Recording The Police is a Dangerous but Necessary Thing to Do

[FMH]

Note: Some viewer may find this video disturbing. Strict viewer discretion is advised.

This video was created as an example of the importance of filming the police. Video provides transparency,

accountability, and an accurate account of incidents that occur. It is no secret that the United States has a

serious problem with police abuse, brutality, and corruption. It is essential for civilians to document their

encounters with police officers to ensure transparency, accountability, and safety to all of those involved.

Police departments have, for too long, tried to bully, intimidate, threaten, arrest, or otherwise harass law

abiding citizens from recording the activities of law enforcement in public. Enough is enough! It is time for

all of us to take a stand and expose police brutality when we witness it. Even if the officers behavior is

correct, and justifiable, we still encourage the recording of the police activities for the transparency and

accountability that is desperately needed in many departments.

If you see something, film something, the freedom of press begins with you!'

[shakey]

Not only record, but exercise our right of civilian arrest. When we witness a cop breaking the law, citizens must come together and detain that person. Doesn't matter if they are a cop. They are not above the law, and citizens arrest was one of the ways to show that. But it doesn't help that most people will not lift a finger in the name of what is right....

[+jamesyfx Subscriber²]

I've noticed that police in America (in general) do not do their jobs properly. Far too often I've heard stories about them breaking the rules, being too forceful, acting as if they rule the roads... and just generally being corrupt and hypocritical. I'm not saying they're all bad, most aren't... but still a fair few of them don't seem to understand what their job is.

It is about time this kind of thing stopped, I've heard stories from all over the US, but I think it's worse in the South, in general.

[shakey]

I've noticed that police in America (in general) do not do their jobs properly. Far too often I've heard stories about them breaking the rules, being too forceful, acting as if they rule the roads... and just generally being corrupt and hypocritical. I'm not saying they're all bad, most aren't... but still a fair few of them don't seem to understand what their job is.

It is about time this kind of thing stopped, I've heard stories from all over the US, but I think it's worse in the South, in general.

Totally worse. My uncle has told me some horrible stories about when he was an officer. He couldn't take the corruption and abuse he was seeing, as he is very religious and a good man. He is now a pastor at a church. But what he has seen has totally taken away any trust he has of the system and those working in it. Not only though have his stories shaped my view, there is a ton of evidence online and in the real world to see, that while there are some good cops, they aren't all that great when they still allow the bad cops to get away with what they do. There is a word cops use for helping a criminal for citizens... but they don't seem to ever believe they could be an accomplice, just because they are on the other side of it.

[bane7378]

While a good majority of those scenes were very disturbing and made me very angry that people in power would abuse it such, there were a couple of clips that really didn't belong. The one of the guy on the motorcycle taping the cop that stopped him for instance. I have seen that clip before and the guy was traveling at extreme speeds, I think somewhere in the 120's mph around other cars. I don't care how good you think you are at driving, that was foolish and could have ended horribly. The guy needed to be pulled over. Did the cop need to get out of his car with his gun drawn? Probably not. There was no obvious sign of a weapon. That was probably overstepping his bounds and he probably should be disciplined for drawing his weapon when it wasn't needed. However the guy videotaping was definitely doing something wrong as well. I know part of the story was about him having his property seized but quite frankly I don't blame the law for doing such since they were trying to build a case against him and probably figured they could use his own footage any any other he might have against him.

That by no means discounts the rest of the footage in the original article. Just saying some of it really was modified to show a skewed view of the story. There was a lot of blatant abuse and misuse of power there though.

Just my 2 cents.

[McKay]

For every video of 1 bad cop there are 1000 good cops who do their job, these however go unrecorded.

[AJerman]

I can't encourage people enough to record police. You have EVERY right to do so regardless of what they try to tell you. Police in this country have gotten out of control and seem to forget that their job is as a public servant. They are here to protect the people from anyone or anything that may harm them, and that's it. They have no more rights than any other citizen in the country (as mentioned, citizens can arrest even a police officer if they witness them doing something illegal, but good luck without having a couple other big people on your side because most cops would probably go down shooting even though you're well within your right). Help keep police in check by recording them any and every time you see them doing their duties. If they do nothing wrong, then they have nothing to worry about.

For every video of 1 bad cop there are 1000 good cops who do their job, these however go unrecorded.

Do they need a shiny star and stamp on their hand to bring home to mom and dad when they do their job the way they are hired and paid to do it? There's no need for pointless recordings of a police officer doing their job, so of course you don't see those as much. You won't see a recording of me doing my job properly either, but if I go crazy and start breaking and stealing stuff, then you'll see the recordings from every security camera. Same needs to apply to police. They shouldn't need a pat on the back for doing their job the way they are supposed to, but they certainly need punishment if they abuse their position.

