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Leave a Message, Go To Jail

Posted by timothy on from the live-free-or-hey-shut-that-thing-off dept.

Okian Warrior writes "A man in Weare, New Hampshire was charged with felony wiretapping for recording the police during a traffic stop — based on a cell phone call he made as an officer approached his vehicle. From the article: Police considered it wiretapping because the call was being recorded by a voice mail service without the officer's consent."

8 of 486 comments (clear)

  1. hurry up and revolt by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Hurry up and revolt.

    Cue a dozen, "It's not as bad as under Honecker, so we don't need to do anything yet!" responses.

    1. Re:hurry up and revolt by phantomfive · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I'm not convinced that 'more talking' is going to get the sides to see each other's views.

      Uh, and you somehow think that revolution is going to get the sides to see each other's views?

      distrust is at a maximum. separation of classes continues and the gap widens. government gets more powerful and invasive and controlled more and more by our christian taliban.

      Oh, you speak the lingo of a daily-kos reader. Well, when you're done reading the propaganda, when you stop listening to those who are trying to divide us, go out and really talk to normal people on both sides. You'll see that Americans in general have FAR more in common than separates us.

      Furthermore, the non-political class on all sides have a strong love of liberty, democracy, and freedom. Left and right are both willing to revolt to protect that freedom, if it comes to it.

      There was one scene during the Wisconsin uproar that epitomizes this. The union protesters were on one side, and the tea-partiers on the other side, both yelling at each other. Then someone started saying the pledge of allegiance, and both sides started saying it together, in unison. We disagree on details, but agree on major issues.

      America is founded on ideals of freedom, democracy, and that all men are created equal. Americans aren't unified by respect/fear for a king, like Syria, or a dictatorship, like the Soviet Union was, or love of Empire, like Great Britain was. We are unified by great ideals. And as long as we remember them, we'll be ok. It's only when we get off those, and start acting like an empire, or in fear, or dominion, that we run into trouble.

      --
      "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
  2. I live in NH, this happens a lot. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Here in NH we have this thing called the "NH Liberty Alliance" which is this psuedo-anarchist libertarian/teaparty group that tries to indirectly egg-on the police.
    They pull stunts like carrying a pistol standing downtown at a crowded intersection (which is legal), and pull out the camcorder if a cop walks over to ask them if everything is ok .. I mean, let's face it, a dude with a gun and a camcorder standing on the street corner downtown -does- look a little out of place .. and when questioned they always retort with overly dramatic recitals from the bill of rights or the NH state constitution.

    This has the fingerprints of that same group written all over it, they go out of their way to get into confrontations with the police (they brag about traffic stops), push the absolute limit of legal antagonism, then cry victim if the cop gets frustrated and brings them in on some usually-BS charge of disturbing the peace or whatever.

    In short, while the details may indicate that the charge is bogus, it's important to understand we have a group of people here in NH who -actively try- to get charged with bogus crap by the police just to make a stink out of it.

    1. Re:I live in NH, this happens a lot. by Attila+Dimedici · · Score: 5, Interesting

      To be perfectly honest, I think this is perfectly legitimate. The police should approach someone who is standing on the street corner downtown carrying a firearm and a camcorder and question him. If he turns out to be a crackpot retorting with overly dramatic recitals of anything, the officer should politely inform him of any legal limits to his behavior and move on. When the police know they are interacting with such individuals they should go out of their way to be polite. These individuals should be viewed as obnoxious twits who, on those occasions when the police catch them doing something that they can be legitimately charged, as people who got what was coming to them. On those occasions when the police have no legitimate basis to charge these twits, they should be viewed (by both the general public and the police) as good training for police officers to treat innocent civilians with respect, even when those innocent civilians are annoying twits. Too often, the police view the general public as criminals they have yet to catch.

      --
      The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted. James Madison
  3. Re:America, land of the "free". by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Yeah, where they forbid you from photographying the coppers. Frankly the police are way, way out of hand. They invade people's homes, kill people, tazer them to death, beat them to death, sometimes just tazer and beat them but not quite to death, trump up false charges, hide records, destroy evidence... and that's just in our local state here in the good old US of A.

  4. Re:America, land of the "free". by kasperd · · Score: 1, Interesting

    What you are saying implies the police was doing terrorism.

    --

    Do you care about the security of your wireless mouse?
  5. Re:America, land of the "free". by harrytuttle777 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Funny thing you mention that. I was trying to do this EXACT thing. I had a one way ticket to what is considered a '3rd world' country. The nice ticketing agent at United Airlines asked me if I had a return ticket. I said no. She asked me if I was visiting family or friends. I said no. She asked when I would be returning. I said I was just going to play things by ear, and maybe do some sheep farming. She looked at me kind of funny. The really funny thing is that she 'determined' that my passport which has gotten me in and out of 4 different counties (in pretty much the same condition it is in now) no longer meets the TSA standards of legibility. I can read all the numbers just fine, but apparently just the presence of my passport in it's 'mutilated' condition is likely to bring the plane down. She also told me that i did not have a visa for the country in question, so I would not be able to travel. I checked on the counties website. You do not need a visa if traveling from the USA for vacation for periods of up to 3 months. But the United Airlines ticketing agents said that her records said this was not the case. She did not know which continent the country was on, but she was apparently an expert on the nations visa policies. I just hope the country updates their embassy website to make it consistent with the experts at United Airlines ticketing. (hasn't happened yet, but I am sure they will get on that right away)

    So in essence the United Airlines ticketing agents denied me the right to travel without having even gotten to the TSA agency.

  6. Re:America, land of the "free". by Jane+Q.+Public · · Score: 4, Interesting

    That depends. Many states have decided that places like shopping malls, etc., while technically private property, constitute "public places" when it comes to the matter of free speech. So for example in my state, people can stand outside of a grocery store -- on private property -- and protest or picket, as long as they do not harass the customers.

    But it seems to me that the Westboro people were there to intentionally disturb and harass the attendees. I think there is grounds for a suit on that alone.