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Man Charged With HIPAA Violations For Video Taping Police
Bob the Super Hamste writes "The St. Paul Pioneer Press is reporting that Andrew Henderson was recording Ramsey County sheriff's deputies frisking a bloody-faced man, who was then loaded into an ambulance by paramedics. Then sheriff's deputy Jacqueline Muellner approached Henderson and confiscated his video camera, stating, 'We'll just take this for evidence,' which was recorded on Henderson's cell phone. On October 30th, Henderson went to the Arden Hills sheriff's office to retrieve his video camera, where he was told where he would have to wait to receive his camera back. A week later, Henderson was charged with obstruction of legal process and disorderly conduct, with the citation stating, 'While handling a medical/check the welfare (call), (Henderson) was filming it. Data privacy HIPAA violation. Refused to identify self. Had to stop dealing with sit(uation) to deal w/Henderson.' In mid November, Henderson went back to the sheriff's office to attempt to retrieve his camera and get a copy of the report when Deputy Dan Eggers refused. ... Jennifer Granick, a specialist on privacy issues at Stanford University Law School, states that the alleged violation of HIPAA rules by Andrew Henderson is nonsense, stating, 'There's nothing in HIPAA that prevents someone who's not subject to HIPAA from taking photographs on the public streets, HIPAA has absolutely nothing to say about that.'"
The article notes that the Deputy in question basically told the guy he was arrested for being a "buttinski" and recording someone in the midst of a violent mental health breakdown. Supposedly the footage was deleted from the camera while in police custody.
For fraks sake. Will SCOTUS please making a damn ruling that absolutely allows for any and all recording of police officers in a public place no matter what? This is getting ridiculous.
Supposedly the evidence was deleted from the camera while in police custody.
Fixed that for ya.
What a surprise, cops are bullies, liars, and thugs. That's not exactly "news".
"Science flies us to the moon. Religion flies us into buildings." - Victor Stenger
I disagree and think that police should be allowed to be filmed in public places at all times, to help keep them honest.
At the same time, if I were being loaded into an ambulance by police, in the midst of a violent mental health breakdown, I would really appreciate it if the police stopped people from filming me. That's not something you want out spread around the internet.
"First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
Maybe I did something shameful and don't want it to be public?
Then you shouldn't have done it in public.
I live ze unknown. I love ze unknown. I am ze unknown.
There is *no privacy* in a *public* place. By definition. For any party, anywhere. How you act in public, witnesses around or not, is open to public knowledge--be it praiseworthy or ridicule-worthy.
Furthermore, if they first claim it was being taken in as evidence, then later they *deleted* the file--doesn't that constitute destruction of evidence (the source recording) on the police department's part? (unless they used full chain-of-custody and a data-forensics lab to copy the file?) Not to mention the obvious violation of his private information as well--I highly doubt they bothered to get a search warrant before perusing his phone's contents.
Can I be arrested for taking a video of someone with a limp? How about bad acne? How are any public cameras legal? How are police dash cams legal? Wouldn't these all be HIPAA violations?
HIPAA protects patients from medical entities and corporations, not from citizens on the street who have nothing to do with the dispensation of medical care.
CROOKED COPS.
I was crazy back when being crazy really meant something. (Charles Manson)
Since the recorded video was in fact a video/movie, and the MPAA has bought the laws that state that IP = P, then deleting the movie is destruction of property.
So we have
False Arrest
Aggrevated theft
Destruction of property
Making false police reports
Falsifying evidence
Evidence tampering
I'd say minimum 5 years in prison for the deputy.
Nice rant. Now get off the high horse and read the actual story.
Start by not using their language. They didn't "confiscate" his camera - they robbed him and stole his camera. See how that's suddenly a different story? But that's the *correct* version of it. "Confiscation" implies that they took it temporarily under some statutory authority. What they actually did was "strong-arm robbery", with an aggravating circumstance of "under color of law" or "with a gun", or both. That's a felony any way you slice it.
I read a lot of these stories, and the press and everybody discussing it uses the weasel language created by law enforcement to cover up LEO crimes. So, a kidnapping becomes a "false arrest" (no such thing, as an "arrest" is defined as "taking someone into custody *under legal authority*"), robbery becomes "confiscation", perjury becomes "made a mistake while filing a sworn affidavit", assault becomes "excessive force", etc. This is a problem. Start calling the crimes by their proper names and it suddenly becomes a lot more difficult to justify it or write it off.
The victim needs to go straight to the DA and demand prosecution. It wouldn't happen unless the prosecutor is honest (and there actually are a few), but with enough noise he'll get his camera back and hopefully someone will get at least a stern talking-to.
Do you have ESP?
the problem is that many of them are "secret" cameras.
So the system can ignore evidence, and only use the recordings when they deem fit.
I think that all police and government owned cameras not installed with a warrant, should produce footage which is public domain, and made available as web cams, with recorded copies available via FIOA
So if someone runs up and pantses you and another takes a pic of you in your skivvies, you were in public so there's no recourse for them posting it all over the Facebook?
No - "pantsing" someone, i.e. making unwelcome physical contact, is called "assault," possibly even "sexual assault," and is illegal. Posting a picture, obtained illegally, in a public forum is also a crime, probably harassment (but more likely, defamation), and is prosecutable in civil court at the very least.
Videotaping cops doing their jobs in a public place is not assault, nor is it harassment. Also worth note - the cops do not get to press charges on your behalf (as the cop in this tale apparently took it upon herself to do), they merely serve the charges being filed and make arrests if necessary.
An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
Did you not read the rest of the post? That suggestion is great for genuine shit, but what exactly should someone not do in order to avoid a false arrest?
Stay as far away from cops as possible, at all times. Or, appear to be very, very wealthy - that seems to be the best option.
sad, but true.
An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
I was merely pointing out the most common thing people do with such videos, and what officer said she was trying to prevent.
Note that the officer said this AFTER THE FACT while trying to justify their own illegal behavior.
Also, it is irrelevant what the individuals mental state was, this was an event taking place in PUBLIC involving PUBLIC SERVENTS. In other words, a PUBLIC EVENT.
If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
The only thing that is going to stop these abuses are actual penalties. At the very least the deputy needs to be charged with armed robbery, he took a citizen's property at the point of a gun when he knew he had no legal grounds to do so. The Sheriff needs to be charged with conspiracy, and willful destruction of evidence in a criminal case for erasing the video. Once the police start serving time in prison instead of paid administrative leave, this illegal practice will end.