Growing Number of Prosecutions for Videotaping the Police
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Re: Growing Number of Prosecutions for Videotaping the Police
#2I wish I had ten upvotes for this. Or a hundred.
I love devil's advocate, so I'll say this just as a way of keeping things in perspective: not a lot of folks would want people videotaping everything they did at work and putting it on YouTube (along with criticisms) I know it would drive me nuts.
Society as a whole is going to have to go through some major contortions as people get their heads wrapped around the idea that everything -- and I mean everything -- is going to be digitized and recorded. Cops are pushing back first, but I expect lots more professions to have problems with this as well. A huge shift is going to be that most folks are going to learn exactly what policing is all about. Overall I think this is going to be good, but hell if I'd want to have to live through the changes if I were a policeman.
Re: Growing Number of Prosecutions for Videotaping the Police
#3I wish I had ten upvotes for this. Or a hundred. I love devil's advocate, so I'll say this just as a way of keeping things in perspective: not a lot of folks would want people videotaping everything they did at work and putting it on YouTube (along with criticisms) I know it would drive me nuts. Society as a whole is going to have to go through some major contortions as people get their heads wrapped around the idea…
I wish all cars came with black boxes and 360-degree video coverage so that we could voluntarily supply this information. People lie when they get into a fender bender. (Note: if you live in a neighborhood where people key cars, either stop parking like a douche or you need to move to a better neighborhood. If people feel free to vandalize in a place, they'll also do other crime.)
I'd pay $300 for a device I could just forget about until I needed it. If I recall correctly, video cameras without sound do not violate most wiretapping laws.
Re: Growing Number of Prosecutions for Videotaping the Police
#4There's just something massively wrong with "public servants" claiming they can't be photographed while performing a public service.
Bullshit. There would be no complaints if some of them weren't incriminating abusive cops.
Notice how many of the cases against photographing are in potential (or blatant) police-abuse situations. The public and the government should be applauding citizens for helping to maintain control, not punishing.
Re: Growing Number of Prosecutions for Videotaping the Police
#5I wish I had ten upvotes for this. Or a hundred. I love devil's advocate, so I'll say this just as a way of keeping things in perspective: not a lot of folks would want people videotaping everything they did at work and putting it on YouTube (along with criticisms) I know it would drive me nuts. Society as a whole is going to have to go through some major contortions as people get their heads wrapped around the idea…
I wish all cars came with black boxes and 360-degree video coverage so that we could voluntarily supply this information. People lie when they get into a fender bender. (Note: if you live in a neighborhood where people key cars, either stop parking like a douche or you need to move to a better neighborhood. If people feel free to vandalize in a place, they'll also do other crime.) I'd pay $300 for a device I could ju…
I had a teenage girl rear-end my car and total it back in the 90s. I was pulling out on to a 4-lane road at night in an underpowered car, she was 1/3 mile away. She dropped her cell phone about the time I pulled out, so she never even saw me, even though I was in her lane for ten seconds or more.
She slammed into me at about 65. I was doing maybe 30. It was a hell of a wreck. Thank the stars nobody got hurt.
At the time she was very apologetic, humbled, and embarrassed. She was crying -- it was quite a sight. The trooper wrote her up, and I gently made sure the trooper noted that she said this was her fault.
Three months later when the court date came, it was a different girl. By then she had convinced herself that we were at fault -- she was not speeding or doing anything wrong, we had pulled out in front of her without giving her time to slow down
I honestly think she didn't feel like she was lying. Memory is just a funny thing.
I wish we had one of the cams you're talking about. Seems like there is a tremendous need for them (hint! hint!)
Re: Growing Number of Prosecutions for Videotaping the Police
#6Was the camera obscured - as it appears to be? In which case I can kinda see the issue they have (i.e. unaware of being filmed). That seems different from most of the other cases where the filming was pretty overt.
Still; it is an extremely bad reaction even so.
The thing that shocked me most was.... he drew his gun. Are things really that bad that a traffic stop requires a drawn weapon? Jesus :(
Re: Growing Number of Prosecutions for Videotaping the Police
#7Was the camera obscured - as it appears to be? In which case I can kinda see the issue they have (i.e. unaware of being filmed). That seems different from most of the other cases where the filming was pretty overt. Still; it is an extremely bad reaction even so. The thing that shocked me most was.... he drew his gun. Are things really that bad that a traffic stop requires a drawn weapon? Jesus :(
edit: danhood found a pic of the camera + helmet, and it fits compared to the video (IMO). Not obscured at all (also IMO). Go give them the points :)
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Obscured: probably. It's a helmet-camera, so it's likely small, and may not appear as such at first glance.
But still. One's behavior should not change when being recorded, especially not a cop.
Re: Growing Number of Prosecutions for Videotaping the Police
#8These prosecutions aren't just wrong, they're un-American. How police and prosecutors sworn to uphold the law can abuse it to this extent boggles the mind.
Re: Growing Number of Prosecutions for Videotaping the Police
#9I used to think Steve "wearable PC" Mann was a crackpot, but his sousveillance [1] argument is making more and more sense.
Re: Growing Number of Prosecutions for Videotaping the Police
#10Funny how "If you're not doing anything wrong, then you have nothing to fear" only works when the authorities are recording what you say and do and not when you do the same to them.