Posted on 09/28/2010 5:07:26 PM PDT by RedMDer
BALTIMORE - A judge threw out criminal charges Monday against a Maryland man who videotaped his traffic stop by a plainclothes state trooper and posted the video on YouTube.
Anthony J. Graber III had been indicted under Maryland's wiretap law, which requires the consent of both parties to record a private conversation. His video shows the trooper pulling his gun and telling Graber to get off his motorcycle before he identifies himself as a police officer.
Harford County Circuit Judge Emory A. Plitt Jr. ruled that the wiretap law did not apply to a traffic stop because the conversation was not private.
(Excerpt) Read more at myfoxdc.com ...
The prosecutor should be sued for malicious prosecution.
so who footed the troopers legal efforts? Oh, the taxpayer.
IMHO police, fire and other public employees have no right to privacy while they are performing their duties. The public should be able to record - not interfere - with any public employee anywhere.
This and other stories like it continue to promote the idea that the government is above the people and that rules that apply to us, don’t apply to them (i.e. recording interactions with us, police able to lie to the public - but it’s a crime if we lie to them, etc.).
I hope he sues the state and the Trooper. The Trooper’s bills would probably be paid by their union but it would send a big message.
The only union with right to use deadly force?
If he sues, he'll pay for the rest of his life. His loved ones, too.
He can move and sue. Life will go on.
If he continues to be harrassed, he can sue for that as well.
If you watch the entire video you will see why he was pulled over.He was a danger to himself and everyone else on the road with his high speed wheelies and speed over 100 mph.Zigzagging through traffic and giving the sport of motorcycling a bad name.
As for the charge of wiretapping or whatever that charge was , it is BS. That charge wasn’t even placed on him until after he posted a Utube of his little joy ride, but it should never have been placed.
I hope they fine him enough that he has to pawn his motorcycle to pay the fine, and take away his permit forever, for the traffic charges.
That kind of flagrant recklessness to promote other a-holes to do the same thing and place their antics on Utibe has no business on America’s highways.
I agree about the recklessness but I’m also glad that law was challenged here.
Yes: The law against taping police officers is a boatload of crap.
Maryland “Freak State” PING!
As I predicted. Now the gentleman should sue.
There is no law against taping police officers.
I’m not sure about wheelies, but he definitely was speeding greatly. I would’ve been angry at him seeing him zoom by. I don’t recall if he did anything else illegal - such as taking to the shoulders, etc, to get by traffic, which also really frosts my buns.
How did the police find out he had this video, anyway? Did they go searching YouTube, or did he have to give out his pseudonym at the stop? How in the heck did that happen if they didn’t know he had a head-cam? I think this is an important question.
Otherwise, I am very glad the judge struck this down. It is total BS the cops can’t be filmed on the street - especially since the guy already had it running anyway. He was filming to show how thrilling his ride is. It was incidental that the cop was filmed.
That is a relief.
I don't guess you subscribe to the "the legal system is an orgy of police, lawyers, judges, and assorted thugs and leeches" theory of history.
But there is an element of truth to it, I've found.
Unlike an average guy, there are plenty of gay legal groups that would have been more than happy to work pro bono for THIS particular person.
Oops, sorry, got this thread crossed with another.
don’t most troopers have dashboard cams? if this guy didn’t, I can see why.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.