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.

About 100 video cameras were handed out to volunteers who committed to record all police encounters they come across.

Peaceful Streets Project organizer Antonio Buehler said he hopes the project and summit will help a culture shift.

"One where the people don't have to live afraid of the police and they don't have to be afraid to stand up for their rights. One where bad cops get run out of their organizations by the good cops, and one where the chain of command and internal affairs and the system doesn't cover up the crimes of these criminal cops," Buehler said.

On the night of March 20, Crooks, 36, was in his driveway, near East Desert Inn Road and South Maryland Parkway, videotaping police as they investigated a burglary report across the street. Crooks said that when he refused to stop filming, Colling arrested and beat him, with much of the altercation recorded by the camera.

On Sunday night, Northern Illinois University's Student Association Senate denied recognition to the school's chapter of Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP), which means it may not post flyers or meet on campus. The Senate already had denied activity-fee funding to SSDP, declaring it a "political" group, as opposed to a "social justice" or "advocacy" group.

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.

From ABC News:
Prosecutions Draw Attention to Influence of Witness Videos --- Arrests are becoming more common along with the proliferation of portable video cameras and cell-phone recorders. Videos of alleged police misconduct have become hot items on the Internet.

Radley Balko and Carlos Miller interviewed on NPR's Talk of the Nation about recording the police.

From the website:
July 8, 2010 The Los Angeles police beating of Rodney King resonated, in part, because it was caught on video. Now, most modern cell phones have video cameras. Many police departments struggle to draw the line between citizens' and journalists' rights to film arrests, and their officers' rights to privacy.

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

After just Two weeks of being active in the community with the newly formed Orlando Copwatch, Orlando's Liberty Activists again claim local news air time. Members of the group Copwatch lined the sidewalk in front of the Orlando police headquarters Tuesday night to protest Officer Travis Lamont's excessive force on 84 year old victim Daniel Daley.