Free Talk Live

The woman who filmed the alleged November 2009 beating of Melvin Jones III by Springfield police has now found herself the victim of a criminal complaint. The Republican's Stephanie Barry reports:
One of four police officers disciplined for the incident on Nov. 27, 2009, Michael Sedergren, has filed an application for a criminal complaint against videographer Tyrisha Greene. Sedergren, who was suspended for 45 days, claims it was illegal for Greene to videotape him without his consent.

SPRINGFIELD – Charging the amateur videographer who captured the alleged police beating of Melvin Jones lll during a 2009 traffic stop with illegal wiretapping sets a dangerous precedent, local activists say.

“I think it would be dangerous if this person were to be charged with a crime,” said the Rev. Talbert W. Swan, Springfield branch president of the NAACP. “It would say to the public that we don’t have the right to hold law enforcement accountable for their actions.”

"A man in Weare, New Hampshire was charged with felony wiretapping for recording the police during a traffic stop — based on a cell phone call he made as an officer approached his vehicle. From the article: Police considered it wiretapping because the call was being recorded by a voice mail service without the officer's consent."

A District Court judge in Goffstown, New Hampshire has dismissed a criminal charge against a Weare man for recording his conversation with a police officer during a traffic stop. Judge Edward Tenney followed a recent First Circuit Court of Appeals decision in Boston in Glik v. Cunniffe in ruling that William Alleman was within his constitutional rights when making an audio recording of Weare Police Officer Brandon Montplaisir during the traffic stop on July 10, 2010.

A man arrested at a July 4 house party is charged with a count of wiretapping, alleging he used his cell phone to film the police response. Police confirmed Tuesday that Adam H. Whitman, 20, of New Castle, was arrested on that charge. However, the charge is likely to be dismissed and/or replaced with another charge, possibly disorderly conduct or obstructing government administration. Whitman was "impaired by alcohol" when he was arrested and, when the case was later reviewed, wiretapping didn't seem to be "a viable charge."

The 2nd Circuit US Court of Appeals has ruled that recording an in-person conversation without the knowledge of all parties is only a violation of federal wiretapping law if the person making the recording intends to use the recording for illegal purposes. At least in the states that do not have explicit laws against recording cops, this should nullify the abuses of wiretapping laws against people recording in public.

A woman is suing Christchurch police for $150,000 after an officer allegedly used boltcutters to remove her piercings. Lawyer Tony Greig said the woman, believed to be in her thirties, was arrested for obstruction in mid-2008. Greig said the woman alleged five of her piercings, including one in her genital area, were removed using boltcutters after she was taken into custody. The woman was acquitted of the obstruction charge in early 2009.

A three-judge panel found that even if the officer observed no illegal conduct, a traffic stop and interrogation is justified when a driver seems not to want to be around a patrol car.

The resisting-arrest conviction last week of Felicia Gibson has left a lot of people wondering. Can a person be charged with resisting arrest while observing a traffic stop from his or her own front porch?

Salisbury Police Officer Mark Hunter thought so, and last week District Court Judge Beth Dixon agreed. Because Gibson did not at first comply when the officer told her and others to go inside, the judge found Gibson guilty of resisting, delaying or obstructing an officer.