It was a very long time since I was a cop. The only tasers we had were carried by supervisors in a special kit they had in their car. I have no direct experience with them so I did a quick search on the internet for use of force guidelines for the taser. Unless I'm missing something, all the guidelines I saw would place the student's behavior well within those guidelines allowing for the deployment of cartridges. (As opposed to a touching of probes to the suspect which some departments feel is a lesser level of force.)
What was the level of the student's behavior? What would a reasonable officer do? From an FBI law enforcement bulletin:
In the Orange County Sheriff's Office (OCSO), the rise in the application of the Taser has been dramatic. Since its implementation in 2000, it has become the agency's most frequently used less lethal weapon. For example, chemical agents, physical force, and impact weapons accounted for less than 13 percent of the weapons used in 2003, while Taser use rose to almost 78 percent. This is important to note because the other less lethal tools were available, yet officers chose the Taser. Although no current studies exist that explain this shift, it seems that officers may have perceived the Taser as more effective and less likely to cause injury. (22) An analysis by OCSO reported a reduction of 50 percent in officer injuries, as well as 23 incidents where officers did not have to use deadly force to bring a confrontational situation to a peaceful resolution.OCSO policy allows Taser use at a level three (passive physical) resistance, such as when a subject refuses to comply with a verbal command. However, the agency noted only a small number of deployments at this level. This begs the question: Is the Taser an appropriate response to a level three threat? (23)
The majority (69 percent) of OCSO Taser deployments occurred in response to level four (active physical) resistance. This suggested that officers might not have believed that the Taser was an appropriate response to level three (passive physical) resistance, but, instead, most advisable in situations involving level four (active physical) resistance.
Info edit:
As I continue to look through use of force guidelines and reports, I'm starting to find some older ones recommending Taser be used in deadly force situations alone. This is clearly in the minority, but I can no longer say "all" the guidelines.