This is going to be tossed out pretty quickly IMHO. That Cop is an idiot of the 1st degree you are standing on the sidewalk out of the way. The problem you now have is that you will have an arrest record that you can not ever get rid of and trust me it will cause you problems in the future, jobs, renting an apartment, concealed carry permits etc etc that means you are damaged for life and that is why you should sue the crap out of them. That Cop also violated your Rights and he did it on purpose I am betting he has had training some time in the past. That Cop had to walk out of his way to cite you. If you do not want to do for your self do for the rest of us because every time they get away with this the worse they get.
Palo this is the type of Cops I was talking about on that thread the other day one of them make the rest look bad and cause me to not trust any of them.
I trust them because I know in the overwhelming majority of incidents they do the right thing. In cases like this, where they appear to clearly have done the wrong thing, they deserve to be punished. As I have stated in other threads, agencies vary widely in training and written policies involving people filming them. I have suggested to people to contact their local PD, get a copy of their policy manual and see what, if any policies they have vis a vis people filming them. If they don't have a policy, suggest one consistent with law, so that then cops can be held accountable for violating same. Without training or policy, it is difficult if not impossible for individual cops to be held accountable (qualified immunity, failure to train etc.). That's not opinion. That's fact. I'd rather see policy enacted that PREVENTS these kinds of misconduct than see it happen and people have to sue after the fact.
I have filmed with impunity and never been hassled. Youtube has literally thousands of videos where people filmed the cops and weren't hassled. These jerkmunches who interfere with this sacred 1st amendment right need to be held accountable.
I'll say it again - contact your local PD and research this. It's a simple way citizens can get involved and make positive change. Imo, we get the govt. we deserve. If people aren't willing to get involved, you get crappy govt. My agency I work for , as well as the agency that polices where I live both have excellent crystal clear policies establishing the right of people to film us, and making it crystal clear that officers who interfere with filmers will be held accountable.
And guess what? Because of that, I've never heard of a single detail in either agency where cops interfered.
If you don't trust cops, that's sad. I;'m glad polling data confirms that the overwhelming majority of the public considers us both professional and honest.
But for people who want to DO SOMETHING vs. wank on the internet- I've outlined something that people can do. If an agency hasn't addressed this critical issue, they MUST in roll call training and in general orders manual. And you, as the average citizen can very well insure that your local PD DOES so. You can prevent people's rights from being violated
Many will wank and say "it's not my job". Policing the police and being responsible for those who are given powers to seize, arrest, search etc. us IS EVERYBODY's responsibility imnsho. I'm tired of arguing this point, but hopefully responsible people (vs. whiners) will take this to heart and effect positive change. The overwhelming majority of cops want to do the right thing, and the policies they work under should explain the right thing vis a vis filmers and DEMAND they do so. And imnsho, if an agency has such a policy/training, THEN ofc's in that agency who pull this kind of chicanery can and will be held accountable imo and also I believe that likely qualified immunity may even be lifted.
I personally welcome people to film me. I'm out injured right now because yesterday, a guy I Terry stopped assaulted my partner and took off on foot . I caught up with him and had to tackle him and then deal with his whinging about how his back hurt and of course the x-rays came out negative after 4 hours at harborzoo and he's comfortably in jail with a vehicular assault warrant and assault on a PO charges. Did we do the right thing? Heck yea. Remarkable restraint in chasing and tackling the guy where he suffered only minor scrapes on his knees after he punched an officer in the face and fled. That's how it works ALMOST every time and it's why I trust cops. Because for every overreaction you have scores of incidents like this where cops exercise commendable restraint while reeling in dangerous assaultive felons.
I *hope* there is video of this incident (he punched my partner in a gas station parking lot, but it appears it happened outside the view of their cameras) either the assault or my tackling him because it will just help protect me from bogus complaints AND help convict him, and he already has burglary conviction etc at 19 yoa and also his outstanding vehicle assault and now assault III charge to deal with.
I also suggest if you don't trust cops, to do a ride along with your local pd. You might be surprised and impressed with the professionalism and honor your local cop brings to the job. I've done many ridealongs, before I became a cop, especially, and I've seen some stellar police work.
It's all of our responsibility (not just the cops) to defend ourselves from criminals and to keep an eye out for criminal behavior, to be a good witness for same, to come forward if we have information about crime (REAL crime. I don't believe in the war on drugs and other victimless crime rubbish, but ymmv. I of course enforce those laws because I believe in rule of law although drug crimes are a TINY TINY percent of what I do). It's also our responsibility to come forward if we witness police misconduct and if you can effect positive change you should. Police work for you. Check out your local PD policy regarding filmers and effect some positive change.
Cheers.
PS When I tackled that violent felon, I did it in full view of a half dozen people sitting on their porch having a barbeque. Force , even when entirely justified is not pretty, but because I did (as cops almost always do) THE RIGHT THING and used reasonable force to tackle him and wrestle him into cuffs, we got a standing ovation of sorts from the peanut gallery. I didn't know, until after I got him in cuffs that I had an audience, but if as a cop you assume you do, and you do the right thing, you have little to worry about. these people are statistically likely to be in the overwhelming majority that trusts cops and after seeing our restraint and skillz in busting this perp, it's only logical to assume they remain in this majority camp. If I had gotten in cheap shots /used excessive force, I would have sullied the image of the police in these members of the public's eyes. And getting a standing ovation and comments like "man, that was awesome." gives me a warm fuzzy. It's people like that, that make the cop haters , the tiny minority so easy to handle. I know they are just that, a minority and I know that when push comes to shove, the average joe respects us and they've got our back!
