dialcg

Hmmm.. I was just thinking, if you get into an encounter with the police, and maybe the cops in your area are not as honest or upstanding as Nightshift, can you record your encounter with them (for example, to back up your side of the story if they coerced you into a search or something)? I mean, I see those "Cops" shows all the time, and they record you on video/audio. Can you do the same? If I had a video camera in my car, could I turn it on when I got pulled over and set it on my dash? Would I have to inform the officer that I was recording?
Thanks,
Chris
dialcg@hotmail.com

mirage

as long as u tell them its filming your PROTECTED under the 1st amdt. they cant stop freedom of speech and taping yourself speak is under that. only a cop who has sumpin to fear will tell you to turn it off.

Slightly Stoopid

And no, not only cops with something to fear would make you turn it off, any cop would, why woudn't they want you to turn it off. It does them no good having it on.

__________________
Slightly Stoopid
"Before you knock it, try it first. You will learn that it is a blessing and not a curse"
-Ben Harper

Niteshift

The answer really varies from state to state, particularly on the audio part.

Remember the big deal about Linda Tripp recording her phone calls with Monica Lewinsky? It violated Maryland law, but would be perfectly legal in FL.

Video and audio taping is not solely a 1st Amendment issue.

There are also a few reason to not allow yourself to be taped, as a police officer, that have to do with safety, not about hiding something.

BTW, COPS has people sign waivers. If they don't get a waiver, they will blur the face.

Slightly Stoopid

Cops is my fav show, i watch it everynight I think being a cop would be fun, expecially where i live. All they do is sit around, acting like they are watching for speeders, but really all they do is play games on their laptop computers I have seen em!

Niteshift

I have to go back to the office to do that.........no games in the car

Someone once characterized police work as 98% boredom and 2% terror.

Some days I feel like an armed secretary....then there are those adrenaline rushs along the way

Randøm_

Consult the laws in your state with the reocrding aspects. (Linda Tripp recorded over the phone, which brought up a whole different arena of laws). In some states it's legal as long as one party is aware of being recorded. The GI Joe wannabes in this town are corrupt as hell. I've heard of cops confiscating cams ... in court, it would be your word against theirs.

I was harassed by cops around age 15, a couple in particular. Once they took away an item from me (a dagger so small it was more of a letter opener). I informed them that the blade was legal because it was less than 2 inches. Cop said "I could take you in and you can explain it to the judge". I said ... and I don't suggest this ... "okay, let's go". To make a long story short, they verbally assaulted me some more and left with my dagger anyway. In hindsight, they coulda made some bogus claim like public urination, ruined my night, and kept the dagger anyway.

In Seatle, they pepper sprayed someone taping the riots (she was in a car and no threat). The tape got the cops in trouble. In general, I suggest if you're to be so bold, have witnesses. Your rights are moreso for lawyers to argue to judges, never has my informing cops of my rights made them respect them (except the right to keep my mouth shut). The criminal justice system is a business endorsed by government, they want money and will do whatever they have to do to fine you ... it pays their bills.

Niteshift

"Linda Tripp recorded over the phone, which brought up a whole different arena of laws"

Actually, most states and the Feds view this as a similar issue since both involve the interception of voice without the knowledge of the speaker.

The actual statute may or may not change, the legal principal is usually the same.

"I informed them that the blade was legal because it was less than 2 inches."

This is something that will vary from place to place. Your state might permit a teen boy carrying a "dagger", mine does not.

Randøm_

Niteshift, message well written and well taken. This state allows the recording of a conversation as long as one party is aware, 3rd party converstions are not permitted without a court order.
I do not suggest that teens should carry daggers, regardless of the blade size (do imagine how small a blade is that is less than 2 inches). My point is that here it was legal, and the teen-age status was irrelevant to the law. Many pocket knives have longer blades than the one I carried, it was moreso a novelty item. Had I had a baseball bat, that wouldv'e been confiscated as well, although many teens possess baseball bats that play baseball. I can understand the reasoning behind what they did and your words, but it digresses from the point I tried to make. This was an example of cops failing to acknowledge and respect the very laws as they are mandated to. Asserting one's rights has never stopped a cop from doing whatever he wanted to do from my experiences, rights are merely for lawyers to argue in court.
I kind of feel that you painted me in a less than positive light as "a teen with a dagger". No, it wasn't a smart idea, but it was also common for others my age to carry pistols in my neck of the woods. I am from the inner city of a place that was the murder capital of the US for a couple years.

You may want to check the status of laws involving teens with knives. I do believe most states allow teens to hunt with guns. Of course their are stipulations for a teen to do this, such as supervision and so forth. My point was that the stipulations for this matter had me and my dagger under completely legal standards. I did nothing wrong and was legal, that was the point I was trying to make.

Niteshift

"do imagine how small a blade is that is less than 2 inches"

I know exactly how small. I have a small push dagger from Cold Steel that is in the same size range.

"Asserting one's rights has never stopped a cop from doing whatever he wanted to do from my experiences"

In my experience, as a cop, I've seen it many times.

"I kind of feel that you painted me in a less than positive light as "a teen with a dagger"."

It wasn't intended to be negative, just a statement of fact.

"You may want to check the status of laws involving teens with knives. "

I'm already very familiar with them.

"My point was that the stipulations for this matter had me and my dagger under completely legal standards. I did nothing wrong and was legal, that was the point I was trying to make."

And I was trying to point out to those who may be from other states, that the law may not be the same there