A lot of folks,are trying to make the cops look bad but the minute any one of the m feel the least bit threatened, they are on the phone pleading for help.
That said, I know nothing about this shooting.
This is life in a Police State.
Get used to it.
Your neighbors value the illusion of safety and security more than they do their own liberty, and of course they do not trust you with yours.
End result: cops are become Enforcers for the Beast.
Try to take my cell phone away and I hope you have that taser set to stun. And are ready for the multi-million dollar lawsuit that I will win.
So few Americans know, much less insist on, their rights.
If recording police officers is not a crime, then there is no lawful justification for an officer to demand that one stop recording, or to delete one already made.
On the other hand, if recording police officers is a crime, then the act of deleting such a video amounts to destruction of evidence related to a criminal act. Accordingly, anyone who deletes such a video is, knowingly or not, destroying evidence of a crime, and anyone who orders such an act under color of authority is forcing another to commit a crime, while under color of authority. Which is potentially a felony.
In either case, there is absolutely no justification for an officer to delete a video nor to order its deletion. If anything, the police have a case, if recording them is criminal, that they can lawfully seize the recording, but if it turns up erased while in police custody, one can presume that one or more officers in the chain of custody committed the criminal act of destruction of evidence, and this while acting in their official capacity.
Finally: why, exactly is it that private citizens can be tracked, monitored, wiretapped nearly everywhere they go, and must identify themselves to officers upon demand, while public servants can and usually do hide behind their badges, refusing to identify themselves when asked, and arresting those who film them? It smacks of obvious doublespeak.
There is a difference between being a defendant under arrest for a crime and being a witness to a crime. Rules against search and seizure are intended for defendants. But if one is a witness to a crime, he can be required to testify about it and to refrain from disposing of evidence on it, including cell phone pictures. That being said, it seems that the cops have no authority to require deletion of any photos.
My question is this: Is it a crime to record or photograph police officers while they are questioning or arresting someone? If yes, why?
That seems really odd. Wouldn't those image be evidence in a criminal case? And the deletion of them be a crime?
Ping
Boy, when that internal affairs complaint gets investigated, that cop’s really gonna’ be in trouble!
(Honestly, I crack myself up, sometimes ...)