(YOUTUBE) Rochester Policeman Arrests Woman For Videotaping Him From Her Front Yard

[HailGreen28]

(YOUTUBE) Rochester Policeman Arrests Woman For Videotaping Him From Her Front Yard

Looks like a cop making everybody else look bad. Is the recording actually illegal?

[Henry]

I generally defend police, but this appears to be an abuse of power. The officer did reference something she said before she started taping that made him not feel safe, but it would have had to have been something pretty bad to justify him walking onto her own property and arresting her.

[Unforgiven]

It is not illegal to record the police in public. It becomes a bit more vague if you try to conceal the fact you're recording.

However she was very polite (at least in the video) and on her own property clearly letting them know what she was doing. I'm pro law enforcement (meaning I generally side with police if the situation is unclear, they have a hard job) but that police officer seemed like a punk.

He gets mad because he can't boss her around. So he tries to say he's afraid of a tiny woman, clearly unarmed, standing on her own property with a video camera.

[chipwhich]

I generally defend police, but this appears to be an abuse of power. The officer did reference something she said before she started taping that made him not feel safe, but it would have had to have been something pretty bad.

In any instance when a citizen is purposely being an ass just to make a political point, I side with the police.

He should have pepper sprayed her too

[Henry]

In any instance when a citizen is purposely being an ass just to make a political point, I side with the police.

Generally I do to. It becomes murkier for me when that citizen is standing on her own property.

[Brad_Edwards_Fan]

I dont know the rule in NY, but in many states it is actually against the law to record an on duty officer whether you are concealing it or not. It goes back to consent laws for wire/video in those states. Places where both parties need to consent AND there is no exclusion for recording in public places where there is no expectation of privacy you would actually need the officer's permission. What is crazy is that this also applies to you recording something where it would later be useful to your own defense.

[Henry]

I dont know the rule in NY, but in many states it is actually against the law to record an on duty officer whether you are concealing it or not. It goes back to consent laws for wire/video in those states. Places where both parties need to consent AND there is no exclusion for recording in public places where there is no expectation of privacy you would actually need the officer's permission. What is crazy is that this also applies to you recording something where it would later be useful to your own defense.

If the police officer had said it's illegal to record him and arrested her on those grounds I'd say the arrest was completely appropriate.

[Destino]

Why the pro-law enforcement disclaimers? I don't care if it's a cop or an alligator. The party in the wrong is in the wrong and the facts interest me more than the job title. Having said that states have been outlawing taping cops so get used to this.

[Unforgiven]

It wasn't illegal for her to tape him, he simply didn't like the fact she was doing it, so he decided to arrest for something he simply disliked. It's an abuse of power...

Also, they had a community meeting in support of the woman, and shockingly a bunch of police showed up with rulers and gave anyone even an inch out of place a parking ticket.

http://gawker.com/5815482/watch-police-in-rochester-waste-taxpayer-money

Good use of tax payers money.

[Henry]

Why the pro-law enforcement disclaimers? I don't care if it's a cop or an alligator. The party in the wrong is in the wrong and the facts interest me more than the job title. Having said that states have been outlawing taping cops so get used to this.

Don't lie Des. You hate cops.

[SnyderShrugged]

curious what the justification is to pass a law that makes recording a public official illegal?

[ACW]

Brad, not necessarily true. Illinois is terrible:

Here's where it gets even worse: Originally, the Illinois eavesdropping law did also include a similar expectation of privacy provision. But the legislature stripped that provision out in 1994, and they did so in response to an incident in which a citizen recorded his interaction with two on-duty police officers. In other words, the Illinois legislature specifically intended to make it a Class I felony, punishable by up to 15 years in prison, to make an audio recording of an on-duty police officer without his permission.

And this gem:

But there is one exception to this rule: If you work for the government, particularly in law enforcement, you can be forgiven for not knowing the law.

Last year, Maryland motorcyclist Anthony Graber was stopped by a state trooper for speeding and reckless driving. The confrontational stop was recorded by Graber's helmet camera, and Graber later posted the audio and video to YouTube. Graber was later raided, arrested, jailed and charged with two felonies for recording his conversation with the state trooper.

Had Graber lived in Illinois, he would have broken the law, and he would be looking at up to 15 years in prison. Several people in Illinois are facing similar charges, and none of them will be permitted to defend themselves by saying they didn't know what they were doing was illegal.

But it turns out that is perfectly legal to record on-duty police officers in Maryland. A state judge later dismissed the charges against Graber in a strongly-worded opinion, stating in no uncertain terms that the cops who raided Graber's home and the prosecutor who charged him were wrong about the law.

But despite the fact that these law enforcement officials wrongly raided, arrested, jailed and charged Graber based on a mistaken understanding of the law, they face no repercussions. It's unlikely Graber will even be able to sue. Prosecutors have absolute immunity from lawsuits related to the decisions they make about whether or not to charge someone with a crime, even when they are clearly wrong about the law.

Police don't have to know the law; citizens do.

Radley's done a LOT of work. Why are cops afraid of being taped?

[HailGreen28]

In any instance when a citizen is purposely being an ass just to make a political point, I side with the police.

He should have pepper sprayed her too

lol. Here's your sign.

Appreciate the info, guys. Question: Is it legal to videotape like that in North Carolina? I don't anticipate doing it, but I always carry my phone and record some stuff......

[No Excuses]

It wasn't illegal for her to tape him, he simply didn't like the fact she was doing it, so he decided to arrest for something he simply disliked. It's an abuse of power...

Also, they had a community meeting in support of the woman, and shockingly a bunch of police showed up with rulers and gave anyone even an inch out of place a parking ticket.

http://gawker.com/5815482/watch-police-in-rochester-waste-taxpayer-money

Good use of tax payers money.

