Fox anchor: 'officers should be commended' for tasering student David Edwards and Jason Rhyne

Published: Tuesday September 18, 2007





Print This Email This Want to get the news the media buries? Get Raw headlines in your browser . Weighing in with his legal opinion regarding police officers' tasering of a University of Florida student, attorney and Fox News anchor Gregg Jarrett said no excessive force was used during the incident. "He is resisting. And the videotape really doesn't lie--it speaks volumes about what's going on," said Jarrett, referring to video of the event that is circulating around the internet. "The law doesn't allow you to resist police officers when they ask you to do something," he added. The tasered student, Andrew Meyer, was wrestled to the ground by officers after asking Sen. John Kerry a question during a school forum. "Now you may have a beef with them being there in the first place and trying to escort you out--you can argue that later--but when they ask you to do something, you have to do it. That's the law," Jarrett said. Reviewing the videotape of the arrest, which played throughout the interview, Jarrett pointed to moments that he says show Meyer is clearly resisting arrest. "There he is raising his arms," he said as he watched. "Yeah he may be saying 'I'm not doing anything,' but he is...he is repeatedly resisting." Asked about an eyewitness report of the incident reported earlier in the segment, which indicated Meyer may have told officers he would cooperate if they let him stand up, Jarrett was incredulous. "Why should they believe him?" the anchor asked. "He has already demonstrated in the previous minute that he is not going to do what he says he's going to do." The tasering, according to Jarrett, was good police protocol."The taser device actually is a method by which you decrease the level of force by subduing somebody, not increasing the level of force...these police officers out to be commended for what it is they did." Regarding the possibility of future lawsuit from Meyer, Jarrett said the student didn't have a case, adding that no jury would sympathize with him as he was being "utterly obnoxious." Earlier in the program, witness Matthew Howland, who was on the scene during the scuffle, said at one point Meyer told officers he'd cooperate. "Andrew said 'I'm not resisting. If you let me up, I'll walk out of here with you right now," Howland told Fox. " But they kept him on the ground and about 20 seconds later they tased him." Howland later said that after the tasing, Meyer was taken to the lobby of the auditorium, where police asked for his name and other information--requests the student refused. "He doesn't give up his information like his name because he says he's scared--he doesn't want to give them any more information." This video is from Fox's Fox News Live, broadcast September 18.



