Moore’s reason for taping was really interesting and sounds like she should have a good legal case against this.
Christopher Drew is a 60-year-old artist and teacher who wears a gray ponytail and lives on the North Side. Tiawanda Moore, 20, a former stripper, lives on the South Side and dreams of going back to school and starting a new life.
About the only thing these strangers have in common is the prospect that by spring, they could each be sent to prison for up to 15 years.
“That’s one step below attempted murder,” Mr. Drew said of their potential sentences.
The crime they are accused of is eavesdropping.
The authorities say that Mr. Drew and Ms. Moore audio-recorded their separate nonviolent encounters with Chicago police officers without the officers’ permission, a Class 1 felony in Illinois, which, along with Massachusetts and Oregon, has one of the country’s toughest, if rarely prosecuted, eavesdropping laws.
If your state allows voting on referendums like California, this would be a good use of it to get these laws thrown out.
When the police do not wish to be, and are protected from being, held accountable for their actions, then we do not live by laws but by the exercise of power.
They act in YOUR name.
If every police encounter was recorded by both parties, then the abuse of either party would end.
Black people, and maybe Latinos, especially should record any police contact. If their stories are true, that the police treat them unfairly, the evidence will be all too clear in the recordings.
I had an interesting thought today (probably I’m a little slow on this one). The story of Charlotte’s Web is interesting because the animals are afraid to have the humans know how smart they are, so they go about acting dumb (in a sense) to maintain the status quo. So they spin a complicated web of lies to get what they want without upsetting the apple cart. This seems what our leadership constantly does too, except: Ike, Carter, and Bush senior.
Also some good news!
“Seattle Activist Wins Case Against TSA ”
http://infowars.com/seattle-activist-wins-case-against-tsa/
I can’t think of a more important case right now for the ACLU to bring against these fascist laws. I can see police acting individually against being filmed as a human fraility==but to have laws passed and now being enforced is a whole different level of fascism.
Being held accountable.
What a concept.
These same government workers will also tell citizens that they are being recorded because they have no expectation of privacy in a public place. This makes them pigs.
…”the Fraternal Order of Police… ‘absolutely supports’ the eavesdropping act… allowing the audio recording of police officers while performing their duty ‘can affect how an officer does his job on the street.’ ”
There’s a lot to ponder in that statement from the linked article.
Personally, I’d like to see laws changed to permit (or even encourage) recording the acts of a public official at any time. Of course, you’d have to make exceptions for intensely private acts like having a bowel movement or taking bribes. but other than that…
The only thing to do is to join the cops. (You know that they don’t really think that laws apply to them.)
Bobo, in #5 you proved that you don’t know what you’re talking about.
Fascism is an economic system and has nothing to do with being a tin pot tyrant.
The United States is a becoming a fascist regime not because of the pigs in jack boots but because while everything will be owned by a small minority (less than 2% of the population owning 80% of the country’s assets, that’s not even an oligarchy,) while the state will take care of everything else for these 2%.
(That includes getting the 98% of us health care because they don’t want to deal with all these sick fucks. One of us might be terminal, vengeful, armed and know just who to shoot.)
Go back to school before wasting anymore of our time.
I recommend a political science degree with a minor in economics.
How are they eavesdropping when they are part of the conversation? Case closed.
This world is getting more and more ridiculous everyday. At this rate a 2012 doomsday would be refreshing.
#9–peepod==
fas·cism
1: a political philosophy, movement, or regime (as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition
2: a tendency toward or actual exercise of strong autocratic or dictatorial control “Fascism is capitalism plus murder.”
My favorite though is from Upton Sinclair: “Fascism is capitalism plus murder.”
What fascism has to do with tin pots does escape me though. Perhaps you can further delineate?
Its always good to start/end a discussion by defining one’s terms. Just how much of history do you want to ignore?
Bring me a verbage.
Hmm. This is actually kind of embarrassing for me, being a lawyer in Massachusetts, but I just realized what at least two of these states have in common:
Illinois (Chicago), Massachusetts (Boston). No idea if Oregon is well known for a corrupt police culture. We’ve been pushing, ineffectively, to have police have to use their vehicle mounted cameras, in order to prevent certain… indiscretions on the part of police officers. But of course, to no avail.
#13 Abbie – You know, with today’s technology, there’s absolutely no reason why every officer should not be carrying a personal recording device. The watch commander turns it on at the beginning of their shift and recovers the SD card at the end of the shift. The recording is held for 90 days or so. Doesn’t have to be hi def. Full sound and maybe one image every half second.
Very small cameras + anonymous Internet videos = a trend that law enforcement can’t stop.
While I lament the loss of personal privacy cause by these devices, they also remind police that they are _public_ servants who are not supposed to be acting in the shadows.
These sorts of arrests are disturbing to say the least. Being able to video tape cops is one way to keep them honest. I know it’s a tough, high pressure job but they need to be held accountable to the high standard they are sworn to uphold. If there weren’t so many highly publicized cases of police brutality, where the cop said it was a justified beating. Only to find out later there is video showing the opposite.
Sounds like a job for …..
Jury Nullification
At least until a better, more permanent and broader solution, like the US Supreme Court ruling that this is Bullshit.
The police of all US states ought to stop worrying about be photographed by peaceful citizens. And start worrying about killed by violent criminals with guns. Because cop killing is on the rise, in the US. Four or five states, including Florida have had the bulk of such cases. Mostly states were gun laws have been relaxed, I believe. But never mind that, we’re taken down those dangerous cellphone camera owner, first. Cause there’s no Bill or Rights amendments protecting their use. Right?