I haven't posted here in a while. I am quite busy, so I won't be able to give this the full analysis it deserves. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has issued its review of the University of Florida Taser incident last month and found the use of the Taser to be justified (PDF file linked).
Much can be said about the circumstances of his arrest - I don't really have time to do that justice right now. Instead, I will focus on the issue of the Taser use and police guidelines which I find to be quite disturbing. Here are some passages that I find particularly relevant:
"Resistance Level 3: Passive Physical Resistance
"A subject physically refuses to comply or respond. He/she does not make any attempt to physically defeat the actions of the officer but forces the officer to employ physical maneuvers to establish control."
In other words, a person who is physically incapable of complying with the police officer's commands may be thereby resisting arrest. It gets worse. The following is listed under "Officer Response Level 3: Physical Control." As I read the document, these are considered appropriate police responses to level 3 (passive) resistance (emphasis in original):
"4) Pain Compliance - Techniques that force a subject to comply with an officer as a result of the officer employing controlled pain upon specific points in the subject's body, such as pressure point techniques. Pain compliance techniques to include joint manipulation and Electronic Restraint Devices - Tasers are also utilized and accepted methods used in pain compliance techniques."
In other words, a Taser may be used on someone who is passively resisting - that is, not putting up a fight but merely not complying with the police officer's commands (again, perhaps because they physically cannot). Tasers can be fatal.
Unfortunately, after a month long review, the state of Florida, rather than seriously reviewing its procedures, concluded that Andrew Meyer was resisting arrest, and uncritically cited the "Use of Force Matrix" quoted above. As a student at the University of Florida, I will not feel safe until a real review has been performed. I have no reason to believe that such a review is forthcoming.