Remember the bike the cop drew on?

[rbrais]

Complete bullshit to unholster your gun for a stopped motorcyclist. Police can only draw their weapon when they feel their life may be at risk. It's daytime; the bike is stopped; hands on the bars. You think he felt like his life may be in danger?

In addition, he drew his weapon and ordered the rider to stay put without identifying himself first. FIRST thing you say when getting out of an unmarked car is STATE POLICE.

[COPAC]

as i remember the law about audio recordings it is legal just as long as AT LEAST one party knows that they are being recorded. that law is there to protect citizens not law enforcement . i think the state will lose this one

[Spooler]

as i remember the law about audio recordings it is legal just as long as AT LEAST one party knows that they are being recorded. that law is there to protect citizens not law enforcement . i think the state will lose this one

It's different state to state. Some require both parties to know, some just one

[greenmonster]

This took place on a public road, pulled over by a public servant, the cop. How is his privacy being invaded? Can't a public servant be taped, photographed, etc. whether overtly or covertly, while performing his/her job? I dunno.

As a side note...if I see a cam mounted to someone's helmet, until shown otherwise, I would assume it's taping, just to err on the side of caution.

[repsol_kid]

this guy is facing 16 years??? WHAT!!!

http://yro.slashdot.org/story/10/07/...dot+(Slashdot)

[trider143]

Search for "two party consent" to get lots of coverage on laws state by state.

e.g.,

http://www.rcfp.org/taping/

[Kham]

i thought this was in NH. i saw some article mentioning motorccycle and wiretap and that they threw out the charge.
oh wel.

[Eddie]

The articles spelled pretty clearly: a conversation between an on duty police officer and a citizen does not constitute a private conversation. I'm sure that a lot of people in law enforcement can appreciate this as well.

[repsol_kid]

One going through the effort of prosecuting this guy just because you technically "can" is a waste of funds and it really screwed up... I sure that cop's family is still sleeping good at night!

Two, the punishment for a crime shouldn't be far worse than the crime committed. 16 years for posting a Youtube video.

[joeswamp]

This case is kind of beyond ridiculous at this point. I can't believe the judge didn't get sanctioned for issuing those total BS warrants. Reason #34563456435 to never visit Maryland.

[Kham]

must be red neck town.

[ɹǝʍoןandɹǝʍoן]

that ruling will get overturned, it clearly affects our civil liberties as we are able to choose and make our own decisions as long as it does not affect another person's liberties, and in public, liberties are sanctioned.

[KingCast 650R]

Devil's Advocate: Just because he noticed the camera doesn't mean that he consented to being recorded.

Reality: If it is illegal to video tape police officers in public then as a society we are fucked. Power without any sort of check and/or balance becomes corrupt eventually.

It is not illegal, been there done that -- cops tried to revoke my bail on a bullshit case that got DISMISSED when my girly (who conveniently happened to be a professional photographer and lawyer also, hahahaaa) this picture of a dickhead cop (who since got fired).

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d4...retfiles_2.jpg

And my Nashua buddy, Harley-ridin' Mike Gannon went through it, too..... illegally charged and case DISMISSED.

http://christopher-king.blogspot.com...gelman-to.html

http://christopher-king.blogspot.com...el-gannon.html

Someone should pass these links on to the victim if they know how to get in touch with him,

Peace.
-The KingCaster.

[toocrazy2yoo]

This case is kind of beyond ridiculous at this point. I can't believe the judge didn't get sanctioned for issuing those total BS warrants. Reason #34563456435 to never visit Maryland.

The whole DC area, Va., Md. DC is just like this deal here. It isn't just State Police either, although outside of Feds, State boys are the big dawgs of the highways. In every jurisdiction, you have county, various city and town police roaming around, and of course the aforementioned State Police, all with jurisdiction. Add to THAT an unbelievable variety of Federal law. FBI, Treasury, U.S. Marshalls, DEA, ATF, Capitol Hill police, Secret Service and an enormous assortment of Armed Services police, Intel types, NSA, CIA and a few alphabet combos you'd probably get in trouble just knowing of their existence. All of the Federal types of course, are running around armed and in the requisite Crown Vic with the heavy Federal tint. And, because they necessarily do their work throughout the DC area, they of course have jurisdiction EVERYWHERE down there. Hell, every GAO accountant is armed and equipped with the Crown Vic and the rest.

Aside from up the fact that being up here is riding the best landscape on the planet, the cop stuff is a huge reason I left the DC region. Hell, the best riding there is in Va. is 70 miles out to the West of Dulles Airport near where I lived and you have to drive through an amazing gauntlet of law enforcement, speed and red light cameras, radar, laser, unmarked types and even the Feds write a fair number of tickets down there. I never got tickets I didn't beat in court, but ya hate to always have that paranoia. Especially with the bike I have. It's MUCH more relaxed up here, to me anyway, and the cops I've run across are pretty good souls, near as I can tell. Down there? Best-selling ticket writers. And, I can tell you for a FACT the cop in the video is typical, not an exception, in the DC area.

Ah well, I've done that rant before here, but sometimes, when some of you peeps are feeling dissatisfied with things up here, come back and read about the DC area. I've ridden in a of of places and from where I sit, New England is merely the very best. There is no better. And that doesn't take into account Redskins vs. Patriots.

