Today’s Daily Emerald is reporting that two students at the University of Oregon (Ian Van Ornum, 18, and Anthony Farley, 22) were subdued with tasers on Friday. Police claim the duo resisted arrest during a rally to demonstration against the Oregon Department of Transportation's use of pesticide spray on the highways.

While some might write off the incident as another over-zealous college student acting out (we all remember Andrew Meyer’s “Don’t tas me, bro!” at the University of Florida’s John Kerry debate), is it possible there’s something more going on?
 
This month Wesleyan University had an end-of-school block party where police used paintball guns with pepper balls, tasers, dogs to disperse the 250 students on the street. In November of 2007 a naked, dancing 22-year-old at Washington University was also zapped by authorities.

According to a report from KVAL.com, the Eugene Police Department has used tasers NINE times since January. The outlet says officers have also threatened to deploy the devices more than 30 times. 

“When you bring weapons like tasers that are not lethal, they can be used excessively because they're not lethal,” a local resident told the outlet. “So the police starts losing track what kind of people they should use them on and what kind of not to.”

Eugene police say using a taser nine times isn't that many, and every usage has been justified.  Students aren't so sure.  Friends of the two student activists told the Emerald they didn't see Von Ornum resisting officers. 

"The Tasers seemed to come out of nowhere," fellow student David Parziale said. "[The police] tased him once and he screamed and he started having seizure-ish movements.  I saw his eyes roll into the back of his head. He was in so much pain."

OTR offers the story up for a vote:
Are police opting to taser too often?  Furthermore, are police more likely to taser students simply to prove a point?