Maryland cops arrest man for posting video of an overly aggressive traffic stop.

Originally posted by WhiteDevil013
reply to post by FortAnthem

 

This is so infuriating!

So let me get this straight..... Its ok for them to put cameras on every intersection, film/photograph us, then use the footage to send us a ticket for some horrendous amount of money. But if we film them in PUBLIC, we get arrested and have to shell out more money?! How does that make any sense to law enforcement?

That guy looked like such a dick when he got out the car with his gun. He looked like he was going to attack the guy! If I was armed, I might have drawn on him with good cause. A guy wearing no uniform jumps out of a unmarked car, walks aggressively towards me with a gun and I'm supposed to just sit tight and hope for the best?

NO

THANK

YOU!

[edit on 11-6-2010 by WhiteDevil013]

While Im not saying the cop is right, over reactin to any situation is not a good idea....you are blaming the cop for an overreaction, and then you post that your retaliation would be more overreaction? If the guy was a criminal and wanted you dead, he wouldnt have pulled over and jumped out.....he would have just shot you, or being on a motorcycle, just run you off the road. So you cant really assume that it is a criminal that is going to hurt you.

Furthermore, He identifies himself verbally as state police within 2-3 seconds. No one is going to be able to get their motorcycle gloves off and draw a weapon before at least 4 seconds. I wish I could find the video, its of this guy in Argentina on motorcycle, he is surrounded by a mob, and has a handgun in his tank bag, it literally takes him about 6-7 seconds to get it out and scare off the mob.

In situations like this, it pays to be careful and think about things, not just scream "I KNOW MY RIGHTS!" and being reactionary. Cop or not, if you whip off your gloves and start reaching around in your pockets, the dude with the gun is gonna plug you.

[edit on 11-6-2010 by aching_knuckles]

Had to split the post.



Also assuming that the Officer had to identify himself by flashing a badge.

Sooner or later someone is going to challenge this crap in a Federal court. It will be found that when in PUBLIC, cops have NO expectation or privacy in matters of filming. The whole basis is the privacy part.

If a cop can film and recod you, you can do the same. Fight the charges and if you lose appeal and make it a Fed case and it will come to a halt.

It is NOT fair and right for us to be forbidden from observing cops ...then they would violate rights with impunity and insist you are lying....any cop that does not want to be filmed is GUILTY and wants to hide his offenses and law breaking from a permenent record.

Cops have some nerve....they want it all...to be above us all..it sickens me to think that some donut munching flatfoot has MORE rights than me...that is not Constitutional. It will be forbidden as soon as a Fed judge gets a case.

The guy did nothing wrong? Based on how fast the lane divider was going by, I'd say he was going over 100mph at one point. Given that he was also charged with reckless driving, I'd say he was going pretty darn fast. No wonder the cops wanted to get that maniac off the road.

well well well the states are so afraid they are resorting to bull# laws to censor the truth. the cops don't like it do they? they government does like it eh?

how come these bozos can use the patriot act to tap our phones or read our emails, but we cant use video to show the abuse they inflict on citizens?

Originally posted by Raustin
I suppose it will come as no surprise that I have a few thoughts on this.

So I watched the short vid first, and what went through my mind IMMEDIATELY was that when the cop got out of the car, the guy on the bike started backing up with a QUICKNESS. Yeah, I thought, alright, guy just hopped out of a car while the innocent biker was slowing down, he was probably frightened. I didn't think the cop was overly aggressive, he had no idea what the guy on the bike was going to do, and someone backing away from you during a traffic stop is frightening. Basically I think they scared the crap out of each other.

Then I watched THE LONG VIDEO. Do you realize how fast the guy on the bike was going? I would say he was EASILY doing 85. Pay attention to the speed of the other cars and how fast the white lines are rushing by. Also note that he was racing that POS with bondo/primer all over the passenger side. At the point where he exits the highway, he is still hauling a MASSIVE amount of ass. He OBVIOUSLY PASSED THE COP AT THIS SPEED. He OBVIOUSLY KNEW COPS WERE BEHIND HIM BECAUSE HE LOOKED BACK.

He didn't seem to be slowing down until he came upon the two cars in front of him. To me it looked like he was about to run. When the cop got out, he started backing up. If I had been the cop, I would have thought he was fleeing. I do not think this biker was innocent at all. Note that the article only states he was pulled over for speeding. It does not say how fast he was going.

