The UF police officers who Tasered Andrew Meyer at a September speech were well within the guidelines for use of force, according to a report from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's investigation.
Eddie King and Nicole Lynn Mallo - the two officers who were suspended with pay after the event - are back on duty, UF President Bernie Machen wrote in an e-mailed statement.
The report stated that the officers used a Taser because it would provide minimal injury, have no lasting side effects, and the officers would gain control in the least time with the least effort.
The officers opted not to use OC spray, known as pepper spray, because it could have also affected other members of the audience, the report stated.
Other options would have been to use hand strikes, kicks, knee strikes or batons. These methods were not used because they would have caused greater injury to Meyer, the report said.
Meyer, a UF telecommunication senior, was Tasered and arrested after officers said he resisted arrest with violence and disturbed the peace at a Sen. John Kerry speech Sept. 17.
Meyer and his lawyer, Robert Griscti, could not comment on the investigation because Meyer's charges are pending, Griscti wrote in a statement.
Meyer faces a third-degree felony for resisting arrest with violence and a second-degree misdemeanor for disturbing the peace.
The report stated that Meyer acted with "active physical resistance," meaning he either tensed his body or tried to push or pull away.
Under guidelines for police use of force, that level of resistance warranted officers to restrain him, move him somewhere else, hold him to the ground or inflict pain to gain compliance.
The report also stated that on the way to the jail, the police recorded Meyer's conversation without his knowledge, and Meyer told officers that they didn't do anything wrong.
He also asked if cameras would be at the jail.
While at jail, Meyer made two phone calls, which were recorded and reviewed for the investigation. The report states that he "appears to sound elated that the arrest has occurred and at one point, states that he is happy this has happened."
Meyer spent the night in jail and was released around noon on Sept. 18.
Griscti wrote that Meyer encourages the media to investigate the questions about voter disenfranchisement he posed to Kerry before he was arrested at the speech.
The State Attorney's Office will decide whether the charges against Meyer are appropriate. If so, a court date will be scheduled.
Spencer Mann, spokesman for the attorney's office, said the office would review the department's report and would consider using some of the same witnesses, he said.
"We're still in the homework phase," Mann said. "We believe in crossing our T's and dotting our I's."
