December 30, a local TV investigative journalist was injured when a uniformed policeman grabbed a camera out of her hand which he then smashed on the roof of her car.
It was like a scene out of the Godfather.
The story
HONOLULU -- A public access television crew complained of police mistreatment Thursday, after trying to get a picture of President Barrack Obama.
Just after dawn Wednesday, the three-woman crew for a Big Island public access program called "We Are Change Hawaii" drove up to the barricade near the president's vacation home in Kailua.
The crew was video-taping vehicle searches along the potential motorcade route as they left the neighborhood. They noticed a van behind them.
At this point Sherri Kane, who describes herself as an investigative journalist, looked into the camera and said, Behind us we have the Secret Service following us now so this is kind of exciting.
Exciting turned to scary after they pulled into a gas station. On their video, a police officer approached the car and said, Stay in the car. Put that camera off of me.
Producer Sativa Jones can be heard saying OK.
The women said police vehicles and up to five officers surrounded the car, demanded IDs and registration without explanation. Then without warning an officer reached into the car and grabbed Jones camera.
He grabbed it out of my hand and then he slammed it on top of the car, Jones said. She said the camera was damaged the automatic lens cover no longer worked.
Jones fingers were gashed by the sharp edge on the camera mount. She said the officer appeared shaken by what he'd done and courteously showed her how to complain, writing his name and badge number on a card with contact information for the Honolulu Police Commission.
Kane said other officers on the scene would not let them make a criminal complaint against the officer who grabbed the camera.
What went down was something that should not happen here in the United States of America, Kane said. You have all of these police officers that could be looking at legitimate or people who are really trying to harm the president. Instead, you have so many of them on us.
Police would not comment on the specific incident but a spokesman said in protecting the President suspicious vehicles are taken very seriously.
Asked if it was legal for police officers to stop someone from videotaping an officer in a public place, the department said citizens are allowed to video in public places.
The Secret Service Office in Honolulu did not respond to telephone and e-mail requests for comment.
Read the story here.
Can you tell me how many laws were broken here?
Not only was this an assault but it was an unconstitutional act. Some will claim that the TV crew filming vehicle searches was a breach of security, but whenever it is done out in the open, as in this case, officials have no legal right to prevent you from filming it.
Perhaps Obama thinks he's the Godfather and our rights don't matter to him. Perhaps he's so paranoid that he has security on orders to not only stretch the legal boundaries but step over them when necessary. This is supposed to be a free country. There must be a balance between keeping the President safe and allowing access of the press in coverage.
I submit that this is yet another example of a President that holds himself above the law and wants to remain detached from the people. You could expect this of countries like Russian, Iran, Venezuela, and China, but not here in what used to be the United States of America. Maybe we should just call ourselves the U.S.S.A.
United Soviet States of America.
Are we going to stand for this from a man who's supposed to be a public-servant? If we allow this to continue what comes next? With every new breach of our constitutional rights will we become more and more oblivious to the consequences of our waning liberties? Is the running down and assault of private citizens by representatives of this thuggish government to be the new norm? We know that this Administration considers guns to be a threat to it, but now cameras as well?
Here are similar stories in other countries where an autocracy exists:
Russia
Iran