Anyway, all that aside, I do find it ridiculous that he was charged with filming a police officer. He was obviously just filming his little joyride when the cop caught him in the act. I think the cops were feeling vindictive, I agree with that 100% and I also agree that the law is BS and definitely should not have applied in this case.

Flame away, but watch the video one more time for me, think about how fast he was going when he passed that cop, and keep in mind it looks like the ONLY reason he stopped was because he had no where else to go. My fingers hurt.

and what does him speeding have to do with him filming a cop pulling a gun on his ass?

Did this cop identify himself before going for that gun?? I dont have speakers on. But all I saw was some nut-job fly out of his car, going immediately for his gun.

If I had a gun, and someone did that to me, I think my reflex would be to draw mine. Understand, I wouldnt draw a gun on someone who is a cop. But in a case where a plain-clothed person suddenly jumps out a car, they're fair game.

I'm gonna call BS on this story for now though. If you google, the only site that has this story is rt.com. The rt website has been down all day. Could the arrest be an internet rumor spreading from message board to message board?

Originally posted by FortAnthem

Actually, you can see the motorcycle flying down the road, passing several cars on the right. By the way the stripes are zipping past him you can tell he's going REALLY fast.

It looked like he was riding a Honda 900RR.

He was barely cruising, that bike will break a hundred without you meaning to from the bumps shaking your throttle hand. Its a 200 MPH bike. He should have ran. I know my passion is super bikes. I made a music-video about it.



[edit on 11-6-2010 by LoneGunMan]

Originally posted by LoneGunMan

Originally posted by FortAnthem

Actually, you can see the motorcycle flying down the road, passing several cars on the right. By the way the stripes are zipping past him you can tell he's going REALLY fast.

It looked like he was riding a Honda 900RR.

He was barely cruising, that bike will break a hundred without you meaning to from the bumps shaking your throttle hand. Its a 200 MPH bike. He should have ran. I know my passion is super bikes.

I made a music-video about it.


[edit on 11-6-2010 by LoneGunMan]

Even better, he was riding an 08 CBR 1000.
Says so on his YT page

Originally posted by rocketman70433

I'm gonna call BS on this story for now though. If you google, the only site that has this story is rt.com. The rt website has been down all day. Could the arrest be an internet rumor spreading from message board to message board?

I found a MSM source for the story.

Md. wiretapping law needs an update
Citizens should be allowed to videotape police stops

Anthony Graber is facing felony charges today. His crime? Recording a traffic stop with a video camera — supposedly prohibited in Maryland under an archaic "anti-wiretapping" statute that is well past due for a revisit by the General Assembly.

Mr. Graber was riding his motorcycle on I-95 in Maryland, speeding and popping wheelies and recording the experience with a helmet cam. An unmarked car cut him off as he slowed for traffic, and a man in a sweatshirt and jeans jumped out with a gun in his hand. Five seconds after the armed man exited his vehicle and approached Mr. Graber, he identified himself as a Maryland state trooper. But for the first four seconds of the encounter, it looks like a carjacking. Mr. Graber accepted a speeding ticket.

That was the end of the story until Mr. Graber posted video of the encounter on YouTube. Then six state troopers showed up with a search warrant, seized two computers, two laptops and a camera. The officers served the warrant at 6:45 a.m. on a weekday, detaining Mr. Graber's family for 90 minutes and forbidding his mother from leaving for work and his younger sister from going to school until the search was complete. Mr. Graber says he was shown a copy of a search warrant with a judge's signature on it but was only allowed to keep an unsigned copy — because the judge's identity is being kept secret.

Baltimore Sun

WOW!

The Staties were total A-holes about the whole thing to boot. They raided the house in the early morning and prevented the mother from going to work.

And, to top it all off, they kept the judge's name secret. Proof to me that they know they are stomping on citizen's rights.

Dirtbags.



[edit on 6/12/10 by FortAnthem]

Originally posted by aching_knuckles


While Im not saying the cop is right, over reactin to any situation is not a good idea....you are blaming the cop for an overreaction, and then you post that your retaliation would be more overreaction? If the guy was a criminal and wanted you dead, he wouldnt have pulled over and jumped out.....he would have just shot you, or being on a motorcycle, just run you off the road. So you cant really assume that it is a criminal that is going to hurt you.

.

[edit on 11-6-2010 by aching_knuckles]

1. Guy jumps out of umarked car with handgun
2. 4-5 seconds pass with no identification of a LEO.

Stupid ARROGANT move by the cop.

