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Once Again, Baltimore Police Arrest a Person For Recording Them
MobyDisk writes: A lawsuit was filed yesterday over a case in which a woman was arrested for recording the police from her car while stopped in traffic. Ars Technica writes, "Police erased the 135-second recording from the woman's phone, but it was recovered from her cloud account according to the Circuit Court for Baltimore City lawsuit, which seeks $7 million."
Baltimore police lost a similar case against Anthony Graber in 2010 and another against Christopher Sharp in 2014. The is happening so often in Baltimore that in 2012, the U.S. Department of Justice sent a letter to the police reminding them that they cannot stop recordings, and most certainly cannot delete them.
Local awareness of this issue is high since the the Mayor and the City Council support requiring police body cameras. The city council just passed a bill requiring them, but the mayor is delaying implementation until a task force determines how best to go about it. The country is also focused on police behavior in light of the recent cases in Ferguson and New York, the latter of which involved a citizen recording.
So the mayor, city council, police department policies, courts, and federal government are all telling police officers to stop doing this. Yet it continues to happen, and in a rather violent matter. What can people do to curb this problem?
Baltimore police lost a similar case against Anthony Graber in 2010 and another against Christopher Sharp in 2014. The is happening so often in Baltimore that in 2012, the U.S. Department of Justice sent a letter to the police reminding them that they cannot stop recordings, and most certainly cannot delete them.
Local awareness of this issue is high since the the Mayor and the City Council support requiring police body cameras. The city council just passed a bill requiring them, but the mayor is delaying implementation until a task force determines how best to go about it. The country is also focused on police behavior in light of the recent cases in Ferguson and New York, the latter of which involved a citizen recording.
So the mayor, city council, police department policies, courts, and federal government are all telling police officers to stop doing this. Yet it continues to happen, and in a rather violent matter. What can people do to curb this problem?
And get new ones. What's so difficult about that?
It's simple, if the police are flouting the law then fire the individuals concerned - the others will soon get the message.
Have a very obvious delete button on the recording device and make sure that all recording is backed up to the ‘cloud’ so it doesn't matter if said button is pressed.
Cop happy, you happy, everyone happy.
$7M paid by...The taxpayer!
No need to correct the problem when it's everyone else who pays for their mistakes.
Best solution? Encourage everyone to record every interaction with the police. This will systematically education the police on the rights of citizens.
Just like the 2nd Amendment public carry folks with a big old riffle slung over their shoulder on the sidewalk - it educated the police & public at the same time, and nobody gets hurt. (The the latter case, jimmes get russeled by some liberals, but, meh)
If theyre being recorded beating, torturing, or killing, as was the case in New York, they wont even be indicted. If they are, it just means they're acquitted later. If theyre suspended, they'll return to work after the public scrutiny latches onto something else. If they're fired, there are countless other departments that will hire them instead without so much as second-guessing their termination. Lawsuits dont seem to change the culture or nature of law enforcement in america, most citizens are simply viewed as the enemy, not those theyve been sworn to protect and serve.
Good people go to bed earlier.
Yet it continues to happen, and in a rather violent matter. What can people do to curb this problem?
How about putting police who violate peoples' civil rights in prison?
Taking guns away from the 99% gives the 1% 100% of the power.
You want to curb the problem? Have some high profile prosecutions.
Charge them criminally, kick them off the force, strip them of their pensions, make examples of them. It should be a felony for a police officer to do this, because they wield so much more power in this equation.
If the police aren't going to bother either learning, or following the law ... they have no business being police officers. If they can't get it through their heads they have no right to prevent this, then when they do it, bloody well lay charges.
The police are becoming thugs. And if they want to be thugs and criminals, start treating them as such.
And if the "good" cops won't stand up and get rid of the bad cops, they're just as guilty.
None of this circling the blue wall crap, and being on paid suspension. Fire the bastards.
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
If the police are going to break the law and become criminals, then we need vigilante justice to bring them to terms. The current systems in place don't hold them to account. If an officer is shot for any reason it should be automatically considered self defense and completely justified. If I need to worry about any interaction with a thug in blue being dangerous for my life, then preemptive killing of all thugs in blue is the only way to stay safe. They can't stay within the law, then they need to be taken out of the population.
I truly do feel a bit of joy every time I hear about a cop being killed. They have been out of control for far too long. And don't even try to say they aren't all bad. If the good ones aren't turning in their buddies for the crimes they see being committed or even arresting them, then they are bad too. It stands to reason if you turn in your fellow officers your work place will be very uncomfortable and you will not get the back up from others when you need it. So even the "good" ones turn bad when they are complicit in the crimes going on around them.
-- ssoorrrryy,, dduupplleexx sswwiittcchh oonn.. -Quote found on actual fortune cookie.
Tough talk on the interwebs, but that's all it is.
When you're being tased, or shot, or beaten senseless only to have a group of cops all lie about what happened ... your bravado will be so much electrons and hype. And they'll circle the wagons to say it was all you, and unless someone else gets a video of it ... you'll be pretty much screwed.
I'm not saying I disagree with your assessment. I just don't think it's going to work quite so well as you seem to think.
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
When the officer asks for your phone, it's easy.
SAY NO.
There. 'nuff said.
Officer: "Have you been recording me? Let me see your phone."
Person: "Officer, you may have my phone when I am presented with a signed warrant from a judge."
People keep saying "fire the officers", but this should be a criminal matter. Tampering with evidence, violation of civil rights under color of law, etc. Fire them, jail them as provided by law, make the settlement come out of their pocket (or, perhaps, the pension fund) instead of making the taxpayers foot the bill. HOLD THEM PERSONALLY ACCOUNTABLE AND RESPONSIBLE. Then, and only then, will it stop.
"Tell me doctor, with all of your defenses, are there any provisions for an attack by killer bees?"
I would suggest that when someone is being choked and can barely breathe, their words will not be complex, nor will they carry nuanced meanings such as the level of difficulty they are having with respiration. When faced with life-threatening situations, our minds focus, and become exceedingly direct: "I can't breathe" is entirely within the acceptable range of philosophical inaccuracy under those circumstances. You wanted him to say, instead, "my fellow man, I'm having a rather hard time re-oxegenating my blood -- would you mind releasing the pressure on my trachea for a moment?" Or, "I'm panting because you're crushing my thorax, and am unable to draw a full breath -- would you mind removing your knee from my chest?" Or, "my inability to form full words is because you've pinched off my carotids, and I'm facing imminent loss of consciousness -- would you mind removing your bear-sized hands from my neck?"
If someone in a highly stressful situation tells you "I can't breathe" then you should act accordingly to prevent loss of life. Simple as that.
Put my fist through my alarm clock with its ding-dong death inside my ear. - The Blackjacks.