UF President Asks for Investigation into Taser Incident

September 18, 2007
First Coast News, Gainsville, Florida

The president of the University of Florida is asking for a full investigation into the incident at the town hall forum hosted by Senator John Kerry.

Campus police used tasers to arrest student Andrew Meyer when he refused to step away from a microphone.

Here is a copy of the letter to the university from president J. Bernard Machen.

To students, faculty, staff:

I have received a great deal of communication and input last night and this morning regarding the incident that occurred Monday at the conclusion of a town hall forum being held by Sen. John Kerry. The incident resulted in a student being tasered.

We are interested in learning what happened and are taking the following immediate steps to ensure the university utilizes best practice protocols:

University of Florida Police Chief Linda Stump has requested the Florida Department of Law Enforcement conduct a formal investigation into the arrest of UF student Andrew Meyer. An independent review such as this will make sure the results are objective and impartial. Chief Stump's priority is to ensure that the public remains confident in the department's ability to keep the campus safe.

Two officers involved in the incident have been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.

We plan to assemble a panel of faculty and students to review our police protocols, our management practices and the FDLE report to come up with a series of recommendations for the university.

Administrators and police officials plan to analyze the incident and conduct an internal review and will consider changing protocols in response to this incident, if necessary.

Finally, as is standard procedure, the State Attorney's Office will review the charges brought against Mr. Meyer. We have communicated with the State Attorney and understand he plans to expedite his review.

I will talk about the incident and answer questions at a news conference scheduled for 2 p.m. in Emerson Alumni Hall.

Sincerely,
J. Bernard Machen

A few hours later, the university president met with reporters and said the university considers it "fundamental" to provide a setting where "civil discourse" can happen.

He added that "the incident that occurred yesterday was regretful for us because civil discourse and dialogue did not occur."