Cop would have gotten a gun in his face if he had stopped the wrong citizen, and maybe even shot as a carjaker.

Pull a gun on me and don't ID yourself as a cop and see what happens.
Ive been Carjaked before.
I legally and rightfully assume anyone pointing a handgun at me is a criminal until they ID themselves as LEO, and I assure you Im a better shot than the average police officer.
( and no, Id never shoot a LEO.. or anyone that wasnt attacking me or my family, but this type of action makes it impossible to recognize Cops from criminals )
Bad guys in cars running bikes off the road happens in the movies.
That CBR does 200MPH... anything short of an F1 race car gets smoked by that bike.

[edit on 11-6-2010 by Bad Ninja]

Is it just me or did I not hear any siren or see any flashing lights on that cops car. All I saw was some guy in civilian clothes pulling up and blocking the cyclist, whipping out a gun and saying, "get off the motorcycle, get off the motorcycle, state police." I see BIG flaws in what the officer did. The first thing out of his mouth should have been, STATE POLICE! Then, get off the motorcycle. That cop is lucky that guy wasn't carrying a gun. That cyclist could have shot him dead for how he was handled. The cop didn't identify himself and pointed a gun at him. Not knowing who the hell he was, he could have legally defended himself at that instant. Would've had it on camera too. If that had happened there would've been alot of police captains talking to thier men about thier policies when approaching people. They are suppose to state that they are an officer first before pulling a gun, especially when they are not in uniform. I just know some one will have the tardacity to to say this isn't true. I'm laughing already!

What the hell? A secret judge? NO WAY JOSE!! This is such an ambarrqassment that even the idiot judge that signed the warrant knew it was bogus but did it anyway to please the coppers. Sick..and illegal.

An unsigned warrant is void. If you cannot tell what judge signed it, it is as useless as a blank piece of paper. The lawyer for this guy would immediately find out what judge sined it, and it cannot be kept secret...it is not legal to hide the identity of the judge...all cops would have to do is get a warrant, type it up, execute it with no judge ever seeing it, and then later claim that it is a secret...and avoid judicial oversight totally.

That cannot be allowed to happen. It would mean that no one would be safe from the police simply ignoring the warrant requirements and instead always claiming secrecy...it could never stand up in a court...never.

The judge will be identified as he can be sued in federal court if he knew or should have known that by signing it he violated rights. If he thought it was a legit warrant, he would have NO problem letting the world know his name and he could defend his actions.

What happened here is that the pissed off cop demanded a warrant but the judge knew it was bogus and told them to leave him out of it and not cause him trouble. So the cops just claim secrecy about the judges identity and pray it will fly. It will NOT.

Stories like this make me hate cops even more than normal....the nerve and gaul cops have..thinking they are a privelegd class and above the laws...they want to be able to do anything they want to US, while leaving us helpless to even do so much as record their wrongdoings.

This is gangsterism by cops, typical, and sick. some day folks...some day..cops will be too afraid of getting thru a shift to worry about depriving us of our rights..and I cannot wait.

Originally posted by KrispyB
Is it just me or did I not hear any siren or see any flashing lights on that cops car. All I saw was some guy in civilian clothes pulling up and blocking the cyclist, whipping out a gun and saying, "get off the motorcycle, get off the motorcycle, state police." I see BIG flaws in what the officer did. The first thing out of his mouth should have been, STATE POLICE! Then, get off the motorcycle. That cop is lucky that guy wasn't carrying a gun. That cyclist could have shot him dead for how he was handled. The cop didn't identify himself and pointed a gun at him. Not knowing who the hell he was, he could have legally defended himself at that instant. Would've had it on camera too. If that had happened there would've been alot of police captains talking to thier men about thier policies when approaching people. They are suppose to state that they are an officer first before pulling a gun, especially when they are not in uniform. I just know some one will have the tardacity to to say this isn't true. I'm laughing already!

Anyone out of uniform accosting me with a gun had BETTER have a badge in plain view and be yelling POLICE . If not instinct would take over and result in the accoster being stopped in any way feasible, up to and including shooting him dead. So many times cops do NOT announce themselves when barging in a home, HOPING that they will get resistance and be able to fire. Most cops itch to fire a gun in action....they train and wait and wait and when given the chance many of them will shoot because it is the ultimate experience for a cop...

Many times reports on Tv show cops storming a house and no one inside could ever hear the soft " POLICE" mumbled before they kick the door and rush in with guns and masks on..and if a person thinks it is home invaders and responds, the cops kill him...it happens all the time.

