In at least three states, it is now illegal to record any on-duty police officer.

In response to a flood of Facebook and YouTube videos that depict police abuse, a new trend in law enforcement is gaining popularity. In at least three states, it is now illegal to record any on-duty police officer.

Even if the encounter involves you and may be necessary to your defense, and even if the recording is on a public street where no expectation of privacy exists.

The legal justification for arresting the "shooter" rests on existing wiretapping or eavesdropping laws, with statutes against obstructing law enforcement sometimes cited. Illinois, Massachusetts, and Maryland are among the 12 states in which all parties must consent for a recording to be legal unless, as with TV news crews, it is obvious to all that recording is underway. Since the police do not consent, the camera-wielder can be arrested. Most all-party-consent states also include an exception for recording in public places where "no expectation of privacy exists" (Illinois does not) but in practice this exception is not being recognized.

Massachusetts attorney June Jensen represented Simon Glik who was arrested for such a recording. She explained, "he statute has been misconstrued by Boston police. You could go to the Boston Common and snap pictures and record if you want." Legal scholar and professor Jonathan Turley agrees, "The police are basing this claim on a ridiculous reading of the two-party consent surveillance law - requiring all parties to consent to being taped. I have written in the area of surveillance law and can say that this is utter nonsense."


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http://gizmodo.com/5553765/are-cameras-the-new-guns

More and more, they take away our only ways of fighting back. If we hit back against the police we get charged with felonies, not to mention we get tased and beaten. And now if we film them we go to jail?

Outrageous and fascist.

And if any state needed cameras pointed at its cops, it's ours. This makes me ill.

Since they often record police officers while on duty..

The unintended consequences of this decision should be amusing to observe.

camera? Let's say there's a security camera over there on that parking garage. I get into an accident on the street nearby and the camera happens to catch it. I go to court over the accident and the video from that camera is used to show that I was at fault in the accident. But, I was in Maryland at the time of the accident and I did not give my permission to be filmed by that camera. Is the video evidence illegal because it was obtained illegally?

Don't know if this is a good analogy, but do you know what I mean?

I'm under the impression these laws are intended to be limited to police officers but there's no telling how it will all end up.

With any other Supreme Court I'd say that this was ripe for being overturned. It's virtually a 1st amendment violation of the freedom of the press. With the current court, I'm not so sure.

Consent should be considered automatic for those acting in a public capacity. Absent a credible national security reason we have the right to know everything the government does, for there is no way to be represented on an issue that you aren't allowed to know about.

when power is trying to make the pursuit of said truth illegal?

I don't see anything in the Constitution protecting law enforcement's privacy in the exeution of their duties.

and there's nothing we can do about it.

Those responsible are motherfucking, Satan's-cock-sucking traitors.

They should be behind bars awaiting their executions.

I just had to add that.

:sarcasm:

By closing all doors, they only leave the choice of the people opening new ones.

Flat out - the police should not be immune to observation and recording of their bad behavior. This will end up in front of the Supreme Court. If the right wing crowd on the Court say this is OK, we are all in trouble.

Of course, passive resistance to these laws is easy - every citizen should mount dash cams in their cars, keep mini-cams in their pockets and record police officers every chance we get.

..."if you're not doing anything wrong, you have nothing to fear" argument?

But don't forget the "some animals are more equal than others" argument. In this case, as in Orwell's example, the more-equals are the pigs.

they have lied and the only way anyone knows what really happened is that there is video of it. and the cops know that. they know that they can beat someone up and say they were 'resisting arrest' or something and no matter what the victim says they will believe the cops.

Even the current RW SCOTUS might agree on that.

All sheep share a common destiny.

people.

:argh: