Disturbing trend of the day:states now arresting people for taking video of police

[ThrottleJockey]

There has also been a big deal in AZ for some time now about people being arrested for being in the way of police cameras.....WTF?
YouTube - 4409 -- Redflex SCAM-CAM Road Trip - Prescott, Arizona

 

[JetGirl]

New bumper sticker idea. I DO NOT CONSENT to being recorded by ANY video equipment USED by Law Enforcement.

Guaranteed probable cause.

That's a cavity search, right there...

 

[srcoley]

I wonder what would happen if some officers were to enter a store or place of business with security cameras and the officers just so happened to use excessive force. Would they be punished, or would the company get a court date?

 

[subtlesixer03]

This combined with the new meranda law wording actually scares me more then anything else ive heard yet. I wonder if recording yourself while interacting with an leo is still legal? So what now its always there word against ours? Im not one to normally agree with gansta rap but F%$# the police on this one. I have great respect for the good leos out there but come on. this is nuts. Im actually feeling oppressed just being an American. This is just sad.

 

[serpicostraight]

can anyone think of any valid reason not to tape cops? any leo here have any ideas? unless im missing something the only reason i can see is so you dont catch a corrupt cop at work. and wit the politicians passing laws like this sounds to me like they know what the cops are doing and are protecting them.

 

[barricade]

same quote they use for us i will turn on them. "if they arent doing anything wrong then they have nothing to worry or complian about" bet they dont like that.

 

[finity]

same quote they use for us i will turn on them. "if they arent doing anything wrong then they have nothing to worry or complian about" bet they dont like that.

Yep.

If they've got nothing to hide...

 

[Denny347]

Hmm, these are uncommon laws outside of Indiana. It will probably take a district appeals or SCOTUS to rule these laws as unconstitutional. Indiana (and probably other states as well) is very easy going in regards to recording. As long as at least one party knows they are being recorded...everything is above board. Do I want to be recorded making a traffic stop/arrest...not really. But it is not up to me is it? I only shy from the camera not because of what I'm doing but rather I dislike the idea of my giant head on You Tube for all to poke fun of. Oh well, wada ya gonna do?

 

[JohnP82]

Any cop who has a problem being recorded by the general public doing his or her job is nothing more than a jack-booted thug who is on a power trip and wants to jack people up. Any cop who has NO problem being recorded by the general public doing his or her job is a fine person deserving of the position they have been put into.

INGunGuy

x2 what do they have to hide? They should be proud of their video and take pride in how they handle a situation.

Well said

 

[SKSnut]

So are they breaking the law when you are being recorded on their dash cam?

If they are in public they don't have a right to privacy.

exactly, hypocrites

 

[Bill of Rights]

I know that working as a medic, I'm not very fond of cameras on me while I'm working, even if they don't show the patients' faces. Part of the reason is that they always seem to get me from the same angle (180°) (Maybe they think that's my best side? ) but the majority of the reason is that there are lots of ways to do what I do, and while there may be nothing wrong with my prioritization, someone else might choose to do a splint this way or would have chosen to do an IV here instead of there. In our litigious society, some people will look for any excuse to sue or will attempt to show wrongdoing where there is none, and that's on the calls where everything goes perfectly. (Note: Ask some of the other EMS professionals here how many calls go perfectly. ) God forbid this is one of the few IVs I miss or I gave a medication at the five minute mark instead of the three, where the written protocol is to repeat the dose every three to five minutes. Still within the order, just at the high, rather than low side of it.

Given the above, I can understand the objection. As someone said upthread, there are some tools out there who, knowing they're on tape, will try to engineer something to happen so that the cop looks like he's using excessive force or some such.

Hold on. I said I understood it, not that I agreed with a law codifying the objection. The law needs to apply to all, equally. If I have no reasonable expectation of privacy in public places, neither do they. If I have reason to expect a police dash cam on me, so should the officer expect a "citizen-cam" on him or her.



Blessings,
Bill

 

[Gabriel]

I know that working as a medic, I'm not very fond of cameras on me while I'm working, even if they don't show the patients' faces. Part of the reason is that they always seem to get me from the same angle (180°) (Maybe they think that's my best side? ) but the majority of the reason is that there are lots of ways to do what I do, and while there may be nothing wrong with my prioritization, someone else might choose to do a splint this way or would have chosen to do an IV here instead of there. In our litigious society, some people will look for any excuse to sue or will attempt to show wrongdoing where there is none, and that's on the calls where everything goes perfectly. (Note: Ask some of the other EMS professionals here how many calls go perfectly. ) God forbid this is one of the few IVs I miss or I gave a medication at the five minute mark instead of the three, where the written protocol is to repeat the dose every three to five minutes. Still within the order, just at the high, rather than low side of it.

That is a good argument.

