EPTThere are some topics I would like to start, but they would probably be closed because they are related to things already discussed recently, and I think rehashing old discussions is not allowed.
So I'm just going to blog my thoughts instead.
I am still thinking about the tasering incident. Let me recap what others must be thinking, first: The tasering was unnecessary or it wasn't; the guy deserved it because he was a douche, or he still didn't; the police need more training, or they don't; etc.
A small group think that, if police start grappling a guy, without telling him he's under arrest, they are committing assault. I think these people are right, by supreme court precedent.
In the case of the taser guy, it seems to me (after reading the reports by the police who were there) that he was in no way being arrested when they started putting their hands on him. They were trying to escort him out, on orders of a leader of a student group (organizer of the event). This was a public event, but also the organizers of the event are operating with, ultimately, government money and so are bound by the restrictions of, say, the 1st amendment.
Not sure who grasps this, or if it will come to matter, but the bottom line is: whoever ordered the guy be silenced, violated the 1st amendment. Any laws used to do so may be ruled unconstitutional. The police were committing assault, and Meyer's resistance, according to supreme court precedent, is legal because the arrest was illegal (they were applying force before there was a reason for arrest).
They tried to lie/distort what happened in their own reports, because without doing so it would be clear that they were just assaulting some guy because they were confused about whether they were arresting someone or walking them out. They were mixing up their role as security enforcer, their role as "student conduct code" enforcer, and law enforcer.
I would like to see a discussion of the initial contact to begin with; I think most of us can agree that if 6 cops need to use a taser to handle the remaining 1 hand of a guy who is pinned to the ground by 4, that is probably a mistake. Two cops tried to tase him while he was on the floor. Another wanted to tase him sooner while he was escaping the grabbing of the officers, but was told not to.
I no longer believe at this point, after reviewing all the evidence, that they were really arresting him in the first place. They turned it into an arrest after he resisted their force, and that is just wrong. They can be convicted of assault, and even, assault with a weapon (taser).
If you know the law, you should know that if they weren't arresting him (and they weren't), cops grabbing his arms and dragging him away, are no different to Meyer than anyone else, and he is right to try to get away, or even defend himself.
You know police will act this way all the time, and maybe that's the point. Before they put their hands on anyone they need to know that they have to tell you that you're being arrested. Otherwise it's assault. They weren't arresting him. They were doing their BS "would you like to come outside and talk to me?" routine. Kind of like "would you step out of the car?" or "can I search your back seat?" If you know your rights, and esp. if a camera is on, cops should know that when they ask those kinds of questions its because they don't have any right, to really do those things, and can only try to trick you (and intimidate you) into consenting.