Lol @ using rulers to measure distance from the curb. This video is a lot worse than the chick who got arrested. Brilliant waste of time. I like how the cop has a pink ruler. Real defender of justice.

[CRobi21]

I dont know whats dumber. Saying you dont feel safe with the woman video taping behind you. Or the lady continuing to argue with the cop after being threatened with arrest. i guess im not much of a fighter. but it juseems dumb to argue with an officer. i say as little as i can and use yes sir no sir and they usually return the respect.

Idk. Just seems silly

[adam@section118]

I dont know whats dumber. Saying you dont feel safe with the woman video taping behind you. Or the lady continuing to argue with the cop after being threatened with arrest. i guess im not much of a fighter. but it juseems dumb to argue with an officer. i say as little as i can and use yes sir no sir and they usually return the respect.

Idk. Just seems silly

I agree.

Hard to say who is at fault when the tape only record so much, but 2 things I thought of right away

1. The cop looks like an idiot

2. The woman is an idiot, I mean, that camera surely could record from her front door. Then if he comes and arrests her inside the home its a whole different story.

Lastly, gotta love the cops with the rulers. I would hope heads would roll for that, talk about a silly waste of tax payers money

[Unforgiven]

Yeah, the whole situation is stupid. I realize the woman is probably an 'activist' and they might even know her already. The thing is, even if she is an annoying pain in the ass...you're just giving her exactly what she wants. The easy thing would be to simply finish your stop and move on and she has nothing and wastes her time. Instead he makes up some nonsense to arrest her on, which will get thrown out, so he waste his and courts time (and the courts money). They top it off with taking a bunch of officers down to harass her supporters (a rep from the police said those guys weren't even assigned to ruler patrol).

There are always going to be annoying pain in the ass people who do this kind of stuff, but you don't do yourself or your department any favors by stooping down to this level.

[Destino]

Don't lie Des. You hate cops.

Not at all I just think that history has taught us enough about giving people with power an automatic benefit of the doubt to know such a stance is foolish. People in every position of power from constantly and consistently are caught using it wrongly. From President's to Priest's. Law enforcement officers are human last I checked.

[aREDSKIN]

I dont know the rule in NY, but in many states it is actually against the law to record an on duty officer whether you are concealing it or not. It goes back to consent laws for wire/video in those states. Places where both parties need to consent AND there is no exclusion for recording in public places where there is no expectation of privacy you would actually need the officer's permission. What is crazy is that this also applies to you recording something where it would later be useful to your own defense.

This only applies to AUDIO recordings. Since video cameras record AUDIO that's the LEO's MO/defense. However, many courts are becoming reasonable and will throw out these arrests & prosecutions for these types of IMO erroneous arrests.

Edit-

"The legal argument prosecutors rely on in police video cases is thin. They say the audio aspect of the videos violates wiretap laws because, in some states, both parties to a conversation must consent to having a private conversation recorded. The hole in their argument is the word "private." A police officer arresting or questioning someone on a highway or street is not having a private conversation. He is engaging in a public act.

Even if these cases do not hold up in court, the police can do a lot of damage just by threatening to arrest and prosecute people. "We see a fair amount of intimidation — police saying, 'You can't do that. It's illegal,'" says Christopher Calabrese, a lawyer with the ACLU's Washington office. It discourages people from filming, he says, even when they have the right to film."

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2008566,00.html

[Hubbs]

I generally defend police, but this appears to be an abuse of power. The officer did reference something she said before she started taping that made him not feel safe, but it would have had to have been something pretty bad to justify him walking onto her own property and arresting her.

I don't think he referenced something that happened before she started to tape. He just said that he "didn't feel safe" while she was taping him, which isn't enough of a reason to arrest someone.

In any instance when a citizen is purposely being an ass just to make a political point, I side with the police.

He should have pepper sprayed her too

Funny, I thought one of the things we value in this country is the ability to make a political point to the police without being thrown in jail. One of those weird "freedoms" that elementary school teachers seem to talk about all the time.

[adam@section118]

Hubbs, I thought I heard him say "Do you remember what I told you earlier". I could be wrong, but I took that to mean before she started taping

For all we know, she could be a major P.I.A and he could have been referencing something he said hours, days, weeks or even months ago.

[Barney B]

The ruler tickets represent something a little bit uglier than just a waste of taxpayer money. Although it's not exactly the Spanish Inquisition, it's still an attempt to intimidate the public with unusually vigorous enforcement of a minor parking regulation, and it's petty.

This is a department in need of a slap on the wrist. Any bets on whether there'll be any?

.

[Burgold]

I'm not sure how this can be against the law since we are allowed to have home security systems that include video cameras. Clearly, if you have a video surveilance system it is entirely possible that a cop could stroll by your lawn. The system can't be legal for 23 hours 59 minutes and 40 seconds of each day. More, we are allowed to film on our property. Seems to me that the cop doesn't have much of a case. Mind you, I haven't read the article, but just skimmed some posts.

[Thiebear]

The cruiser can and will video tape us and use that in a court of law.

Video taping him from your private property can't be seem as the same thing?

How is video taping both useable and illegal depending on the point of view pass any common sense test?

[Teller]

When I worked in law enforcement, anyone approaching me during a traffic stop, that wasn't involved, was given a stern warning to back away until I was finished. They might even get a second warning. They would not get a third.

And just so you know, if you didn't already, the single worst thing people can do (albeit, usually inadvertently) is walk up, or stand, behind a police officer. I'm still jumpy when people come up behind me, and I've been out of LE for 6 years.