Videotaping the Police

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by Happy Monkey

The wrong thing the cops are doing is charging him with wiretapping.

I agree. There is no reasonable expectation of privacy between a cop and a person being arrested in public. The problem is that if they take the video from someone they can do whatever they want with it and give it back to you blank. The charge is bogus.

[ZenGum]

Pretty much unanimous on this one.

No way is this wiretapping. This is bully-cops trying to make themselves immune from criticism.

I recall a documentary about the civil rights movement, there was a case where it was found in court that a citizen has the right to observe a police officer in the course of their duty provided they didn't get in the way. I think that extends to cover this.

I've said it before, but I think this right is far more important than bearing arms. The right to observe and record the police and the government, and to publish that information, is the key front against tyranny. In most western countries there are enough legal and constitutional mechanisms to keep the government in its place, but these mechanisms must be vigilantly used and guarded.

I'm speaking as an outsider, but, USA ... fight this one. It must be legal to criticise and embarrass the police.

[TheMercenary]

Esp when they are in the wrong. The recent case of the cop shooting and killing the handcuffed guy is a good case. 20 years ago that would have been swept under the rug. Use of recent technology prevents that from happening, at least in this case.

[Gravdigr]

This is the trump card: Almost EVERYWHERE you go, you are on camera. Nobody asks your permission to record you. When an ATM camera catches you going down the street in the background do the police not arrest you if you are caught on that camera committing a crime? Answer, THEY DO! No warrant.

If you are in a public place, you have no reasonable expectation of privacy. This why all those cameras are legal. Police officers are not exempt from this just because they wear a blue uniform or black quasi-military fatigues.

My personal opinion is that the motorcyclist's video taping/recording comes under Freedom of Speech.

[glatt]

The law doesn't apply to cameras but to audio recordings. That's why he's in trouble. There was audio to go along with the video of the cop.

But because the cop was performing his official public duty, the audio law doesn't apply here either.

[Getgo]

Personally I don't care for police. Not because I'm a criminal but because I think most think their shit doesn't stink and get a little cocky with their authority. Bullies if you will.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Yeah that attitude many of them have is annoying... especially when they are off duty. But in fairness, when they're working, they never know when the shit will hit the fan, so when they approach any situation they have to seize control immediately. Being large & in charge, helps to keep anything from escalating. They have no way of knowing if you're a friend or foe, and a mistake could be fatal. I'm just thankful somebody is willing to do the job... and I try to avoid any contact.

[classicman]

You might feel differently when one saves your life while risking his or her own.
But hey, many of them do have attitude. I think you need to have some serious attitude to wake up every day and do the JOB they do. I can't imagine getting up every morning thinking that I may die today cuz some crackhead is flippin out or some shithead doesn't know how to drive or isn't paying attention ...


Just my worthless opinion, we all got one.

[TheMercenary]

I guess the bottom line is the kid should have been stopped. But pull a gun?

I think it is in Fl that the HWP is just getting close enough to the sport bike racers to get a pic of the license plate on thier dash cams and then going to their house the next day and empounding the bike. That seems like a much better solution.

[glatt]

Nobody is saying the kid on the bike wasn't reckless. He was dangerous and got a ticket for it. He's not fighting that ticket. I'd be happy if he spent like a month in jail for driving like that.

But the issue of charging him for wiretapping and trying to throw him in jail for 16years is a huge leap.

[xoxoxoBruce]

I doubt he had a dash-cam, being a "plainclothes state trooper", in an unmarked car. Those guys usually don't get involved is traffic bullshit, but apparently this one was annoyed enough to get involved. Plainclothes troopers often work undercover, with may be another reason the video freaked them out, but that's not enough justification to persecute this guy.

[classicman]

Isn't charging the guy the District Attorneys call, not the officers?

[glatt]

Yes. That's why State’s Attorney Joseph Cassilly is the true villain here.

[Happy Monkey]

Agreed. However, while it's his call in the end, I don't think its likely that the cops didn't ask him to do it.

[tw]

In some states (ie Pennsylvania), it is illegal to record (ie on a cell phone camera) a cop doing his job. If it is not photographed, then there will be no Rodney Kings.