Now it's illegal to video cops!
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Joined: May 2008
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The ACLU lives for stuff like this. And it's one instance where they can actually be useful to society. Let's face it, a good number of cops are not the cream of the crop. They are on the public dole because of nepotism or because they didn't have many other options, not because they graduated Magna Cum-Laude from Harvard. Take a guy with marginal intelligence and low achievement, give him a gun and some authority, take away accountability, and you have a thug. I'm not at all surprised that the Boston police are leading the trend. They have always been one of the most corrupt police departments in the country with historic ties to the Boston Irish mob going back a century.
And yeah, Rodney King wasn't a model citizen but he was railroaded at least once in his life. People should be able to defend themselves against DWB or other false charges from lying public officials. This will not stand.
And yeah, Rodney King wasn't a model citizen but he was railroaded at least once in his life. People should be able to defend themselves against DWB or other false charges from lying public officials. This will not stand.
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 4,766
Likes: 8
From: Queens, NY
Here's one that is happening in MD. Story from WJZ
Debate Sparks Over Video Recording Of Arrests
Several Marylanders face felony charges for recording their arrests on camera, and others have been intimidated to shut their cameras off.
That's touched off a legal controversy. Mike Hellgren explains the fierce debate and what you should do to protect yourself.
A man whose arrest was caught on video faces felony charges from Maryland State Police for recording it on camera.
"We are enforcing the law, and we don't make any apologies for that," said Greg Shipley, MSP.
Video of another arrest at the Preakness quickly made its way online, despite an officer issuing this warning to the person who shot it, "Do me a favor and turn that off. It's illegal to videotape anybody's voice or anything else, against the law in the state of Maryland."
"For the government to be saying it has the power to prevent citizens from doing that is profoundly shocking, troubling, and particularly in the case of Maryland, simply flat-out wrong," said David Roach, ACLU.
Under Maryland law, conversations in private cannot be recorded without the consent of both people involved.
But can that be applied to incidents, such as one caught on tape three years ago where a Baltimore officer arrested a teenager at the Inner Harbor?
"When you tell me to turn it off because it's against the law, you've proven to me that I'm not secretly taping you," said law professor Byron Warnken. "He doesn't have the right to say, if you don't stop recording me, I'm going to arrest you."
The last official interpretation of Maryland's law came from the previous attorney general saying it was legal for officers to record video on dashcams.
Delegate Sandy Rosenberg is pushing the current attorney general for his opinion on whether you can record them, too.
"If he finds that there are circumstances when it's illegal, under existing law, to tape public actions by police or other public officials, then it's appropriate for me to introduce a bill to change that statute," said Rosenberg, (D) District 41, Baltimore City.
At this point, the attorney general has not indicated whether he will issue an opinion clarifying this law.
Debate Sparks Over Video Recording Of Arrests
Several Marylanders face felony charges for recording their arrests on camera, and others have been intimidated to shut their cameras off.
That's touched off a legal controversy. Mike Hellgren explains the fierce debate and what you should do to protect yourself.
A man whose arrest was caught on video faces felony charges from Maryland State Police for recording it on camera.
"We are enforcing the law, and we don't make any apologies for that," said Greg Shipley, MSP.
Video of another arrest at the Preakness quickly made its way online, despite an officer issuing this warning to the person who shot it, "Do me a favor and turn that off. It's illegal to videotape anybody's voice or anything else, against the law in the state of Maryland."
"For the government to be saying it has the power to prevent citizens from doing that is profoundly shocking, troubling, and particularly in the case of Maryland, simply flat-out wrong," said David Roach, ACLU.
Under Maryland law, conversations in private cannot be recorded without the consent of both people involved.
But can that be applied to incidents, such as one caught on tape three years ago where a Baltimore officer arrested a teenager at the Inner Harbor?
"When you tell me to turn it off because it's against the law, you've proven to me that I'm not secretly taping you," said law professor Byron Warnken. "He doesn't have the right to say, if you don't stop recording me, I'm going to arrest you."
The last official interpretation of Maryland's law came from the previous attorney general saying it was legal for officers to record video on dashcams.
Delegate Sandy Rosenberg is pushing the current attorney general for his opinion on whether you can record them, too.
"If he finds that there are circumstances when it's illegal, under existing law, to tape public actions by police or other public officials, then it's appropriate for me to introduce a bill to change that statute," said Rosenberg, (D) District 41, Baltimore City.
At this point, the attorney general has not indicated whether he will issue an opinion clarifying this law.
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Joined: Oct 2009
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Without videotaping, this would've been just another day for this cop: http://www.aolnews.com/nation/article/seat...eating/19469856
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 4,766
Likes: 8
From: Queens, NY
Here's some more crazy shit the cops have done, this one involving the MD State Police.
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNcDGqzAB30 [/media]
This interesting thing is that many of the cops side with the motorcyclist in this case. Read their comments HERE
And here is the full version of the motorcycle video (sans audio)
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7PC9cZEWCQ [/media]
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNcDGqzAB30 [/media]
This interesting thing is that many of the cops side with the motorcyclist in this case. Read their comments HERE
And here is the full version of the motorcycle video (sans audio)
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7PC9cZEWCQ [/media]
Banned
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 7,662
Likes: 1
From: Long Beach, CA
Whats really going to bake your noodle is if and when the Supreme Court allows this motion into law.
Its obvious that many innocent lives have been saved from gross police brutality and misconduct through video evidence. What does this say being they want to make such recordings illegal?
How far does it have to go before we fight back?
Quote- "Arrest those who record the police" appears to be official policy, and it's backed by the courts.
I quote here from a rapper, "There are many more of us than them, I think we need to send them a message that they answer to us, not the other way around. Hopefully this goes down in my lifetime so I can waste afew pigs myself." - amen brother
Its obvious that many innocent lives have been saved from gross police brutality and misconduct through video evidence. What does this say being they want to make such recordings illegal?
How far does it have to go before we fight back?
Quote- "Arrest those who record the police" appears to be official policy, and it's backed by the courts.
I quote here from a rapper, "There are many more of us than them, I think we need to send them a message that they answer to us, not the other way around. Hopefully this goes down in my lifetime so I can waste afew pigs myself." - amen brother
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 4,766
Likes: 8
From: Queens, NY
Here's a news crew attacked for shooting video of a protest getting out of hand and the cops telling them they "can't film" there. What they mean is "we don't want you showing the TV audience we did something we shouldn't have".
And there's this one:
Roughed-up cameraman sues Oakland police
A former cameraman for KGO-TV has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the Oakland Police Department, accusing several officers of attacking him and breaking his camera as he tried to film outside a hospital on the day four officers were killed last year.
Douglas Laughlin said several officers accosted him on March 21, 2009, outside Highland Hospital in Oakland as he tried to film the arrival of an ambulance carrying one of the mortally wounded officers.
The confrontation, as captured by Laughlin's camera, can be seen here:
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufHI4YRm6OU [/media]
The video shows off-duty Officer Fred Shavies running toward Laughlin and yelling, "Hey! Get the f-- out of here!" Shavies then knocked Laughlin against a parked car, breaking the camera's viewfinder, according to the suit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in San Francisco.
A group of officers then forced Laughlin away from the hospital and onto East 31st Street.
"You guys can't do this to me," Laughlin protests on the video.
Sgt. Rich Vierra, who at the time was chief of staff to then-acting Chief Howard Jordan, tells Laughlin, "Sir, look at what we're doing here, man. Sir, that's one of our police officers that got shot. You need to leave."
Uniformed Officer Luke Sincerny repeatedly tells Laughlin, "Please go," as off-duty officers herd Laughlin along.
Laughlin tells the officers that they can't force him away because it's a public street. Sincerny responds, "It's not important right now," as Vierra tells the cameraman, "It's not. You are interfering with a crime scene. I will place you under arrest."
The camera kept rolling as the officers pushed Laughlin across the street and onto the sidewalk, the suit said. Officer William Pappas tried to tear the battery pack off the camera, and an unidentified sergeant put up yellow police tape to block Laughlin's access, the complaint says.
The suit, which names the city, the Police Department, Shavies, Vierra and Pappas, seeks unspecified damages and a court injunction barring Oakland officers from "interfering with plaintiff's and other television camera persons' and other journalists' rights to engage in journalistic activities."
The suit was filed by San Francisco attorneys Charles Bourdon, Rai Sue Sussman and John Scott. Scott often files lawsuits against the city of Oakland on behalf of officers who believe they were wrongly disciplined.
"I think obviously it was a horrible day for everyone," Sussman said. "It was an emotional time. But that is why we have a professional Police Department. We expect that because they have extra responsibilities, they should be able to act professionally in an emotionally charged time."