And now a video of police ****ing up and paying for it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8p1TGz_bBk

I have absolutely no sympathy for those cops, and am very impressed by how the public handled the situation. Perhaps the abuse from the citizens wasn't necessary either, but you get what you give.

[ArialBlue]

For every video of 1 bad cop there are 1000 good cops who do their job, these however go unrecorded.

Plenty of shows that do that on TV

[Another Canuck]

And now a video of police ****ing up and paying for it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8p1TGz_bBk

I have absolutely no sympathy for those cops, and am very impressed by how the public handled the situation. Perhaps the abuse from the citizens wasn't necessary either, but you get what you give.

1. Those are security guards, not Police.

2. I am willing to bet my life that the idiot on the field was resisting/not releasing his arms and the guards were jabbing him in the shoulder blades, which is exactly what they should be doing.

[AJerman]

1. Those are security guards, not Police.

2. I am willing to bet my life that the idiot on the field was resisting/not releasing his arms and the guards were jabbing him in the shoulder blades, which is exactly what they should be doing.

I don't know the back story, so I don't know what they are, police assigned to the game or simple security guards, either way, it doesn't really matter. And it doesn't really matter when you have 4 people on top of one, I can assure you they had the strength to detain him without continuously hitting the person. Use of force should only apply in a situation when an officer feels he is in danger otherwise. I can assure you they were in no danger when they were all sitting on top of them. This is the kind of mentality that lets police and security officers get away with something like this. From here http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/default.asp?item=1374: "?the legal test of excessive force?is whether the police officer reasonably believed that such force was necessary to accomplish a legitimate police purpose?" Granted this isn't in the US, but with 4 officers, I can assure you it's not necessary to beat someone repeatedly to make an arrest or detain someone.

[Another Canuck]

I don't know the back story, so I don't know what they are, police assigned to the game or simple security guards, either way, it doesn't really matter. And it doesn't really matter when you have 4 people on top of one, I can assure you they had the strength to detain him without continuously hitting the person. Use of force should only apply in a situation when an officer feels he is in danger otherwise. I can assure you they were in no danger when they were all sitting on top of them. This is the kind of mentality that lets police and security officers get away with something like this. From here http://www.cops.usdo....asp?item=1374: "?the legal test of excessive force?is whether the police officer reasonably believed that such force was necessary to accomplish a legitimate police purpose?" Granted this isn't in the US, but with 4 officers, I can assure you it's not necessary to beat someone repeatedly to make an arrest or detain someone.

Get four of your friends (no scrawny wimps). Have one of them lie down with their arms under their chest.

Try to get them behind his back.

[dj6ross]

I can't stand the County cops in the area I live in. The city police and state police are fine but the County cops here act pretty badly. Very disrespectful in general.

[AJerman]

Get four of your friends (no scrawny wimps). Have one of them lie down with their arms under their chest.

Try to get them behind his back.

I don't see where that would be difficult. One on his legs, one on his back/head, one on each arm. I can assure you it can be done without much issue.

Also, I want to clarify a little on the topic so no one gets in trouble. There are a few states that aren't single party consent states, meaning you may need all parties to consent to AUDIO recording. If you live in one of those states, you may have issues when trying to record police. Most states however are single party consent states meaning if you are one of the parties involved, you can record without permission of the police. This almost always, if not always applies to audio recordings only though. Check your local laws just to be sure.

[Flae_qui]

For every video of 1 bad cop there are 1000 good cops who do their job, these however go unrecorded.

yet to met 1...

[Billaguana]

As far as I know, no one in this thread has any of the backstory to any of the events shown in the video, so this is why I say what it is I say.

The actions that they take in these videos may be viewed as over done, however I would like for you to think about what type of situation they are in. They are facing people they don't know in possibly hostile situations. Now, again because I don't know the backstory to the situations, they more than likely are not just arresting them because they feel like it, they are detaining them because they have broken a law or are suspected of doing such. They have every right, and this is for their own safety(and yours mind you), to take the proper action to get said person in the proper detaining area. Although you deem this as improper, I would like to ask what you would do if you were in a situation where you were facing an unknown, possibly hostile person?

I would just like to again emphasize that we should treat our police with more respect than we do for they are doing their job, which is to protect us. If they ask for some privacy, then it is privacy that they should receive.

[shakey]

As far as I know, no one in this thread has any of the backstory to any of the events shown in the video, so this is why I say what it is I say.

