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DNMFOHE - I've pretty much scanned this entire thread looking for this information (and I very well could have missed it): Was the man that was pulled over by the police (the one that was in front of Ms. Good's house, that is) arrested or released? I seem to remember that he was released, even though at one point he was in cuffs. My memory may be faulty on this point, so I am asking.

Now... If he was in fact released, it would seem to lend some credibility to Ms. Good in regard to her reasoning for the recording the traffic stop. There might be a reason of which we are unaware that caused Ms. Good to be concerned enough to record the incident. At least that is my opinion. Not being fully aware of what the existing reputation of the Rochester P.D. might be, I would certainly count this incident as a negative in the forming of my opinion.

So am I a cop hater? No... As a matter of fact, I loved my police officer father and liked all of his co-workers that I knew. Oh, and my business partner is also a police officer just a few months from retirement. I recognize that the law enforcement community is just like any other community - It has its dregs, its good workers, and its elitist that are out for themselves in the form of power and prestige. The problem is that things are getting very disproportion in regard to the rest of society: The power and elitism are becoming the latest "rush" for a new generation of LEO's that often see a "chance to get even" with what they perceive as some injustice inflicted upon them at some point in their life. Here is an excerpt from something I posted on June 10th in another thread:

"Now, having grown up in a LE household, and having worked undercover myself many, many years ago (before the militarization of most LE began) let me quote my police officer father's statement just before he retired: "I'm glad to be getting out, because my days as a Field Training Officer will be done. These kids they are sending out of the academy these days aren't taught to think any more - they are taught 'You've got to get them before they get you!', but the academy isn't teaching the kids who the 'them' is..."
That, from my father who retired in 1988... I left the work a couple a years earlier and went another route. Very thankful I did. It seems that common sense law enforcement has been replaced by brute force law enforcement."

Someone else said it on this thread... If this officer had had any training on how to handle situations like this, it would have never happened. What if he had said "Ma'am, I'm fine with you recording this, but would you mind stepping back a few feet for your own safety as well as ours?" Had he asked that way it would have completely disarmed the entire situation. But then he wouldn't have been "flexing" his badge muscles. That training has been replaced in large part by the "get 'em first" attitude instilled by the academy. It all fits in with the "militarization" of our law enforcement... The only problem is that when we fail to recognize that the duties of law enforcement and the military are polar opposites (one is meant to enforce the laws as determined by the voting populace, thus preserving civil order, the other is meant to destroy the enemy and infrastructure, causing complete disruption of civil order to the point that the enemy sues for peace) innocent people suffer at the hands of those that are meant to be serving them. Yeah... Remember the old phrase "civil service"? That one is getting pushed into the dark corner with hopes that people will forget it.

Anyway... If the guy was released, it should tell us something in my opinion.

Regards,
Raven6