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having a voice recorder in case of bad LEO confrontation

kblazk

Regular Member
Joined
Jun 8, 2007
Messages
55
Location
, Ohio, USA
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I just ordered a voice recorder off ebay like one of these,

http://electronics.search.ebay.com/voice-recorder_Apple-iPod-MP3-Players_W0QQ_trksidZm37QQcatrefZC12QQcoactionZcompareQQcoentrypageZsearchQQcopagenumZ1QQfromZR10QQfsooZ1QQfsopZ1QQftrtZ1QQftrvZ1QQsabfmtsZ1QQsacatZ15057QQsaobfmtsZinsifQQsaprchiZQQsaprcloZ

Some of these are as small as a usb drive and can record 72 hours. and you can pick one up for around 20-30 dollars. I just don't want to be un-prepared in case I get stopped for OC'ing and get unlawfully detained or worse arrested.

Anyone else do this? Here in ohio you can record a conversation as long as at least ONE of the party's knows its being done, as in me knowing.
 

Saint

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Jul 18, 2007
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293
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Kaneohe Bay, HI USA
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I don't own one yet but will be purchasing one in the next week or so. Always a good idea to have a little insurance when it comes to LEO confrontations
 

Citizen

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Fairfax Co., VA
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Saint wrote:
I don't own one yet but will be purchasing one in the next week or so. Always a good idea to have a little insurance when it comes to LEO confrontations

I think it will be more than a little insurance. Consider.If you are legal, and you are being detained for the gun, the cop is either biased, ignorant of law, or both (absent a false 911 call or you matching the description of the bank robber.) There is a good chance he will lie or twist the truth if you make a formal complaint. He is protecting his personnel file from reprimands or termination. Hisdesire to avoid these consequenceswill be high.

Recording the incident is just about the only way to make a formal complaint stick against a lying or truth-twistingcop,unless you have witnesses or other undeniable evidence.
 

JD

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Jul 24, 2007
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Central Iowa, USA
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I honestly wouldn't bother, pending on your state laws, the recording may be inadmissable.

I've never been ina "bad" stop before, not to mention that I have grown up around LEOS and work with LEOs on a nearly daily basis so my "perspective" may be tainted.

If you feel you may need one, check your state laws regarding the legality of any recordings before buying one.

On a side note, the police in the UK are wearing helmet cams now...:banghead:
 

longwatch

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May 14, 2006
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Virginia, USA
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Its perfectly legal in Virginia and I very much regret not having one on a few occassions. Particularly one January night in Manassas.
 

ilbob

Campaign Veteran
Joined
May 9, 2006
Messages
778
Location
, Illinois, USA
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illegal in a few states. just recently a guy was arrested and charged in NH for doing this. Police do not want evidence they have no control over.
 

Reverend73

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Jul 22, 2006
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Gainesville, VA
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I have one, and have it with me every time I OC now. I even went so far as to duct tape it to my chest when we went to the Latino festival in Town Point park last saturday. Got to get me a little microphone for it.
 

sedjester

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Jul 20, 2007
Messages
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West Valley, Utah, USA
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Looks like Oregon does not allow you to record your conversation without all parties knowing. :cry:

165.540 Obtaining contents of communications. (1) Except as otherwise provided in ORS 133.724 or 133.726 or subsections (2) to (7) of this section, a person may not: http://www.leg.state.or.us/ors/165.html
(a) Obtain or attempt to obtain the whole or any part of a telecommunication or a radio communication to which the person is not a participant, by means of any device, contrivance, machine or apparatus, whether electrical, mechanical, manual or otherwise, unless consent is given by at least one participant.
If it is a telephone call you can record with your permission (one participant).

(c) Obtain or attempt to obtain the whole or any part of a conversation by means of any device, contrivance, machine or apparatus, whether electrical, mechanical, manual or otherwise, if not all participants in the conversation are specifically informed that their conversation is being obtained.
But as far as I can tell you cannot record a conversation on the street without the consent of everyone. Which means the officer will say 'turn it off' and if you don't it's a Class A misdemeanor.

It would be nice if section (a) also applied to conversations in which you were a participant, not just telecommunication or radio communications.
 

