University of Florida Taser incident participant student
On September 17, 2007, a University of Florida student was stunned by police with a taser at a forum featuring then–U.S. Senator John Kerry.
Kerry was addressing a Constitution Day forum at the University of Florida campus in Gainesville, which was organized by the ACCENT Speakers Bureau, an agency of the university's student government. Andrew Meyer, a 21-year-old fourth-year undergraduate mass communication student, had initially been allowed to ask a question after the close of the question period. He asked Kerry whether he was a member of the Skull and Bones society, and used the term "blowjob" in reference to the impeachment of Bill Clinton. Meyer was forcibly pulled away from the microphone. He was immediately restrained and removed, and was subsequently arrested by university police. During his arrest, Meyer struggled and screamed for help. While six officers held Meyer down, one of the officers drive-stunned him with a taser following Meyer's shouted plea to the police, "Don't tase me, bro!"
Several videos of the episode were posted on the Web, with one version reaching eight million views on YouTube. The New Oxford American Dictionary listed tase or taze as one of the words of the year for 2007, popularized by the widespread use of the phrase. Meyer registered the phrase as a trademark in September 2007.Details
Student
Andrew Meyer was, at the time of the incident, an undergraduate student at the University of Florida. Born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, he attended Cypress Bay High School in Weston, Florida, where he worked at the school newspaper, The Circuit, and was a member of the National Honor Society. At the University of Florida, Meyer worked as a columnist for the college paper Independent Florida Alligator. Meyer has stated that he writes "mostly whimsical nonsense columns about nothing in particular, yet occasionally finds [himself] angry enough to rain down fire and brimstone on an unsuspecting politician or celebrity."He received international publicity when videos were posted of police tasering him at the town hall forum featuring Senator Kerry. The Miami Herald stated that "Meyer's grandmother, Lucy Meyer of Pembroke Pines, Florida, told The Miami Herald that he is a hardworking student with no prior run-ins with the law." She also said "He gets very, very overcome with passion for whatever he is feeling. Maybe the passion took over."Today, a U.S. TV program, interviewed Meyer a month after the incident, once he had negotiated probation.Meyer later attended the Florida International University College of Law, and registered "Don't tase me, bro" as a trademark in September 2007, using the publicity to sell T-shirts on his website. As of July 15, 2016, the phrase is no longer trademarked. Meyer wrote a book titled Don't Tase Me Bro! Real Questions, Fake News, and My Life As A Meme, which he published on Amazon in December 2018.