[SVRACER01]

Wirelessly posted (HTC EVO "DROID" : Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 2.1-update1; en-us; Sprint APA9292KT Build/ERE27) AppleWebKit/530.17 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile Safari/530.17)

how was he supposed to turn off the camera when the cop is yelling at him to put up his hands with a gun pointed at his face. I'm pretty sure if I had a gun pointed at me with an irate Leo behind it I might forget about the camera

[KingCast 650R]

Ha!
I was doing some legal research for a friend of mine and look what case popped up, the guy got screwed but you can distinguish the case.

http://scholar.google.com/scholar_ca...s_sdt=40000004

Commonwealth v. Hyde, 434 Mass. 594 (2001).

The problem here could have been avoided if, at the outset of the traffic stop, the defendant had simply informed the police of his intention to tape record the encounter, or even held the tape recorder in plain sight.[12] Had he done so, his recording would not have been secret, and so would not have violated G. L. c. 272, § 99. See Commonwealth v. Jackson, supra at 507 (no "interception" when defendant was aware his voice was being recorded). Secret tape recording by private individuals has been unequivocally banned, and, unless and until the Legislature changes the statute, what was done here cannot be done lawfully.

[obsolete]

Well at least he wasn't in Sweden. This is what happens if you catch those arrogant bastards on video.

You Tube

[toocrazy2yoo]

Well, dood might be off the hook. Md.'s A.G. today:

Recording police likely not illegal in Md.
The Maryland Attorney General's Office says it's likely not a violation of Maryland's wiretap law to make an audio recording of a police officer during an arrest. Maryland law requires the consent of both parties to record private conversations. Earlier this year, a motorcyclist was charged with violating the law for recording his traffic stop by a state trooper. That case is still pending. But Deputy Attorney General Robert McDonald says the case likely wouldn't hold up to legal scrutiny. McDonald wrote to Delegate Sandy Rosenberg that a court would likely conclude that a traffic stop does not constitute a private conversation.

-- Associated Press

[KingCast 650R]

Well, dood might be off the hook. Md.'s A.G. today:

Recording police likely not illegal in Md.
The Maryland Attorney General's Office says it's likely not a violation of Maryland's wiretap law to make an audio recording of a police officer during an arrest. Maryland law requires the consent of both parties to record private conversations. Earlier this year, a motorcyclist was charged with violating the law for recording his traffic stop by a state trooper. That case is still pending. But Deputy Attorney General Robert McDonald says the case likely wouldn't hold up to legal scrutiny. McDonald wrote to Delegate Sandy Rosenberg that a court would likely conclude that a traffic stop does not constitute a private conversation.

-- Associated Press

Thank goodness. I will probably post this on my blog, which is largely about the constraints & clampdowns our Government has for us in the post 911 era. As a former government attorney, I know all of their bullshit games.

Have a great weekend guys and gals, speed safely.
-The KingCaster.

[KingCast 650R]

Well at least he wasn't in Sweden. This is what happens if you catch those arrogant bastards on video.

You Tube

Saw that on my friend's FB this morning, funny as hell

[h22jeffrey]

what i think happened here was that the cop probably thought he was going for a chase. if you look closely at the video the cop is infront of the motorcycle in the begining of the video right before he does the wheelie. he got his speed up to 127mph then 69mph when he passes the other cop on the side of the highway (which is behind the undercover state police when he gets pulled over). the car pointed out as the undercover car on the video is an acura TL the undercover car is a malibu. what i'am saying is that's probably why the statie pulled out his gun thinking he was going to go for it. just my .02 not defending the cop at all i think it was wrong and i might have ran him down thinking i was getting jacked or something but just going with what i see on the video.good luck to the kid and hopefully he gets off.

[joeswamp]

Well, dood might be off the hook. Md.'s A.G. today:

Recording police likely not illegal in Md.
The Maryland Attorney General's Office says it's likely not a violation of Maryland's wiretap law to make an audio recording of a police officer during an arrest. Maryland law requires the consent of both parties to record private conversations. Earlier this year, a motorcyclist was charged with violating the law for recording his traffic stop by a state trooper. That case is still pending. But Deputy Attorney General Robert McDonald says the case likely wouldn't hold up to legal scrutiny. McDonald wrote to Delegate Sandy Rosenberg that a court would likely conclude that a traffic stop does not constitute a private conversation.

-- Associated Press

Good news, now it's time for the kid to sue the state of Md in federal court (possibly naming officers and judge signing the warrants as individuals) for violating his constitutional rights. Those bogus warrants and the cops busting into his house were actions that shouldn't take place outside of a totalitarian state.

[Currently]

I don't think he can ... don't they have prosecutorial immunity?

I know judges and DA's have it.

[toocrazy2yoo]

Good news, now it's time for the kid to sue the state of Md in federal court (possibly naming officers and judge signing the warrants as individuals) for violating his constitutional rights. Those bogus warrants and the cops busting into his house were actions that shouldn't take place outside of a totalitarian state.

Nice thought, but it's the DC Metropolitan area. It isn't LIKE anywhere else. From the cops to the judges on up, LE and the courts rule, we work for THEM, not the other way around. I never really got in much trouble down there as far as tickets and other contact with cops, but from what I read and see in the news, the difference in the relationship between citizens and LE when compared to here and down around DC is really remarkable, to me anyway.

[HIGHONSTRESS]

As someone who routinely records my rides this got my attention quick.. Thankfully, Doc is saying that the law is different in vt and thats cool.

But.. all this because he did a lame wheelie on the highway. Plus the guy is a staff sarg. in the gaurd.. this whole thing just doesn't sit right with me.