Illegal to video a cop eh?
I call you to task, lets have a link to that one.
You have to tell the cop first! Ha! See:
http://www.seacoastonline.com/2001news/7_14_sb2.htm
In Massachusetts, there have been convictions for taping officers. Here is an excerpt from the first case to hit the Mass. Supreme Court:
http://www.metafilter.com/comments.mefi/9012
(Massachusetts) Chief Justice Margaret Marshall and Justice Robert Cordy used the famous videotape of the Rodney King police beating in Los Angeles as an example of a recording that would have been prohibited under Massachusetts law.
In another case, a home security camera was tripped when police entered a home. A friend of the homeowner posted the video on the Internet. The cops don't like the way they look on tape so they threatened the woman with arrest. Haven't heard the outcome.