Free Talk Live

Anthony Graber, a Maryland Air National Guard staff sergeant, faces up to 16 years in prison. His crime? He videotaped his March encounter with a state trooper who pulled him over for speeding on a motorcycle. Then Graber put the video — which could put the officer in a bad light — up on YouTube. It doesn't sound like much. But Graber is not the only person being slapped down by the long arm of the law for the simple act of videotaping the police in a public place. Prosecutors across the U.S. claim the videotaping violates wiretap laws — a stretch, to put it mildly.

On September 8, Gregory Koger was sentenced to 300 days in jail for videotaping a brief political statement at a public event in Skokie, IL. When Gregory was asked to stop, he put down his video camera. Trespass charges were brought because he started filming with his iPhone. But videotaping is not a crime! Filming has nothing to do with the legal definition of trespass. The trespass law states that you must be ordered to leave, and then show that you intend to remain after you have been given notice to leave.

This is EXACTLY what they did to me (Sam Dodson) as well.

In the midst of swirling controversy about cops and cameras, Luis Luna was put under arrest for filming police in action—not by a rogue patrolman misunderstanding official department policy, but by none other than the assistant chief of police.

Google Engineer bails out young man imprisoned for videotaping police beat another man for no good reason.

According to a CBS News report, Houston police last Saturday tried to stop a car which was missing a license plate. When the car didn't stop, they pursued it into a garage without realizing the garage belonged to the Chinese Consulate. Police handcuffed and arrested the driver, injuring him, the CBS report said.

This is a youtube video of a man being arrested for videotaping police in Huntington, WV. His name is Joseph Pniewski.

Video footage of Las Vegas Police Officer Derek Colling, who has killed 2 people in the last 5 years including a 15 year boy, caught on tape beating Mitchell Crooks.

Another instance of police brutality caught on camera.

75 years in for videotaping the police. Shied laws increasingly popular in US. 12 states now have laws prohibiting citizens from recording police.

Maybe Michael Gannon shouldn’t have given lip to two police detectives that afternoon.
But Gannon claims he wouldn’t have said a word on July 1 if a detective – unprovoked, Gannon said – hadn’t shouted something at him as their unmarked police car passed by on Canal Street.