snjmom
VIP Member
"Police officers dont check their civil rights at the station house door."
Three law enforcement officials defend the arrest of citizens who record on-duty cops.
Radley Balko | August 9, 2010
The debate over whether citizens should be permitted to record on-duty police officers intensified this summer. High profile incidents in Maryland, Illinois, Florida, Ohio, and elsewhere spurred coverage of the issue from national media outlets ranging from the Associated Press to Time to NPR. Outside the law enforcement community, a consensus seems to be emerging that its bad policy to arrest people who photograph or record police officers on the job. The Washington Post, USA Today, the Washington Examiner, The Washington Times, and Instapundits Glenn Reynolds, writing in Popular Mechanics, all weighed in on the side that citizen photography and videography can be an important check to keep police officers accountable and transparent.
But so far, theres been little activity in state legislatures to prevent these arrests. Thats likely because any policy that makes recording cops an explicitly legal endeavor is likely to encounter strong opposition from law enforcement organizations. So whats the justification for bringing and supporting charges against people who record or photograph cops? I recently spoke to three law enforcement officials about it. Two are prosecutors currently pursuing felony charges against citizens who made audio recordings of on-duty cops. The third is the executive director of the Fraternal Order of Police, Americas largest police union.
Joseph Cassilly is the Harford County, Maryland states attorney. Hes currently pursuing felony charges against Anthony Graber, who was arrested last April for recording a police officer during a traffic stop.
~rest of the story~
"Police Officers Don't Check Their Civil Rights at the Station House Door" - Reason Magazine
Does anyone on the left or right support that any citizens that are recording police encounters be charged under wiretapping law?
For the record, Heeeeeeeeell no.