On September 17, 2007, a University of Florida student was stunned by police with a taser at a forum featuring then–U.S. Senator John Kerry. Kerry was addressing a Constitution Day forum at the University of Florida campus in Gainesville that was organized by the ACCENT Speakers Bureau, an agency of the university's student government. Andrew Meyer, a 21-year-old fourth-year undergraduate mass communication student, had initially been allowed to ask a question after the close of the question period. He asked Kerry whether he was a member of the Skull and Bones society and used the term "blowjob" in reference to the impeachment of Bill Clinton. Meyer was forcibly pulled away from the microphone. He was immediately restrained, removed, and subsequently arrested by university police. During his arrest, Meyer struggled and screamed for help. While six officers held Meyer down, one of the officers drive-stunned him with a taser following Meyer's shouted plea to the police "Don't tase me, bro!"

A TASER is a conducted energy device (CED) primarily used to incapacitate people, allowing them to be approached and handled in an unresisting and thus less-lethal manner. Sold by Axon, formerly TASER International, the TASER fires two small barbed darts intended to puncture the skin and remain attached to the target until removed by the user of the TASER device, at a speed of 55 m/s. Their range extends from 4.5 m (15 ft) for non-Law Enforcement Tasers to 10.5 m (34 ft) for Law Enforcement Tasers. The darts are connected to the main unit by thin laquer insulated copper wire and deliver a modulated electric current designed to disrupt voluntary control of muscles, causing "neuromuscular incapacitation." The effects of a taser may only be localized pain or strong involuntary long muscle contractions, based on the mode of use and connectivity of the darts.