Why are Americans Arrested for Videotaping Police in Public Places?

By Noel Brinkerhoff

 

United States - Recording police officers while making arrests has resulted in numerous other arrests … of those daring to tape such actions.

 

In October 2007 attorney Simon Glik was arrested by Boston police after he used his cell phone to capture the arrest of young man who was punched by an officer. Claiming the audio recording of the arrest violated the law, police took Glik to jail. On January 5 of this year—more than four years later—the Boston Police Department finally sent Glik a letter admitting that its officers are acted unlawfully when they arrested him.

 

In Rochester, New York, last year, Emily Good was arrested after videotaping—from her own front yard—the arrest of a man at a traffic stop. The arresting officer, Mario Masic, accused Good of being “anti-police” after she refused to stop recording the arrest. The charge against Good was later dropped.

 

In Illinois, a 1960s-era law is coming under scrutiny as Chicago prepares to host the G8 and NATO summits, which are expected to attract large numbers of protesters and journalists. As currently written, the state law allows police to arrest any citizen on felony charges for recording the conversations of police without their consent.

 

The ACLU argues that the Illinois Eavesdropping Act is out of date and over the top.

 

One state lawmaker, Democratic Representative Elaine Nekritz, has proposed an amendment that would allow for the recording of police on duty in public places.

Suspicions About Charles Taylor's CIA Links Confirmed

United States - U.S. officials have confirmed long-held suspicions former Liberian president Charles Taylor worked for the CIA and other U.S. intelligence agencies. Taylor helped raise speculation after claiming U.S. officials had helped him escape a maximum security prison in Boston in 1985. According to the Boston Globe, the Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency has now acknowledged Taylor served as a CIA informant during his emergence as a warlord in the 1980s. Taylor is currently awaiting a verdict at The Hague on charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and violations of international humanitarian law during Sierra Leone’s civil war.

Odd Stories: Woman Robs Bank, Then Gives Away Money

Boston – A woman who robbed a bank did something good with the ill-gotten money: She gave it to kids in a park.


Citizens Bank workers told police the woman, Jasmin Rivera, walked into the building shortly after 3 p.m. on December 28^th and handed a note to a teller demanding money and informing her she has a gun. After getting approximately 600 dollars, Rivera told the cab driver who took her to the park she robbed a bank. She was discovered by the police at the park handing out the money.


She is being ordered to have a psychological examination for what a doctor calls “serious mental issues.”


Is it weird to think someone should actually be commended for doing this kind of thing? Last time I checked Robin Hood is the good guy. True she's going through things but she did bring happiness to people.


You can see the footage here.