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Charges Dropped In PA Video Taping Arrest
Cumberland County District Attorney David Freed has reversed himself completely over the charges against Brian Kelly, arrested for wiretapping after videotaping a police stop. Now let's see if they are good enough to compensate Kelly for the 26 hours he spent in jail and the anguish of the cloud over his future caused by a felony arrest. From the article: "... [DA] Freed said his decision will affect not only Brian Kelly, 18, but also will establish a policy for police departments countywide. 'When police are audio- and video-recording traffic stops with notice to the subjects, similar actions by citizens, even if done in secret, will not result in criminal charges,' Freed said yesterday. 'The law itself might need to be revised.'"
While no judicial and law systems on the planet are perfect, the reaction in the US over this charge, and the eventual reversal say only one thing; as far as direct action is involved the USA is *still* one of the best places on the planet to do it. I can't remember the quote exactly, but it goes something along the lines of us in the west having freedoms we simply don't take advantage of. We pussy foot about and don't act, and that is the problem. If Brian here had not received the support that he did, he might still be in jail. I feel safer in the USA than I do in any other country when it comes to expressing my rights, even though I know that in some backwater town that ability may be more suppressed than in other areas.
"Permission to yell 'Bravo' in an annoying loud voice?"
"Permission granted."
"BRAVO!"
I wonder if the downfall of Mike Nifong has given prosecutors a dose of humility.
While I am impressed that the DA admitted that a mistake had been made, he still went too far in covering the ass of the very unprofessional police officer who made this stupid arrest. From TFA:
[Freed] said the officer who charged Kelly acted in a "professional manner."
Avoiding accountability by throwing someone in jail for recording how you do your job is NOT professional. Rather, it is the act of a petty tyrant on a power trip who, if left unchecked, will most likely end up harming the public in other ways in the future. The citizens of Pennsylvania deserve better than this from their law enforcement agents.
My truck is like a series of tubes.
This is one of my soapbox issues. More and more, investigations into your personal history (job applications, police investigations, security clearances, and the like) are questioning your *arrest* record. Being arrested (or even charged, but that's another discussion) denotes NOTHING about guilt, intent, or even behavior. You can be arrested for nothing more than being an out-of-state bystander who is witness to an (alleged) crime.
The *connotation*, however, is becoming increasingly negative, as is the inference when you refuse to reply, or respond that you have not been convicted of any crimes. (I started to type "have no convictions, but it got very confusing very fast!)
And no, I personally have neither convictions nor arrests.
KeS
I will tern into a complete police spy
Tern? That doesn't look like a typographical error, since the "e" and the "u" are nowhere near each other on the keyboard, so we must assume that you intend to watch the police from the water while preening your feathers and searching for fish to eat. Or, perhaps you'd swoop down on them from the sky and crap on their shiny cars?
Oh, you didn't mean "tern" like the type of bird, you meant you'd draw the three winning numbers in a lottery? Well, that's just confusing.
I'm a bit confused about your use of the abbreviation for Post Office though - or did you mean Pissed Off?
will be filed against the city, county, and state, in
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The real "Libtards" are the Libertarians!
Guess you haven't looked for a job lately. Most places where I've worked ask about one's *arrest* record in addition to convictions. If you have been arrested, you of course could lie about it, but if the company does any kind of background check on you it most definitely will show up unless you were a juvenile at the time, and even then, "sealed" doesn't always mean sealed.
Please stand clear of the doors, por favor mantenganse alejado de las puertas
Driving and getting pulled over are normal parts of traveling. The other 2 are only involved in contingency plans.
Since most newspapers are online, it isn't that unlikely that a web search would turn up news of his arrest.
Woe be on to them, all who rise against poor people, shall perish in a the end. Buju Banton
So, in light of recent events I should be able to videotape police activities, right?
Anytime I see police making a traffic stop, I whip out my camcorder and get some nice clear pictures of the police officer and the person being stopped. Sounds about like what is being promoted here.