It won't be long and we will read about some cop getting shot because he didn't make it clear who he was...and of course the cops will charge the guy who shoots the cop, no matter the circumstances. Cops HATE the idea of one of them getting shot , no matter if it was a legitimate response or not...after all..remember..they are worth so much MORE than us regular people..at least according to them.

Originally posted by Raustin
I suppose it will come as no surprise that I have a few thoughts on this.

Flame away, but watch the video one more time for me, think about how fast he was going when he passed that cop, and keep in mind it looks like the ONLY reason he stopped was because he had no where else to go. My fingers hurt.

Ok..you obviously don't ride bikes. I have spent years riding, and I assure you that biker could have taken the yellow line on the left and passed that traffic no problem.

If it were me, I'd have left. Not because I'm afraid of a ticket, or even getting my bike towed, but because of the hatred sometimes directed at motorcyclists when in traffic. To me, that looked exactly like some idiot road rager trying to tell you how you should be driving. Or perhaps injure you because he thinks he has the right. (see movie easy rider)

Its true the biker was traveling at speed, and was breaking the law. However they didn't tow his bike, the story explains that he got a ticket. Later they went to his house to arrest him for the bogus wiretapping charge. So even though he was speeding it wasn't dangerous driving.

Really that cop is lucky that someone else wasn't carrying at the time, or he could easily have been shot.

..Ex

BTW, related thread:

www.abovetopsecret.com...


It looks like this isn't an isolated incident, several states have been cracking down on police "shooters" who catch them on camera.

It's in RATS so you need to spend points to have access to that forum.

Edit to add: there are 12 states which have laws that could get you arrested for filming rogue cops:

Twelve states require, under most circumstances, the consent of all parties to a conversation. Those jurisdictions are California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Washington. Be aware that you will sometimes hear these referred to inaccurately as "two-party consent" laws. If there are more than two
people involved in the conversation, all must consent to the taping.

Read more: Papillon Technology

[edit on 6/14/10 by FortAnthem]

reply to post by arcnaver


Ignoring for the moment that there was a legit cruiser with a State Trooper behind the biker, in my state it's very simple. Even if a cruiser pulls up behind you and flashes his lights, you aren't legally required to stop until you hear a siren in tandem. Upon stopping, the first thing a state trooper is required to do is readily identify himself as law enforcement, even though he's in uniform, and produce a badge if requested.

If I slowed down to stop for traffic and someone cut me off, jumped out of an unmarked car wearing civies, didn't flash a badge and was brandishing a firearm, were I to have one on me I would've been within my rights to pull my sidearm on him, cop or not.

Originally posted by FortAnthem
BTW, related thread:

www.abovetopsecret.com...


It looks like this isn't an isolated incident, several states have been cracking down on police "shooters" who catch them on camera.

It's in RATS so you need to spend points to have access to that forum.

Edit to add: there are 12 states which have laws that could get you arrested for filming rogue cops:

Twelve states require, under most circumstances, the consent of all parties to a conversation. Those jurisdictions are California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Washington. Be aware that you will sometimes hear these referred to inaccurately as "two-party consent" laws. If there are more than two
people involved in the conversation, all must consent to the taping.

Read more: Papillon Technology

[edit on 6/14/10 by FortAnthem]

The ENTIRE issue boils down to PRIVACY. Cops are NOT acting in a private manner when they are at work. off duty, OK. But while on the public dime they can be filmed and audio recorded by us....and they can do the same. Cops just do not want us to be able to hold them accountable for their actions...they want room to lie.

In all those statutes, the main word is privacy...the Supreme Court ruled already that a cop who is not trying to hide his conversations, such as in rolling up his windows and closing the door of the cop car if he expects privacy while using the radio, for example, has no expectation of privacy. Someone who does not want to be recorded simply has to absent themselves...go away...or get far enough away so his wordas cannot be heard.

Here is a case that shows this: This guy was charged for taping a cop who was sitting in his cop car, windown down...yet he said that all his words were private, even though they were braodcast!! the court threw it out...he had no privacy expectations while on duty and not trying to hide his words from view or recording.

This is from a federal court ruling...and the Supreme Court will do the same. cops can quit hiding their bad conduct and quit whining about us being able to gather evidence of their crimes against us. Any cop that hides from a camera or recorder is guilty and wants to cover up his crimes. There is no other reason for them to want to be excluded from being viewed.


www.seattlepi.com...


