CEO of ThinkPenguin, Inc arrested for filming police • Hacker News Board

Re: CEO of ThinkPenguin, Inc arrested for filming police

#101

Post by kerkeslager » Mon, Apr 24, 2017, 3:54 PM UTC

musgrove wrote: post #63

Filming police isn't against the law in the US, so that wasn't the charge as the clickbait title states. If the guy wanted to be forthright he could have listed the complaint(s) that are on his summons instead of making up a different scenario. This guy's obviously looking for trouble; filiming police for no good reason; getting himself arrested for no good reason; then going online and being deceptive about it to ge…

He was arrested for disorderly conduct. The only conduct he was conducting according to his account was filming the police, so it seems clear that filming the police was the disorderly conduct for which he was arrested.

Filming the police isn't (or shouldn't be) illegal in the US, but catch-all laws which are enforced at police discretion make it de facto illegal where police decide it is.

I think of you're accusing him of making up a different scenario here, you'd need to have some evidence which wasn't presented.

Re: CEO of ThinkPenguin, Inc arrested for filming police

#102

Post by jtuente » Mon, Apr 24, 2017, 3:55 PM UTC

ajross wrote: post #71

praneshp wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Absolutely yes, in this case. I'd prefer the officers went home to their families. If you want to go around pointing your phone at everything, you need to stop and think about the consequences.

Genuinely confused about this morality. Why is it more correct that the officers "went home to their families" than that this innocent guy died in front of his? I mean, I can understand arguing that sometimes protective violence is necessary and accepting that tragedies happen. But you're literally taking a side here and saying that police lives are more important than ours. Why?

It's not a rationalization that police lives are more important, but rather about the stupidity of holding up a phone in such a way towards the police engaged in a dangerous situation that it appears as though you are acting aggressively towards them. The officers only have a limited time to assess the threat of any given person before more lives are lost due to an unknown danger. It's a high stress situation and wrong decisions are easily made. The officers weren't right in their immediate assessment of the danger, but that doesn't mean their actions were unwarranted.

Re: CEO of ThinkPenguin, Inc arrested for filming police

#103

Post by oblio » Mon, Apr 24, 2017, 3:55 PM UTC

sambull wrote: post #3

In my county they opened fire on someone filming the police recently. Turns out having video evidence is the ONLY way a policeman can be wrong.

You conveniently left out the part where the "victim" was shooting dozens of rounds at a nearby house (!!!).

Re: CEO of ThinkPenguin, Inc arrested for filming police

#104

Post by golergka » Mon, Apr 24, 2017, 3:56 PM UTC

bougiefever wrote: post #68

swsieber wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To be fair, it probably looked like a gun from a distance. The police were in the neighborhood confronting somebody with a machine gun - not smart to take an action that looks like pointing a gun in a type of situation where one side has decided they need machine guns . It's not to excuse the behavior of the police..., but if you're pointing something at the police from across the street, it's hard to see the profile…

I think it's fair, if you're going to use deadly force, to first find out with a much, much greater degree of certainty, that there actually is a weapon, and if so that they actually are in danger. Too many cowardly and scared police shooting at shadows and noises. "It's not to excuse the behavior of the police.." And yes, your comment is excusing the behavior of the police. Just saying that you didn't just excuse th…

Taking time to raise level of certainty will, with high probability, give the other guy time to shoot you.

This is one untypical case that makes the news, so you're thinking about optimizing decision making for this case; all the cases where police actually get shot don't.

Re: CEO of ThinkPenguin, Inc arrested for filming police

#105

Post by jMyles » Mon, Apr 24, 2017, 3:57 PM UTC

musgrove wrote: post #63

Filming police isn't against the law in the US, so that wasn't the charge as the clickbait title states. If the guy wanted to be forthright he could have listed the complaint(s) that are on his summons instead of making up a different scenario. This guy's obviously looking for trouble; filiming police for no good reason; getting himself arrested for no good reason; then going online and being deceptive about it to ge…

> filiming police for no good reason

The existence of the state is reason enough - that's the whole point of the first amendment protections for the press.