The reason this is (was?) illegal in many places should be clear to people but apparently isn't. Yet, I hope.
The first problem is the idea that people are innocent until proven guilty. Yes, even in America today. So what does my videotape show? Someone being questioned by police. This is the sort of thing that attracts voyeurs like rotting meat attracts flies. People will pay for video like this, especially (but not exclusively) if the person is some kind of public figure or celebrity. Should it be legal to publish such video? Well here in the anonymous Internet age once you have something in digital form there is literally no stopping it from being distributed. You can't stop it and you can't shut it down.
See? This doesn't have anything to do with the police and everything to do with the other people. If you watch any of the police video shows you will always see the "perp" with his face pixelated so they aren't identifiable. Do you think amature videographers are going to do this before uploading their clip to YouTube?
This means a simple traffic stop where the cop tells you to watch running through yellow lights has the potential to become an issue with your job. Why? A lot of public-facing jobs really are closed to people that have even a hint of controversy about them. Would you leave your child in the care of a teacher that was accused of having sex with a child? Would you hire someone as a bank teller that was accused of embezzlement? Would you still hire them if your insurance company told you that hiring them would raise your insurance rates? 50 years ago this sort of information could be private and not disclosed. Today, it is readily available to be misused. And it certainly is misused, every day.
Is it right that groundless accusations can prevent people from getting a job? No. Does it happen every day? Yes, absolutely. Is having video tape of accused (but not convicted) people going to help or hurt?
If you get IndyMedia (I take your word that it was covered there) and Reason magazine (that was where I read about it first) to pay attention to the same story and be on the same side of it -- maybe, just maybe, it counts as "stuff as matters", not to mention that geeks are more likely to have camcoders in their pockets than non-geeks, huh? :)
Paul B.
The force that blew the Big Bang continues to accelerate.
...and we're getting close to it already, is to simply arrest everyone at birth. Increasingly, the only people "running for office" in this country are people who've never done anything. Not just "good things" or "bad things," but ANYTHING. A race of innocuous milquetoasts are slowly taking over the political operation of America simply by convincing "voters" that anyone who's ever done anything distinctive or at all out of the perceived mainstream is unfit to lead.
Lest we forget... Harry Truman went bankrupt. JFK fooled around on his wife. Richard Nixon had a serious affinity for alcohol. Ronald Reagan was (horrors!) a Democrat. Comedian Tim Allen was arrested for drugz. Martha Stewart was convicted of securities fraud. G. Gordon Libby was in prison after Watergate. Rush Limbaugh admitted illegal use of prescription drugz. W. was... well, farkit, go look it up.
When everyone has a black mark against "their permanent record," as my sixth-grade teacher called it, then we're all equals again and we can forget this pseudo-puritanical horse dung.
When mere accusations are enough to blight your life, we're already in 1984. Oh, wait... what?
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Rotate the pod, please, HAL....
Don't feel safer just yet, Mr. parent post. Last night in Crown Heights (Brooklyn), a civil rights attorney (Michael Tarrif Warren) and his wife Evelyn (also a civil rights attorney I believe) witnessed a police officer making an arrest. He stopped to observe the arrest and was told by an officer to, "Get the fuck out of here, this is none of your business." Michael replied, "You don't have to talk to me that way sir, I'm a lawyer." He was told, "I don't give a fuck who you are." and walked away. Michael proceeded to take notes while in his car - at this point the sergeant (one Sgt. Talby of the 77th Precinct, NYPD) punched him several times hard through the open window and arrested both Mr. Warren and his wife.
Thankfully, the news got to the local media quickly, and when they broadcast news of the arrest, 200 folks showed up at the 77th Precinct's door (full disclosure: I was one of them). Sadly, this is hardly an isolated instance. It just happens to be the one that happened yesterday.
I realize that some of the sources I'm linking aren't exactly bastions of objective journalism, but if you'd like the other side of the issue, you have two choices:
1) Read the recommendations of NYPD officers on NYPD Rant, the largest message board for NYPD officers. In response to St. Louis ACLU handing out cameras to monitor police misconduct, many recommend "disappearing" the tapes or refusing to work in the area (see here
2) Next time you see police arresting or ticketing someone, pull out a notepad. Make sure to not interfere in any way with the police action - just take down names, badge numbers, police car numbers, and physical description of the arrestee. See what happens. I tried doing this once or twice in NYC, and was told, like Mr. Warren, that it was none of my business, to get lost.
Its called "violating civil rights under color of law."
Videotaping of officers in the line of duty is an issue for every law enforcement union in the country.
It would be for any union realistically. How would you feel about being videotaped while you were working?
The difference is that police are in a position to suppress, harrass, and intimidate those who would potentially be taping their activities.
While I agree that the officer most likely did not consider wiretapping as the original charge, I would postulate that he had absolutely no reason to arrest this child. His intention was to intimidate one kid, hopefully get him charged and convicted of something, and get the word out to the local high schools that cops don't react well to cell phone videos of their activities. One can hardly surmise an excuse for arresting this child outside the scope of intimidation.
If I had a video tape of every traffic stop I received, I would have a collection of questionable police activity.
I remember one such instance very clearly. The police came up behind me with no red/blue lights at about 2:00 AM in the middle of an empty stretch of highway. They came up so fast, I was sure they were going to rear end me. I accelerated and changed lanes. They did it again. I changed lanes back trying to get away from this harassing driver. They did it a third time. At this point, a rest stop exit had popped up, so I hit the brakes to slow for the exit. Red and Blues flash. They slam open my door and yank me out of the car like I'm Rodney King, proceed to search my car - trunk and all without asking, and against my verbal demand not to do so. They gave me several sobriety tests that most sober people would have issues with. I passed, but had the sense to mention in front of the car camera - "First, you're freaking me out by how aggressive you are. Second, it's freezing out here. If I have any problems, those are contributing factors." They were totally freaking me out. I surprised myself with the presence of mind to say something like that. Then they moved me to the passenger side of the cop car and asked me how much money I had on me. I said "I don't know, let me count." Without thinking, I walked in front of the police car (where the camera would be mounted) and counted my cash. Halfway through the cop grabbed my arm, pulled me back to the side of the car and said "forget it, put your money back in your wallet". They cited me for 140 mph. My car shaked severely at 125 because of a poorly installed sunroof, but regardless I was doing 75 when they nearly rammed me. 140 would normally get you thrown in jail, a wreckless driving charge, and a towed car. They cited me and let me go.
These kinds of things happen all the time all over the country. I had another cop pull me out of the middle of a big traffic cluster with 25+ cars all going the same speed. He laughed. "I just really wanted to get me a Porsche. I've been weaving through cars for 20 miles to get to you." I have had my car searched at least a dozen times in my life with zero cause and without permission. I've been detained and released without charges - and I was a stinking passenger on that one. I've had six guns drawn at me once with barking police dogs on the background (no citation, no charge).
I had a cop order me to my knees at gunpoint in my garage. My neighbor popped his head over the fence and said "What's going on?" The cop jumped 180 degrees and nearly shot my neighbor who he ordered back into his house. Then he jumped 180 degrees and nearly shot me all while I was pleading "please don't shoot me." A family member drove up. They left. No charges. Thought I was a burglar. They laughed on their way out and the partner slapped him on the butt and said "oh well, next time." No apology.
I'm not black. These things didn't happen in the ghetto. I'm no gang member. I don't look like one. I don't hang out with the wrong people. I'm just a regular guy - computer nerd. I'm not cocky or rude to police (they'd probably beat me if I was). Fo
I'd say that sitting on your hands when the victims are largely non-white or foreign and the injustices are huge, while taking action when the victim is middle-class, white, and the system quickly rectifies itself, is a bigger problem. What happened in PA was not tyranny.