This is why technology is good

[MGMorden]

Here's an article I thought you guys might enjoy.  It's a video of a group of guys who showed up at a gun buy-back in order to offer some people the chance to conduct a private sale at a higher rate than the buy-back was offering.  The Detroit PD detained and harassed the individuals for several minutes.

http://www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-detroit/detroit-police-harass-legal-gun-owners-at-gun-buyback

Be vigilant.  A ton of jurisdictions are trying to twist ages old wiretaping laws to keep the public from video-taping police on the job.  They don't like when their dirty laundry gets aired, and the internet allows the public to do that at an efficiency that would have been unfathomable just a few short years ago.

[billy_56081]

Great story and video. Woulda been a nice spot for Atlaw to be.

[Conan The Librarian]

One argument is given that the police can use their video, but they don't want the public to use their video. That's obviously a very lame argument.

There is one truly legitimate concern I have about the public video'ing police interactions. Those videos are frequently used in an edited form to make things look bad for the cop. These get posted on the web.

The flip side of this is that evidence is often edited for maximum effect against defendants.

What to do? The cameras are not going away unless devices like that are outlawed. No law or enforcement body can change that. Today I can have a virtually invisible camera on my person that looks totally unlike a video camera. Most cell phones today can take still photos, and many have video recorders built in.

Somebody remind me. Weren't photos inadmissable as evidence at one point because they could be so easily doctored or otherwise used to "quote out of context"? What is the law now?

[MGMorden]

One argument is given that the police can use their video, but they don't want the public to use their video. That's obviously a very lame argument.

There is one truly legitimate concern I have about the public video'ing police interactions. Those videos are frequently used in an edited form to make things look bad for the cop. These get posted on the web.

The flip side of this is that evidence is often edited for maximum effect against defendants.

What to do? The cameras are not going away unless devices like that are outlawed. No law or enforcement body can change that. Today I can have a virtually invisible camera on my person that looks totally unlike a video camera. Most cell phones today can take still photos, and many have video recorders built in.

What LEO should do is a simple question: leave the public's video cameras alone and do your job professionally.   Accept that if you try to go on a power trip or exceed your authority, it WILL be up on Youtube within hours.  Party's over.  Shape up or retire.

I too have a video recorder built into my phone.  Heck I carry a Samsung Fascinate (Android OS) phone that will record 720P HD video.  Since I use it to play audio (podcasts and music) in the car, in addition to it filling in as my main GPS navigation device lately, I keep it in a cradle hooked to my dashboard.  I can have it recording HD video (and naturally, audio) with less than 5 clicks.  Any stop for any reason WILL be recorded.  

[Pat/Rick]

Seems that even some cops are getting the "guns are evil", or "only LEO and military" beliefs ingrained. Wonderful.

[powderman]

A friend has bought several nice guns from folks standing in line. They'll sell for the same price just to keep from waiting in line. POWDERMAN.