Tomahawk

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4 hours south of HankT, ,
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sedjester wrote:
But as far as I can tell you cannot record a conversation on the street without the consent of everyone. Which means the officer will say 'turn it off' and if you don't it's a Class A misdemeanor.

What's a misdemeanor? Violating the recording law, or not turning it off when the officer tells you?

As far as I'm concerned, if they can record everything from squad car cameras and light pole cameras, why can't I record everything, so long as I tell them I am doing it?

Heck, maybe you should put a sign on the back of your car: "All traffic stop audio will be recorded by OnStar for your safety".
 

sedjester

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I suppose by not turning it off when the officer says he doesn't want to be recorded would be violating the recording law.

I agree with you 100% Tomahawk, if they can record everything without telling us they are doing it we should be allowed to. Especially considering we are in the recording ourselves.

I wonder if it would be good to record it anyways and not say anything about it. That way there is an accurate accounting of the conversations and tones. And if for some reason it was found that I had it, a search for example, I could say that I forgot I had it....
 

Drewesque

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May 18, 2007
Messages
178
Location
Lacey, Washington, USA
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Reverend73 wrote:
I have one, and have it with me every time I OC now. I even went so far as to duct tape it to my chest when we went to the Latino festival in Town Point park last saturday. Got to get me a little microphone for it.
That's dedication...I'd find a way that would be less likely to tear out chest hair, but that's just me.
 

AbNo

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Jun 8, 2007
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Shenandoah Valley, Virginia
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Yeah, seriously...

I don't know about some of you on here, but I put up a good fight Virginia black bears with how furry I my chest is.

I'll pass on the duct tape. :shock:
 

Phssthpok

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Jul 17, 2007
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, ,
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sedjester wrote:
Looks like Oregon does not allow you to record your conversation without all parties knowing. :cry:

165.540 Obtaining contents of communications. (1) Except as otherwise provided in ORS 133.724 or 133.726 or subsections (2) to (7) of this section, a person may not: http://www.leg.state.or.us/ors/165.html
(a) Obtain or attempt to obtain the whole or any part of a telecommunication or a radio communication to which the person is not a participant, by means of any device, contrivance, machine or apparatus, whether electrical, mechanical, manual or otherwise, unless consent is given by at least one participant.
If it is a telephone call you can record with your permission (one participant).

(c) Obtain or attempt to obtain the whole or any part of a conversation by means of any device, contrivance, machine or apparatus, whether electrical, mechanical, manual or otherwise, if not all participants in the conversation are specifically informed that their conversation is being obtained.
But as far as I can tell you cannot record a conversation on the street without the consent of everyone. Which means the officer will say 'turn it off' and if you don't it's a Class A misdemeanor.

It would be nice if section (a) also applied to conversations in which you were a participant, not just telecommunication or radio communications.


Read subsection (C) again and think like a lawer.
evil5.gif


(c) Obtain or attempt to obtain the whole or any part of a conversation by means of any device, contrivance, machine or apparatus, whether electrical, mechanical, manual or otherwise, if not all participants in the conversation are specifically informed that their conversation is being obtained.
Reads to me like you can record whatever conversation you want, so long as you NOTIFY all participants that the recording is occuring.....whether they agree to it or not.

If they don't want their part of the conversation to be recorded, they have only one choice: STFU.
thumbsup.gif
 

HankT

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Tomahawk wrote:
sedjester wrote:
But as far as I can tell you cannot record a conversation on the street without the consent of everyone. Which means the officer will say 'turn it off' and if you don't it's a Class A misdemeanor.

As far as I'm concerned, if they can record everything from squad car cameras and light pole cameras, why can't I record everything, so long as I tell them I am doing it?


I'd agree wholeheartedly with this logic.

There may even be a market opportunity for a product that would record such events in civilian autos.

As a general proposition, LE is doing a good thing in recording whatever they record. So, it would and should be with citizens. Same principles.

And as far as advising someone, I'm not sure that is necessary. A LEO/citizen encounter is a public, not a private one. Do LEO's inform citizens that their dash cam or audio recording is running???? I doubt it.
 
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