The actions that they take in these videos may be viewed as over done, however I would like for you to think about what type of situation they are in. They are facing people they don't know in possibly hostile situations. Now, again because I don't know the backstory to the situations, they more than likely are not just arresting them because they feel like it, they are detaining them because they have broken a law or are suspected of doing such. They have every right, and this is for their own safety(and yours mind you), to take the proper action to get said person in the proper detaining area. Although you deem this as improper, I would like to ask what you would do if you were in a situation where you were facing an unknown, possibly hostile person?

I would just like to again emphasize that we should treat our police with more respect than we do for they are doing their job, which is to protect us. If they ask for some privacy, then it is privacy that they should receive.

*facepalm*

[BillyJack]

I don't doubt there is corruption and some police do abuse their power. Every instance is different and there are always two sides fo the story. Corruption is wrong period. Sometimes cops do not know how to react or do not react the right way. There can be many factors. Maybe they do not know the law, are stressed, or can't think fast enough for the situation. I agree there are cops that abuse their position and then there are some who do not.

Cops have to make decisions all of the time. If they know the law and follow it then they can arrest someone for breaking the law. If it seems as if someone is breaking the law then they have to decide which law and if it applies. The examples can go on. Then maybe the person is not breaking a law that they know of but he judges that they are doing wrong. There is also a possiblility that there is no law for what someone is doing but the cop has to take action and then later a law is created. We all have to make decisions all of the time no matter what are job is. Situations arise and you decide what to do. It is no different for cops. Sometimes the decision is good and sometimes it is bad. Throw in stress, short time, and danger and it becomes harder. Better training and keeping up with the laws can help but there will always be problems and imperfection.

Don't get upset that cops sometimes break laws and think that they get away with it and you don't. They let people go all of the time with warnings. I see cops speed and break laws but I see all of the other people speeding and breaking laws all of the time too. So if we have citizens arrest and we can arrest cops then it should apply to people as well. I see people speed, weeve in and out of lanes like madness, run stop signs, and more. I have never seen a cop run stop signs with no good reason. I gurantee that everyone is quilty of breaking some law and more than once. It definitely would be nice to improve cops bad mistakes and get rid of corruption entirely. If cops are quilty of anything, it is for not up holding the law. If they always applied the law and gave no exceptions then people would start to expect that and then they would not break the law anymroe. For example, if the cops did not allow people to go five miles over the speed limit then people would not do that. That is big around here. Everyone knows they can go five over and they do.

If you see and read about a few articles here in the U.S.A. it does not mean all cops are bad or that there is a problem. There are bad cops in all countries. By the way the U.S.A. is not America. It is the United States of America. There are North America, Central America, and South America. Unless you are talking about all three.

[Billaguana]

*facepalm*

please explain why?

[shakey]

please explain why?

The police are public servants. Nothing of their job requires or even deems it neccesary for "privacy" when making arrest in public. In fact, due to them being servants for the public, and on tax payer money, they should be recorded 24/7 on the job to insure that no corruption is at hand. To think that they deserve privacy while working for the public, on public funds, is just asking for corruption.

And if you are a cop, you better know the law. Why would you swear to do a job that you can't even comprehend? Most people get fired for not knowing and being unable to perform the task they are hired to do. Doesn't give cops any reason. If they can't do their job, they should find another job. Being a cop isn't for everyone, and taking such a job and oath should come with certain requirements and attention.

Also, people are assumign cops aren't trained it seems.... They take courses to understand situations, how to behave during them, and how to control people. Again, if they are unable to properly do their job, they should not be there in the first place.

Everyone has every right to be upset when a cop breaks the laws. They are the ones who swear to uphold them. Citizens never have to take such an oath. We are just supposed to try and follow them the best we can. But cops swear to them. They should lead by example. If they are breaking the rules, what does that say about what the citizens should do? Can't expect people to follow the rules when those who make them and are supposed to enforce and abide by them don't do it either....

Citizens should be given warnings often enough, if the crime isn't bad, or if the circumstance allows it. Again, Citizens never agree to follow the laws. We are just trying to as best as possible. We are the ones who can't keep up with the ever changing law. So it is up to them to give us slack when it can be done. But they, the ones who swear to an oath to uphold and follow the laws, should be held to a higher accountability.

It's lax views by citizens who let them get away with such things, that only leads to them doing it more and more.

[APH-Alex]

please explain why?

Why? Because you obviously didn't watch the whole video. Here's only ONE example, there was a man with cuffs on in the back of a police cruiser with his seatbelt on, and the officer still felt that he should repeatedly abuse the man by punching him in his face many times, and then proceed to kick him as well..