Re: CEO of ThinkPenguin, Inc arrested for filming police

#106

Post by nickpsecurity » Mon, Apr 24, 2017, 3:57 PM UTC

lohengramm wrote: post #81

Seems like the guy calls himself a "copchaser" and is used to actuallly chase police officers, annoyingly record their action and make sure to insult them while teaching them a lesson about how to do their job. And he calls all that "standing his ground". I am sure police officers can be jerks or even completely criminals, but this guy really seems to be crossing the line of common sense. Source: the YT channel himse…

"Seems like the guy calls himself a "copchaser" and is used to actuallly chase police officers, annoyingly record their action and make sure to insult them while teaching them a lesson about how to do their job. And he calls all that "standing his ground"."

That's what I was seeing in the video I watched. Dude is a disgrace to activists. Last thing we need is more people acting like that toward police in a way that makes corporate media regularly. Voters would be pushing against police accountability more than dealing with police corruption.

Best this stuff is done in a neutral, polite way from terms used (eg CopWatch vs CopChasers) to how one speaks to the cops (respectfully). Activists need the moral, high ground against the cops when viewers or juries start asking where the problems in a confrontation really started. "And if he acts this way on camera, what might he have said off camera to them?" they'll ask.

Re: CEO of ThinkPenguin, Inc arrested for filming police

#107

Post by ithought » Mon, Apr 24, 2017, 3:57 PM UTC

lohengramm wrote: post #81

Seems like the guy calls himself a "copchaser" and is used to actuallly chase police officers, annoyingly record their action and make sure to insult them while teaching them a lesson about how to do their job. And he calls all that "standing his ground". I am sure police officers can be jerks or even completely criminals, but this guy really seems to be crossing the line of common sense. Source: the YT channel himse…

And why shouldn't they? Police departments and city officials across the US routinely lie, obsfucate and remove any sense of accountability for police officers who commit crimes or make mistakes.

Look at the case of the murder of Laquan McDonald in Chicago. The lying and stonewalling is a common occurrence. It's not just a few bad apples, it's a bad system that promotes escalation and grants power without accountability.

It took the prosecuting attorney 15 months to charge the Chicago cop (Van Dyke) with first degree murder. And this was long after the family resigned to believe their son was at fault. It took a whistleblower to come forward to start a long figh for the truth.

After the courts forced the police to release the videotape to the family, whereas the City Council immediately votes to give the family $5 million with the agreement to keep the tape private before they even filed a lawsuit. It took someone else getting the video for it to become public and the cop to be charged.

Being annoying or insulting to governmet employees isn't a crime.

Re: CEO of ThinkPenguin, Inc arrested for filming police

#108

Post by sandworm101 » Mon, Apr 24, 2017, 3:57 PM UTC

lohengramm wrote: post #81

Seems like the guy calls himself a "copchaser" and is used to actuallly chase police officers, annoyingly record their action and make sure to insult them while teaching them a lesson about how to do their job. And he calls all that "standing his ground". I am sure police officers can be jerks or even completely criminals, but this guy really seems to be crossing the line of common sense. Source: the YT channel himse…

There is a mindset amongst many that police should never stop, question or even talk to people without some level of suspecion of wrongdoing. They see most any checkpoint as a threat to basic libery. Such "chasers", rather than the silent watchers who dont scream at officers, are extreemists who take laws and constitutional constructions far to literally.

Re: CEO of ThinkPenguin, Inc arrested for filming police

#109

Post by ceejayoz » Mon, Apr 24, 2017, 3:58 PM UTC

lohengramm wrote: post #81

Seems like the guy calls himself a "copchaser" and is used to actuallly chase police officers, annoyingly record their action and make sure to insult them while teaching them a lesson about how to do their job. And he calls all that "standing his ground". I am sure police officers can be jerks or even completely criminals, but this guy really seems to be crossing the line of common sense. Source: the YT channel himse…

Being a douchebag is still protected by the First Amendment, though.

Re: CEO of ThinkPenguin, Inc arrested for filming police

#110

Post by vladimirralev » Mon, Apr 24, 2017, 3:58 PM UTC

dewitt wrote: post #29

Seems incredibly ill-advised to be publicly discussing what is sure to result in legal action. Even as one-sided as this is, the best he can do is incriminate himself. The other side will wait until due process requires them to disclose their case. At best he's trying to rally opinion (why?), at worst he's just seeking attention, and either way he's just making things worse on himself. As a CEO he just associated his…

Publicity is probably far more valuable in this case. Even if he loses the suit he will be able to brand himself as someone who stands for common sense rights and get even more publicity eventually.