I don't like to be video taped while working, but that's mostly just because I don't want to see a video of me picking my nose on Youtube when I get home. Nobody likes being video taped all the time, whether they are doing anything wrong or not. I always see the argument that if cops aren't doing anythig wrong, then they shouldn't mind being recorded. That's true to a point, but if someone followed you around all day with a camera filming everything you did, I'd bet that you'd get annoyed by it after a while. Then you can go home and watch a four minute Youtube video of youself picking your nose, scratching your ass, and stepping in dog feces and doing the routine of trying to wipe it off in a grassy area.

Given the above, I can understand the objection. As someone said upthread, there are some tools out there who, knowing they're on tape, will try to engineer something to happen so that the cop looks like he's using excessive force or some such.

This happens a lot, whether they know they are being video taped or if there is just an audience (neighbors, family, or whoever).

I've been in numerous situations where trying to arrest one subject while a crowd of 50 people were gathering. It just takes that audience for the one subject to 'play it up' and next thing you know you're in the middle of a screaming fighting crowd of 50.

The video camera seems to promote the same reaction. As I stated above, I don't have a problem with being video taped, it just seems to make things a bit more difficult than it needs to be on occasion.

 

[finity]

Nobody likes being video taped all the time, whether they are doing anything wrong or not. I always see the argument that if cops aren't doing anythig wrong, then they shouldn't mind being recorded. That's true to a point, but if someone followed you around all day with a camera filming everything you did, I'd bet that you'd get annoyed by it after a while.

I doubt you are being video-taped "all day long" so that argument isn't reasonable. On the few occasions you might be on camera, if you are doing your job the way you are supposed to be doing it (& I have no reason to assume you don't) then there shouldn't be a problem even if you have one idiot (or even many) who tries to stir things up. As a matter of logic I'd think you'd welcome the evidence to show you acted appropriately even while trying to be goaded into improper action. Especially since courts pretty much invariably give cops the benefit of the doubt in those situations.

 

[Gabriel]

I doubt you are being video-taped "all day long" so that argument isn't reasonable.

You would be surprised. I don't know how many times I've been sitting at a stoplight and noticed someone either taking pictures or video with a phone. If I'm out of my car for any reason there is usually a cell phone taking pictures or video. My argument is completely valid.

 

[serpicostraight]

You would be surprised. I don't know how many times I've been sitting at a stoplight and noticed someone either taking pictures or video with a phone. If I'm out of my car for any reason there is usually a cell phone taking pictures or video. My argument is completely valid.

if you are a cop then you are a public figure you are going to be watched pics taken video etc. enjoy it while you can being famous doesnt last forever. pose for the camera smile maybe even sign a few autographs. talk to your fans like you appreciate them you might make some new friends.

 

[vitamink]

The article that was quoted was started by a guy who was pulled over for driving like an ass editing the tape, then crying about it when he got arrested. The guy was wearing a helmet cam the entire time. When the police found out that he was in the military, they decided to cut him a break and let him go with a ticket as they didn't want him to get in trouble from his superiors. He goes back home, edits his video to the last few seconds and posts it on the internet to show how wrongly he was treated by the police.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHjjF55M8JQ[/ame]

from this video you can see the plain clothes officer get out of an unmarked car with a gun and charge towards this innocent motorcyclist that is obviously stopped in traffic and doing nothing wrong. As the article states "The trooper, who was in plainclothes and an unmarked car, jumped out waving a gun and screaming" I didn't see any gun waving or screaming, but the article has a point to make about how horrible cops are so whatever. The cops see the video online, get pissed, and decide to issue a warrant 1 month later for anything they can think of. They come up with the obvious reckless driving, 100's of dollars in tickets and then a new one "violation of the maryland wiretapping law". So you know, there is no law that prevents people from filming the police as the article suggest and in this particular case that particular charge will most likely be dropped. In other cases mentioned where "i was arrested for filming the police" what actually happened was they were arrested for a different charge, but happened to be filming the police at the time. Example: If you and your friends go to Tiki Bobs for a bachelor party and your friend decides to punch your waitress in the face because she looks like the ex that dumped him. When the police show up to lock him up you decide to film them with your cell phone camera while standing next to the police. The police tell you to step back and you argue stating that it is your right to film police activities you may then get locked up. You will then tell people, like the writer of the article, that you were locked up for filming the police. What you were actually locked up for is public intoxication, and interfering with an official police investigation. So in short it's completely legal to film the police just make sure that everything else you're doing is legal as well. People film the police all the time most interactions with the police are recorded by cell phone cameras, it's really no big deal.

Here is the actual full video.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7PC9cZEWCQ[/ame]

People were calling the police on him for driving like an ass, a maryland trooper is sitting off waiting for him to pass...you'll see him on the left at 1:06 it's hard to tell but he checks his mirror and sees the cop catching up to him so he speeds up and takes the first exit he comes to at 3:00 he turns completely around and you see the trooper's crown vic directly behind him. You then see him pull over as the unmarked car blocks any escape route.