<p>Edit: Also, the guy with the motorcycle, sure he deserved to be pulled over. However,%2

[Astra.Xtreme]

For every video of 1 bad cop there are 1000 good cops who do their job, these however go unrecorded.

Probably many times more than 1000. If we take into consideration all the arrests that happen every day, and then consider how many of them could be considered excessive use of force, it would be a tiny percentage.

Sadly, it's always the bad ones ruin it for the rest. Overall, this is hardly a big problem considering the huge population we have here, but there's no harm in taking steps to improve the system.

[shakey]

Probably many times more than 1000. If we take into consideration all the arrests that happen every day, and then consider how many of them could be considered excessive use of force, it would be a tiny percentage.

Sadly, it's always the bad ones ruin it for the rest. Overall, this is hardly a big problem considering the huge population we have here, but there's no harm in taking steps to improve the system.

Definitly no harm in trying to improve it. One of the really bad things though about bad cops, is the mob mentality that also plays into it. Get enough officers together, with enough bad eggs, and you will get even the good cops backing them up and allowing bad things to happen. When in such a close nit group, people like to follow others, even when they know it might not be the right thing.

Also there is this... http://abcnews.go.co...36#.TzMBosi0uz4

Where they look for people of a certain IQ range, in hopes that you wont become "bored" with the job. But if you are a police officer for a long time, you will become jaded after some bit, and will most likely start looking for trouble where it is not really meritted. Just think about some of your jobs... where you start getting mad at customers for just the most minor of things, because it is something you constantly deal with... Now imagine how a police officer would start to think of the average citizen, after years of what they see and go through... I think cops should have long breaks. I don't care if it is paid, but after like 2 or 3 years of service, give them 6 months leave, paid, to clear their minds and hearts.

[Billaguana]

The police are public servants. Nothing of their job requires or even deems it neccesary for "privacy" when making arrest in public. In fact, due to them being servants for the public, and on tax payer money, they should be recorded 24/7 on the job to insure that no corruption is at hand. To think that they deserve privacy while working for the public, on public funds, is just asking for corruption.

Ahh, so I am assuming it would be okay for you to be recorded consistently by those who pay you? and then have those videos released to the public?

And if you are a cop, you better know the law. Why would you swear to do a job that you can't even comprehend? Most people get fired for not knowing and being unable to perform the task they are hired to do. Doesn't give cops any reason. If they can't do their job, they should find another job. Being a cop isn't for everyone, and taking such a job and oath should come with certain requirements and attention.

Also, people are assumign cops aren't trained it seems.... They take courses to understand situations, how to behave during them, and how to control people. Again, if they are unable to properly do their job, they should not be there in the first place.

Again because I don't know the backstory I won't assume myself correct in every situation, however although they are properly trained for the situations they encounter, you can never be prepared for something until you have experienced it at least once. This could have been the first time they had come upon this type of situation.

Citizens never have to take such an oath....Again, Citizens never agree to follow the laws.

Um, not 100% sure here but when you go to take the citizenship test I believe it says something to the degree of 'I agree to uphold the law to the best of my means' or something close to that. Whether you are naturally born into citizenship or legalized, you do agree.

We are the ones who can't keep up with the ever changing law.

And whose fault is that? The laziness of our citizens makes me weep.

[shakey]

Ahh, so I am assuming it would be okay for you to be recorded consistently by those who pay you? and then have those videos released to the public?

Actually, many jobs record their workers while working..... You ever walk into a DMV or other type of government building? All their employees are recorded. I hope you aren't trolling me after this question... seriously...

Again because I don't know the backstory I won't assume myself correct in every situation, however although they are properly trained for the situations they encounter, you can never be prepared for something until you have experienced it at least once. This could have been the first time they had come upon this type of situation.

Doesn't excuse them. It's like saying I can shoot someone and not be held liable, because I didn't know how a gun worked... I would still be held for at least man slaughter. Cops are prepared to handle most situations when they get out of the academy. If you don't know what their training persist of, you might want to educate yourself, instead of just guessing....

Um, not 100% sure here but when you go to take the citizenship test I believe it says something to the degree of 'I agree to uphold the law to the best of my means' or something close to that. Whether you are naturally born into citizenship or legalized, you do agree.

Umm, nationally born citizens don't take test... Really, I think you are trolling at this point...

And whose fault is that? The laziness of our citizens makes me weep.

Judging from your responces... you fall in line with what makes you weep....

[Davo]

The video is too sensationalist for my tastes. "There is a Rodney King every day".

Do police officers get off on a power trip? I'd say many of them do. The problem is it becomes hard to see what's creative storytelling and what is actual police brutality. There are a number of instances in that video itself which show people provoking the police and going at them.