Arrested for Filming Police in MD?

An individual in the US state of Maryland is facing felony charges for filming and posting online a video of an aggressive unmarked police officer pulling him over for speeding.
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Anthony Garber was pulled over while on his motorcycle by a non-uniformed police officer driving an unmarked car. The officer got out of his car, pulled his gun and aggressively approached Garber before identifying himself as state police. Garber recorded the incident with a camera that was attached to the top of his motorcycle helmet and posted it on YouTube.

Days after posting the video online the police showed up at Garber 's home and arrested him for violating the state's wiretapping laws. It is illegal in Maryland to video tape anyone without their consent.

"It's obviously an attempt by the police to strongarm him. He did nothing wrong. He did nothing criminal. All he did was expose a cop, an overly aggressive cop, and he embarrassed a cop and now they're cracking down on him. It's really out of line on the police department for pursuing this charge against him because the wiretapping law is meant for telephone conversations, not for being videotaped in public when you have no expectation for privacy," said blogger Carlos Miller of Photography Is Not A Crime.

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The camera was visible on the top of Garber's helmet in sight of the police officer.

Video footage allows for accountability on police officer and police organizations. In another case, university student John McKenna was beaten excessively by police officers and it was caught on tape. The video footage was the only evidence that showed the reality of the situation. The officers had originally claimed that McKenna attacked them.

"The video camera doesn't lie, it shows the truth and now they are trying to crack down on that," said Miller.

He continued, "It is a clear violation of our first amendment rights because numerous courts and numerous judges have ruled that photography and videography is protected by the first amendment."

Miller argues that lawmakers need to make laws that protect American citizens. He said It is unreasonable to tell individuals that they cannot film.

Police officers need to work under the impression that they may be on film at any point in time to ensure accountability of police actions. Without cameras police can easily get away with brutality, just as they have for years. Police officers must be retrained to accept accountability, according to Miller. http://rt.com/Top_News/2010-06-11/film-cop-maryland-arrested.html

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FAIR USE NOTICE: This video may contain copyrighted material. Such material is made available for educational purposes only. This constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 of the US Copyright Law.

Category:

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Tags:

• Russia Today
• Police
• Youtube
• Filming
• maryland
• MD
• Anthony Garber
• Pulled over
• video
• tape
• unmarked
• crime
• news
• discussion
• politics

[vargg]

i wouldnt piss on a cop if he was on fire

[tehbakedpotato]

The officer should have been pulling out his badge, not a gun, to get the point across.

[shellyemarvin]

Looks like a car jacking.... I would have ran over him.

[Vottaro]

One person is a cop................ LOL

I'm a humane person, but still I don't discriminate when it comes to self defense and standing up for what is right. I'll hold virtues over societal law and religious law ANY DAY!

Personally, I'm surprised that a group similar in approach to the KKK hasn't rose up to massacre corrupted cops and Muslim extremists............ LOL sure that's a bit morbid, but hey face it initiatives are depleting and then again maybe the good within people is growing...naw

[Hispandinavian]

The only thing those officers are good for is sniper rifle practice! THey are criminal bully thugs with badges and look for any excuse to bully, harrass, and murder citizens.

[ewhitlow]

As soon as his gun came out, I would have shot him in the head. He didn't identify himself as a cop for 4 full seconds, as far you know he's just a guy with a guy. I'm glad that Anthony KICKED THEIR ASS in court on this one.. He really screwed em..

[Morgan4746]

@franksantra I totally agree about what u say.

[DJGreenleaF88]

@kkingss4 i am from baltimore and the cops that patrol my neighborhood, most bad except a few that are honest upholding men and women, they tend to stay away from me. i.e. no unwarrented stops or harrassment that i see others being harrassed for dumb shit like tints as a excuse to pull you over and meet thier quota. and they may not admit there is an offical one but your raises and pension upgrades depend on how many arrest you make and how effective you are. my cousins a cop.

[DJGreenleaF88]

@kkingss4 Fuck them cops. I have recorded twice and if you know your rights and are half intelligent they will leave you alone. Just use the expression "i am making a film or blog on the daily duties of our brave police".haha thats funny sounding that will throw them way off. use your head. get into theirs. its a mind game. dont be afriad. there must be a downfall before we can rise up and change these bs laws and abuse of power.

[njcop11]

Where did this woman get her broadcasting experience from? She sucks.

[kkingss4]

and i wonder if a cop is getting beat up can we record that? im sure they won't arrest us for that so my point is why can't we record them beating someone up

[kkingss4]

wow this is scarry i live in md and im planning on buying a helmet cam to record myself riding

i would hate to get arrested for that