Officers idled after Kerry speech incident

GAINESVILLE, Fla., Sept. 19 (UPI) -- Two University of Florida police officers who used a stun gun on a disruptive student at a Sen. John Kerry speech are on paid leave pending an investigation.

University President J. Bernard Machen called the Monday incident in which student Andrew Meyer was subdued, arrested and charged was "regretful" even though police indicated Meyer intended to be provocative, CNN reported Tuesday.

"The thing that I regret is that civil dialogue and civil discourse did not happen," Machen said. "That's fundamental to a university campus. Why it didn't happen is what we're trying to sort out."

A shouting Meyer asked Kerry, D-Mass., why he didn't contest his loss to President George Bush in the 2004 election and then resisted efforts to escort him from the room. Police said Meyer, who was charged with a felony count of resisting arrest with violence and misdemeanor disturbing the peace, was laughing and lighthearted once out of camera shot.

Kerry said while he believed he "could have handled the situation without interruption" he didn't want to second-guess the officers.

Meyer was arraigned Tuesday and allowed to go free with his assurance he would show up for trial. No date was set for a trial.