Arrested for Videotaping

[Vashta Nerada]

A ray of hope, from a county deputy:

The clip shows activists Ashley Jessica and Jason Bermas handing out flyers warning travelers about the dangers of x-ray body scanners at Albany International Airport in New York.

Almost as soon as the activists begin to hand out the flyers, they are confronted by an aggressive airport official later named as Douglas Myers, the airport's Director of Public Affairs.

Myers orders the activists to leave the top floor and later takes the unprecedented step of closing off the entire level and preventing families from meeting their loved ones. He subsequently claims the activists need a permit and a $1 million dollar insurance liability merely to film inside the airport, despite the fact that the TSA's own website clearly states that TSA checkpoints can be filmed at any airport.

Myers' attempts to get the activists in trouble with police are derailed when Sheriff Stan Lenic steps in to handle the situation, pointing out to Myers that they have a right to film under the First Amendment.

"Obviously this is your constitutional right, as far as we're concerned you're not breaking any laws," Sheriff Lenic tells Bermas.

When Myers asks the Sheriff to detain the activists, Lenic responds, "I can't do that."

Myers then asks for Bermas' identification, to which Sheriff Lenic responds, "He doesn't have to show you his identification."

"I need to get it from you," Myers tells the Sheriff as he winks at him, to which Sheriff Lenic responds "I can't give you that."

"Just so you know, he's not doing anything wrong," Deputy Lenic forcefully tells Myers, before quoting the New York penal law code.

"If I was to ask for his identification he does not have to give it to me because he's not doing anything wrong," adds Lenic.

Myers' claim that Jessica is blocking the escalator is also dismissed by Lenic. Myers then claims the filming is illegal because it is "commercial" and could appear on the Drudge Report – which is a news aggregator and not a commercial website.

Meanwhile, the pigheadedness continues elsewhere:

A Florida woman spent the night in jail this week after attempting to document her own police encounter.
http://www.storyleak.com/woman-thrown-jail-legally-recording-traffic-stop/

Although Florida currently has a two-party consent law, which dictates that both parties must consent to being recorded, the supreme court has upheld that police officers do not have an expectation of privacy while working in public, therefore can be recorded without prior approval.
"You are committing a felony. Hand me the phone," Deputy O'Brien says.
By the end of the altercation, Berning is arrested and dragged to O'Brien's police car, left with scrapes, bruises and a strained wrist.
Despite the deputy continually claiming her actions were illegal, Berning was only charged with resisting arrest and minor traffic violations, leading many to believe O'Brien knowingly violated her First Amendment.

Just this week, a New York man was assaulted and arrested for video recording a police encounter from 30 feet away. Although the offending officer believed he had deleted the man's footage, a police report was soon called into question as the footage was recovered, contradicting the officer's claims.
http://photographyisnotacrime.com/2014/02/17/nypd-cop-attacks-man-video-recording-deleting-footage-man-recovers-footage/

Officers from the Newark Police Department attempted to take a man's cellphone last year after claiming it could potentially be a firearm, a strange new tactic officers have used to avoid being filmed.
http://www.infowars.com/cops-being-trained-that-cell-phones-could-be-guns/

[heironymouspasparagus]

Meanwhile, the pigheadedness ignorance continues elsewhere:

Let me fix that for you.....

[heironymouspasparagus]

This Tulsa Police Sergeant admits he isnt sure about the law he is enforcing, yet insists he doesn't need to be told the law.
....like how he complains about being photographed, saying the people he is confronting are confrontational.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvDx9V2VqPQ

Do we give these guys no training at all before we give them guns and put them on the street???

[patric]

Do we give these guys no training at all before we give them guns and put them on the street???

Between all the lost lawsuits and federal civil rights decisions being handed down, how can they not know they are flaunting the law?

[Vashta Nerada]

I have the 'drone' now...

http://www.dailybreeze.com/government-and-politics/20140624/south-bay-man-who-records-police-officers-on-video-goes-high-tech-with-drone

South Bay man who records police officers on video goes high-tech with drone

Lennox resident and part-time police watchdog Daniel Saulmon uses his Phantom quadcopter to record police officers in hopes of uncovering wrongdoing. The remote-controlled copters capture wide-angle images primarily for scenic views.

Daniel Saulmon's name evokes groans, sighs and even some chuckles when South Bay police officers hear it.

He's been a thorn in their sides for years, showing up on his bicycle at traffic stops and crime scenes at all hours of the day and night.

Armed with a video camera, the unemployed 42-year-old Lennox man considers himself a crusader for justice, protecting people's rights as they encounter the police. Sometimes, however, he draws the ire of patrol officers, provoking them into angry responses during confrontations when they demand to know why he is recording them.

Declaring his First Amendment rights, Saulmon posts his hostile encounters on YouTube and his own website, mistakenbacon.com, garnering hundreds of thousands of views.

"My relationship with the local police is surprisingly good," Saulmon said Tuesday. "Most all of them treat me with respect. But occasionally there will be unexpected surprises. I just want to be able to record them so I can document what they are doing. There are some things going on that I feel are inappropriate. I intend to catch them if they break the law."

Saulmon's recording devices have evolved over the years. When he first started more than a decade ago, he would use a stationary camera in his car. He then progressed to a small camera attached to his bicycle helmet. (He rides a bike because his driver's license was suspended.)

And now he has moved high-tech. Saulmon purchased a $1,400 DJI Phantom drone about two months ago and has begun flying it over crime scenes, at traffic stops, near oil refineries and the Hermosa Beach Pier. The camera attached to the drone is equipped with a wide-angle lens.

"Mostly it takes pretty pictures," Saulmon said. "I'm going to hopefully use it for things other than recording the police."

NSFW Video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iF58tnUMveo

[heironymouspasparagus]

I gotta get one of those!  That looks like the best toy Ever!!

