The tactics of police in Florida who Tasered a cheeky student as he tried to question former presidential candidate Senator John Kerry have been called into question after a video of the incident was posted on the internet.

The officers responsible have been suspended on full pay while the debate rages over whether the student was a victim of police brutality or an attention-seeking prankster who got what he deserved.

The student, Andrew Meyer, who was well-known on campus for his practical jokes, was Tasered after jumping the queue to ask Mr Kerry a series of questions in a Florida University lecture hall on Monday.

Event organisers were unhappy with his line of questioning and switched off the microphone as police officers moved in to escort him out of the hall.

Mr Meyer refused to leave quietly, and as police officers grabbed him, he repeatedly tried to wriggle free while shouting: “What did I do?”

After a scuffle, the police fired several thousand volts into Mr Meyer, but not before he coined a new slogan for the YouTube generation: “Don’t Tase me, bro!”

Video of the incident was posted on websites, attracting student laughter, right-wing fulmination and, of course, T-shirt merchandise. Half a million people have watched the original post and the footage was replayed by television channels around the world.

Mr Kerry has criticised the arrest of Mr Meyer, suggesting that he could have dealt with the heckler himself.

"In 37 years of public appearances, through wars, protests and highly emotional events, I have never had a dialogue end this way. I believe I could have handled the situation without interruption,” he said.

Mr Meyer was released yesterday after a night in the cells, while students protested outside the police station claiming police brutality had been used.

He was arrested on charges of resisting an officer and disturbing the peace but the State Attorney’s Office has yet to make the formal charging decision.

Mr Meyer’s lawyer, Robert Griscti, said it appeared his client had been shocked after handcuffs had been put on him.

Bernie Machen, the University of Florida president, said that the episode was “regretful”. He placed the campus officers involved on leave and asked for a state probe of police actions.

Students at the university organised a protest yesterday and marched on the police station shouting “Don’t Tase me, bro” and demanding that stun guns were banned from campus.

Benjamin Dictor, an arts student, called for the officers to be disciplined and the charges against Mr Meyer to be dropped.

“For a question to be met with arrest, not to mention physical violence, is completely unacceptable in the United States, especially in the halls of education,” Mr Dictor said.

Not everyone has sided with Mr Meyer. Critics have suggested that the entire incident was a planned attempt to win attention for a student who has already posted dozens of videos of himself on his website www.theandrewmeyer.com.

Indeed the video of the arrest was taken on his own camera, which he had brought to the John Kerry Q&A session.

Police claimed that Mr Meyer’s behaviour was very different when the camera was no longer rolling. One officer told the Associated Press that Mr Meyer asked, “Are you taping this? Do you have this? You ready?” before beginning his questions.

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