From that article: "John Strait, who teaches criminal procedure at Seattle University Law School, said: "Officers are public servants. What they're engaged in is, in fact, the public business."

The ruling is the latest in a series of 9th Circuit Court opinions narrowing the application of Washington's Privacy Act to police.

That law generally makes it illegal to record a private conversation without permission from everyone involved. The question is when an officer talks in "private."

Last year, the court granted a new trial to the Bremerton man, Jerome Alford, agreeing that he was wrongly arrested for videotaping the trooper. The court said Alford's traffic stop was not private, even though it was on a dark and deserted highway with no witnesses.

The U.S. Supreme Court will not re-examine that privacy issue, but agreed to review whether the troopers should be immune from suit because they thought they could have arrested him for different, unrelated conduct.

In the Sequim case, former Chief Byron Nelson, who is now retired, arrested Johnson for trying to record a call that he was about to make to a police radio dispatcher about a runaway child.

That wasn't private, either, the court found, partly because members of the public routinely use police radio scanners to listen to dispatch activities.

Nelson also didn't act as if he expected privacy because he left the car windows open when he saw Johnson videotaping him, the court said."


Of course a few judges hate the public and worship cops and want them to be a priveledged class with EXTRA RIGHTS!! Cops want MORE rights than us, even though they habitually ignore and worse with OUR rights.

The excuse used by these cop cultists is that a cop may not be able to speak plaint if someone is listening...but what about scanners? If you have radio equipment you can legally receive any frequency you have the money and ability to find in the airwaves. So NO radio conversation, other than encrypted, is private.

Cops always use the flimsiest of excuses, pathetic and silly attempts to subvert the rule of law and make themselves out rulers...they think we should be required to address them ' respectfully' as if they are military officers!! What nerve!!

Thank God the courts are stopping this crap...I always said: As soon as it gets to a Fed court, the days of cops arresting us for doing the same thing THEY do are over....sue em!! Anytime a cop steps one inch over the line SUE THEM!!

The very thought of some lowlife cop having more rights than me is a sickening and disgusting abomination of the Constitution. To rule in favor of the American Gestapo would mean making them a seperate class of people: People who can stop anyone else from doing what THEY do...it is time these cops got a taste of how much the Pople really hate them...I will double my efforts to film and comment on the cops locally, and by God should one so much as violate ANY right of mine, I will do all I can to ruin him, perosnally , professionally, economically, mentally...in any way I can.

Cops need a dose of humility...NOT exalted status as a special citizen witgh more rights than us....how could ANY cop dare defend this? it is SO far from legal, and morally bankrupt...hey, no wonder cops want it that way...they fit that description to a TEE.

reply to post by Raustin
You may be right about what you THINK he was going to do but speculation is just that, speculation. You say it looks like he was maybe trying to get away from the cop and backing up. It appeared to me he was backing up because some guy in a plain car with plain clothes on didn't identify himself as a cop FIRST and shoved a gun in his face and freaked him out. Backing up would be the natural thing to do if not dump the bike and run when a stranger jumps out of his car and aims a gun at you, ya think?! It was after the guy started saying state police that he stood still. I think that makes more sense, but that's just more speculation, with a touch of common sense.... on my part.

Originally posted by Bspiracy
gimme a break, the guy knew it was a cop when he hopped out because he knew he was speeding and racing..

The cop wasn't a maniac, he was doing what a cop should do.. he brandished his weapon AT THE GROUND, told him to get off the bike and immediately said he was the police..

If you stop a biker then you don't know if the biker has a gun in his pocket.. when he backed up to possibly run, that's the time when a biker with a gun will shoot you.

Have SOME respect for cops people.. just because he pulled someone over for doing something illegal?

--------

The arresting for the wiretapping though.. THAT is complete bs imo.

b

Ok, first of all, you don't know 100% for fact that the guy knew that was a cop in a plain car and plain clothes. Any court in the land will tell you you can't say what a person is thinking because YOU DON'T KNOW and you can't prove it. Second, he brandished his weapon directly at the guy BEFORE he pointed it at the ground, go back and watch again till you see that. Third, what he IMMEDIATELY said was get off the bike, get off the bike, before he stated he was a cop. He's lucky the guy didn't have a gun and shoot him for his BS tactics! Let's not make the truth a victim here. If we are going to talk about facts let's watch the video and state the facts, not what you read into it or what you THINK a biker will do when confronted by a cop. Let's have some respect for the viewers and not insult our intelligence.