It's not that simple, Ed. The guy waited until the official questioning was over, then made a ruckus until Kerry said to let him ask his question. He then started rambling on with his statement, until finally his mic was cut - just as it had been clearly announced that it would be at the beginning of the event if someone went to long, just as he had been warned that it would be if he went to long. He then expresses disbelief that he was cut off, and continues to talk, and then shout. At this point, the cops move in to escort him out, as he's creating a disturbance (clear in both videos) and that is their job.
Here's where the CNN editing is a bit unfortunate. At least, I *hope* it's just unfortunate editing. In the CNN video, it looks like he's talking, the cops swoop in to drag him out, and taser him. In the UNCUT video (http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=3ec_1190097717&p=1) it's clear that the cops are just trying to walk him out of the room. Only one cop is actually holding him. As HE continues to escalate, another cop walks forward to assist, and all the cops continue to try and walk him out as he continues to escalate. Still, only one cop is holding him. As they reach the door, he makes a break for it, knocking over a cop in the process, and (possibly - it's unclear) knocking HIMSELF down in the process. At this point the other cops join in to hold him, and at THAT point one of the cops tasered him. At this point, I would gladly have tasered the guy myself, just for being an asshole. However, the cops were clearly in the wrong here, as he was restrained already. OTOH, at this point, thanks to our hero, it was an extremely tense situation. Things get a LOT more tense now, with some woman screaming in the cops' faces. As the video shows, he is then taken (unhurt) out of the room, and into the hall, where he still carries on, expressing disbelief that he's being arrested, and repeatedly expressing concern for his..... camera. Eyewitnesses after the tape stops rolling claim that as soon as the camera was shut off, he immediately calmed down and started cracking wise cracks. So we have some self-important guy who feels his message is so important that he can break all rules that the other participants have agreed to, in order... hmmmm... I just got the weirdest sense of deja-vu ..... to get his point accross, he's deliberately confrontational, and when the cops do their job and take him away, he resists arrest, and possibly (shoves) assaults an officer. He gets his message published, he gets his 15 minutes, he gets to play the victim card, and he'll no doubt get money from the inevitable lawsuit. In the meantime, free speech and the police both get a black eye. On the plus side, the cops will probably get better training on when/when not to taser. It was a tense situation, but they should have been trained better. And they can use the video to show how tasering can escalate a situation. I truly don't think it was a case of suppression of freedom of speech, so much as an asshole taking advantage of the media. Unfortunately, I have to leave now for some medical tests, and won't be back until afternoon, so I won't be able join in the discussion. But... talk amongst yourselves! (BTW, read the comments posted after the video - one of them is from the guy who shot the footage, and that's where I got some of my background info) _______________________________________________ Post Messages to: [email protected] Subscription Maintenance: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profox OT-free version of this list: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profoxtech Searchable Archive: http://leafe.com/archives/search/profox This message: http://leafe.com/archives/byMID/profox/[EMAIL PROTECTED] ** All postings, unless explicitly stated otherwise, are the opinions of the author, and do not constitute legal or medical advice. This statement is added to the messages for those lawyers who are too stupid to see the obvious.