[Hoss]

I gotta get one of those!  That looks like the best toy Ever!!

They are quite fun.  This jackass, however, gives the reputable hobbyist a bad name.  As did the guy who flew one into PNC Park (where the Pittsburgh Pirates play) becase he 'thought it would be fun'.  http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2014/06/27/man-flies-drone-over-pnc-park-during-game/

I fly them as far away from people as possible.

Here are a few of my first flights.

https://vimeo.com/bigtulsa

[dbacksfan 2.0]

They are quite fun.  This jackass, however, gives the reputable hobbyist a bad name.  As did the guy who flew one into PNC Park (where the Pittsburgh Pirates play) becase he 'thought it would be fun'.  http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2014/06/27/man-flies-drone-over-pnc-park-during-game/

I fly them as far away from people as possible.

Here are a few of my first flights.

https://vimeo.com/bigtulsa

Half tempted to buy one. Going to an event in September that has the potential to be a Guinness Record for the largest gathering of Miata's in the US, and potentially a world record. Would be cool to have video or stills from above for my own.

http://miatasatmazdaraceway.com/

http://us8.campaign-archive2.com/?u=4336946d2b5438c12e38389a8&id=5cbbdf24f3&e=906da6fc81

[Vashta Nerada]

http://globalgrind.com/2014/07/04/highway-patrol-officer-punch-woman-side-highway-caught-camera-video/

The video showed the woman walking along the freeway when she was approached by an unidentified California Highway Patrol officer.
It was not clear if words were exchanged between the two, but at one point the officer walked up behind the woman and grabbed her, the video showed.

A struggle ensued, during which the officer appeared to knock the woman to the ground, straddled her body and began repeatedly punching her.
"He basically got on top of her ... it's basically a UFC ground-and-pound move ... full force, punching her in the head".
http://fox8.com/2014/07/04/motorist-captures-violent-encounter-between-officer-woman/

[patric]

CHP has released a statement claiming that the woman ignored the officer's demand that she stop, and when she fled, the officer feared that she would get hurt and tried to arrest her.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2680661/Trooper-filmed-beating-woman-head-California-highway.html


Their hubris is mind-boggling.

[heironymouspasparagus]

CHP has released a statement claiming that the woman ignored the officer's demand that she stop, and when she fled, the officer feared that she would get hurt and tried to arrest her.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2680661/Trooper-filmed-beating-woman-head-California-highway.html


Their hubris is mind-boggling.

That sounds like the story of the cops that shot and killed the guy to stop him from committing suicide....

[Conan71]

This seems to be the current cops behaving badly thread:

OHP trooper arrested after crash

The Oklahoma Highway Patrol arrested a state trooper on Thursday, July 3 in Sequoyah County. 

Trooper Joshua Davies was arrested around 4:30 p.m. Thursday after OHP officials received reports of a single vehicle collision involving an OHP patrol vehicle and boat, located approximately 3/4 mile west of U.S. Highway 59 on Applegate Cove Road south of Sallisaw.

Troopers called to the crash found a collision involving a marked OHP SUV towing a Patrol vessel and being driven by Davies.  OHP said Davies showed signs of intoxication and was immediately arrested for suspicion of DUI by troopers on the scene.  Arresting troopers later administered a routine state breath test where Davies registered over the legal limit.

"It is an emotionally draining situation when an officer finds himself in a position that he must arrest one of his own. Our troopers displayed professionalism in administering their duties during this unfortunate event.  This individual was immediately arrested by state troopers on the scene and charged with DUI in compliance with state statute.  This type of behavior will not be tolerated under any circumstance," stated Chief of Patrol Colonel Ricky Adams.

Davies was arrested by troopers and booked at the Sallisaw Police Department.  He has been with the OHP for eight years and has been placed on routine administrative leave pending the results of an internal investigation.

http://www.fox23.com/news/news/local/ohp-trooper-arrested-after-crash/ngZ2H/?__federated=1

[Vashta Nerada]

Police union president Patrick Lynch said the man who taped the fatal arrest of Eric Garner was 'demonizing the good work of police officers.'

"I do think that this will be the sickest logic that I ever heard," Rev. Al Sharpton replied Sunday evening.

Earlier Sunday, Lynch, president of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, criticized Ramsey Orta, 22, who was busted after police said he allegedly tried to dispose of a gun as he exited a Staten Island hotel late Saturday night.

"It is criminals like Mr. Orta who carry illegal firearms who stand to benefit the most by demonizing the good work of police officers," the union president said in a statement.

Orta has a long criminal history that includes multiple collars for fare evasion and pot possession, but Orta was a bystander July 17 when he used his cell phone to tape cops as they tried to arrest Garner, 43, a father of six. Police said the man was selling untaxed cigarettes and resisted arrest.

The shocking video — first released exclusively on nydailynews.com — shows Officer Daniel Pantaleo putting Garner in a chokehold, a tactic banned by the NYPD in 1993. The city's medical examiner ruled the death a homicide Friday.

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/man-falsely-arrested-daniel-pantaleo-shocked-back-duty-article-1.1890030

[DolfanBob]

Do you think that Mr Orta may have been being followed and surveyed by the NYPD before his gun possession arrest? Nawwww. That would be profiling. 

[patric]

Police union president Patrick Lynch said the man who taped the fatal arrest of Eric Garner was 'demonizing the good work of police officers.'

So at this point I have to wonder if that's the view of the average policeman, or just what the sick fcuk union president thinks the average view of policemen should be.
It was definitely a slam dunk for Rev. Sharpton, though, not like he could have missed.  


ADDED:
Now Cops Arrest Wife Of Man Who Filmed Fatal NYPD Chokehold
http://gothamist.com/2014/08/06/ortas_wife_arrested.php