GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The University of Florida student stunned by a police Taser and arrested after his fervent, videotaped outburst at an event with Sen. John Kerry won’t go to court if he stays out of trouble during 18 months of probation, prosecutors said yesterday.
Andrew Meyer’s shout of “Don’t Tase me, bro!” was ignored by campus police but helped video clips of the 21-year-old being dragged from a microphone become an Internet sensation.
The telecommunications major wrote apologies to the Gainesville school; its president, Bernie Machen; and the campus police department, defense attorney Robert Griscti said. Meyer recently decided to take the semester off because of the publicity, but he will return in January, Griscti said.
“I stepped out of line at the Kerry forum,” Meyer wrote. “I violated the rules of the forum and was disruptive. I now realize that in order to be heard, one must act within the appropriate time, place and manner.”
State Attorney William Cervone said Meyer agreed to conduct himself “in a fashion that demonstrates his ability to behave appropriately and without violating the law” during 18 months of probation. If not, Cervone said, Meyer will be charged with resisting an officer without violence and interfering with a school function.
