Police Taser student at Kerry speech

GAINESVILLE, Fla., Sept. 18 (UPI) -- University of Florida police tasered a student after he engaged in a combative diatribe with U.S. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass.

Andrew Meyer, 21, screamed and writhed in pain on the floor of the University Auditorium when police tasered him Monday while trying to restrain him during a forum by Kerry, the 2004 Democratic Party candidate for president, The Gainesville (Fla.) Sun reported.

The incident occurred after Meyer, a student in the College of Journalism and Communications, engaged Kerry in heated questioning about why Kerry didn't contest the 2004 presidential election and why he hadn't moved to impeach U.S. President George W. Bush, the Sun reported.

Meyer was charged with disrupting a public event, said university police Capt. Jeff Holcomb, noting there would be an investigation into whether the officers used force appropriately.