Officer Jeff Thomason, a police spokesman, said viewers should recognize the context of the video. Officers were dealing with what was the single deadliest day for the department. Sgt. Mark Dunakin and John Hege, both motorcycle officers, were shot and killed by wanted rapist Lovelle Mixon during a traffic stop. Hours later, while holed up in an apartment building, Mixon shot and killed SWAT Sgts. Ervin Romans and Daniel Sakai. Mixon was then shot dead by police and an Alameda County sheriff's deputy.
The officers outside the hospital were trying to come to terms with a horrific loss, Thomason said. Some were concerned that video of the stricken officers could be viewed by family members before they had been notified, police said. "They're human beings," Thomason said.
The city paid several thousand dollars to replace Laughlin's viewfinder, Thomason said. "It doesn't change how they acted," he said. "An incident took place that was unfortunate. We did an internal investigation. Obviously we're not proud of it, but corrective matters were taken."
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/crime/...2#ixzz0qB3zbZHM
And there's this one:
Roughed-up cameraman sues Oakland police
A former cameraman for KGO-TV has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the Oakland Police Department, accusing several officers of attacking him and breaking his camera as he tried to film outside a hospital on the day four officers were killed last year.
Douglas Laughlin said several officers accosted him on March 21, 2009, outside Highland Hospital in Oakland as he tried to film the arrival of an ambulance carrying one of the mortally wounded officers.
The confrontation, as captured by Laughlin's camera, can be seen here:
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufHI4YRm6OU [/media]
The video shows off-duty Officer Fred Shavies running toward Laughlin and yelling, "Hey! Get the f-- out of here!" Shavies then knocked Laughlin against a parked car, breaking the camera's viewfinder, according to the suit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in San Francisco.
A group of officers then forced Laughlin away from the hospital and onto East 31st Street.
"You guys can't do this to me," Laughlin protests on the video.
Sgt. Rich Vierra, who at the time was chief of staff to then-acting Chief Howard Jordan, tells Laughlin, "Sir, look at what we're doing here, man. Sir, that's one of our police officers that got shot. You need to leave."
Uniformed Officer Luke Sincerny repeatedly tells Laughlin, "Please go," as off-duty officers herd Laughlin along.
Laughlin tells the officers that they can't force him away because it's a public street. Sincerny responds, "It's not important right now," as Vierra tells the cameraman, "It's not. You are interfering with a crime scene. I will place you under arrest."
The camera kept rolling as the officers pushed Laughlin across the street and onto the sidewalk, the suit said. Officer William Pappas tried to tear the battery pack off the camera, and an unidentified sergeant put up yellow police tape to block Laughlin's access, the complaint says.
The suit, which names the city, the Police Department, Shavies, Vierra and Pappas, seeks unspecified damages and a court injunction barring Oakland officers from "interfering with plaintiff's and other television camera persons' and other journalists' rights to engage in journalistic activities."
The suit was filed by San Francisco attorneys Charles Bourdon, Rai Sue Sussman and John Scott. Scott often files lawsuits against the city of Oakland on behalf of officers who believe they were wrongly disciplined.
"I think obviously it was a horrible day for everyone," Sussman said. "It was an emotional time. But that is why we have a professional Police Department. We expect that because they have extra responsibilities, they should be able to act professionally in an emotionally charged time."
Officer Jeff Thomason, a police spokesman, said viewers should recognize the context of the video. Officers were dealing with what was the single deadliest day for the department. Sgt. Mark Dunakin and John Hege, both motorcycle officers, were shot and killed by wanted rapist Lovelle Mixon during a traffic stop. Hours later, while holed up in an apartment building, Mixon shot and killed SWAT Sgts. Ervin Romans and Daniel Sakai. Mixon was then shot dead by police and an Alameda County sheriff's deputy.
The officers outside the hospital were trying to come to terms with a horrific loss, Thomason said. Some were concerned that video of the stricken officers could be viewed by family members before they had been notified, police said. "They're human beings," Thomason said.
The city paid several thousand dollars to replace Laughlin's viewfinder, Thomason said. "It doesn't change how they acted," he said. "An incident took place that was unfortunate. We did an internal investigation. Obviously we're not proud of it, but corrective matters were taken."
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/crime/...2#ixzz0qB3zbZHM