrong.

since when in America are you beaten for sharing your opinion and practicing your freedom speach.

Everyone here is missing the point. This was a MoveOn.org supporter on the far far left. The democrats don't want to associate with people in their own party.

This has nothing to do with republicans. You've got an in-house democrat fight.

This situation goes both ways. The officers should have never tried to pull him away from the microphone in the first place. In America we are offered Freedom of Speech, and he was exercising that right. However, he deserved being handcuffed and taesered for the force and resistance he used against the officers. Whether or not he was right or wrong, they are the authority figure, and he needs to follow by their order. He did seem very frantic, and somewhat insane. I don't believe the officers should suffer any punishment, but he should serve at least probation for resisting arrest, and violence aimed at an officer.

I didn't see the scene he created before this tape was shot of him being tasered. An article I read said there was an argument for about a minute after he asked the question and kerry didn't answer.
I think he is acting like a brat who wants attention. If the police came after me like that, I'd be like 'holy cow, the police.' not physically resisting the police while I flail around and ask 'why are you tasering me. Um, they're tasering you because you're physically resisting them
And for the freedom of speech, that doesn't give you the right to create scenes and disrupt things. That's just plain old rude.

Message from EUROPE: ignorant PD's….it looks that Kerry isn't that big person at all. He did nothing about it. Apparently he can't move bridges. Are American people that violent and are not be able to speak. I think this student is one of the less bright people America has and he gets tasered. LOL

Oh, please. Didn't anyone see the other students who were hanging and shaking their heads when this guy was talking. They were laughing at him. That's why the students applauded when he was moved away from the microphone. And it's not as easy as some think to quietly remove a person from a room if they are pulling away, jerking around, flailing their arms, and all the rest. The kid was making the most of this to get sympathy. Why didn't he just calm down and follow them out and discuss it with them outside? Because he wanted it to become a big fiasco.