Police Try To Bring Wiretapping Charges Against Woman Who Filmed Them Beating A Man
from the wow dept
For the past year, we've talked a lot about how police and some courts have been abusing wiretapping laws to go after people who film the police in public. Thankfully, more recently, it appears that more and more courts have been smacking down such lawsuits, and those who are bringing them are regularly being scolded. Not everyone has received the message however. For example, there's police officer Michael Sedergren, who was disciplined for an incident in November of 2009, in which police were caught on video beating a guy named Melvin Jones III. The video was made by a woman named Tyrisha Greene. Jones had bones all over his face broken and became partially blind in one eye.You would think that Sedergren, who was suspended for 45 days for his actions in the video, would know better and just get on with his life. Instead, he's "filed an application for a criminal complaint" against Greene, saying she violated wiretapping laws in filming him without his permission. Everyone involved knows the law is not intended for situations like this, where an officer of the law is out in public. If this officer's response to being filmed involved in questionable activities is to push for criminal charges against the person who caught him doing it, it seems like he does not deserve to be an officer of the law at all any more. What a massive abuse of the law.
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Filed Under: beating, melvin jones iii, michael sedergren, police, tyrisha greene, wiretapping
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The officer committed a crime.
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Two party consent wiretap laws exist for one reason. To protect politicians from bribery laws. "Oh, you taped our conversation and now are threatening to release the tapes? Well, if you say anything I'll have you arrested for violating wiretapping laws."
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The only exception is usually when the recording equipment is so obvious that the person is aware that they are being recorded, such as a TV cameraman with a full camera pointing it in their face as an interviewer is asking questions.
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Gosh
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I think this guy should go Mr. Melvin should go by the old addage: An eye for an eye........
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If this officer beats someone til he's blind in one eye it seems like he does not deserve to be an officer of the law at all any more regardless of whether or not he sues someone afterwards.
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Re: Re: Gosh
"If this officer's response to being filmed involved in questionable activities is to push for criminal charges against the person who caught him doing it, it seems like he does not deserve to be an officer of the law at all any more."
I would seriously question reinstating him as an active officer without some sort of re-training / testing. If I wanted that kind of aggression I would send him to the army, this is not the kind of behavior I would expect from the police. I can understand the beating and the punishment associated, I can't understand his complete lack of remorse in this matter.
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A police officer, not The Police
"Police Sgt. John M. Delaney, aide to Commissioner William J. Fitchet, said Sedergren filed the complaint personally, not on behalf of the Police Department. “If officer Sedergren feels his rights were violated under the law then he has the opportunity to make his case in court, just like everyone else,” Delaney said."
The Police did not file, a police officer filed.
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Re: A police officer, not The Police
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You live up to your name.
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Re: Re: Re: Re: A police officer, not The Police
If you're not part of the solution, you ARE part of the problem..
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Re: Re: Re: Re: A police officer, not The Police
The beautiful thing about Techdirt is that it allows everyone and anyone to post.
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Re: A police officer, not The Police
How hard was that to work out?
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Re: Re: A police officer, not The Police
If I file suit against someone I deal with at and in the course of my job the headlines shouldn't read "The Library files suit...", because it is me personally doing it. In this action I am NOT representing the library. "A Librarian files suit..." is fine, and accurate.
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Re: A police officer, not The Police
http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2010/01/springfield_police_department_5.html
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Re: A police officer, not The Police
I hate these kind of cops who have no right to be in a public se4rvice and should never have been passed to do a public job.
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Previously, nobody would get arrested for publishing an account of what they saw cops doing. But with a video recording, the cops can't argue and say you're lying or mistaken about what you saw.
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So instead they try to use the law to intimidate you.
"Stay out of this or I'll charge you with illegal wiretapping"
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She just has an audio/visual presentation to back up her version of events.
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Public Stoning
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“Massachusetts Wiretapping Law Strikes Again”, by Sam Bayard, Citizen Media Law Project, Dec 12, 2007:
“Was convicted”, “sentenced to six months probation and fined $500”, and “ordered ... to remove the footage from the Internet.”
How far is that?
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Re: Re: (masssachsetts "wiretapping")
Massachusetts cops routinely harass people for videotaping them. You can easily be arrested in Mass for this. Personally, I'd much rather deal with a mugger than a cop in Mass. A mugger will only take your phone and wallet, which is a small loss and not a huge thing. A corrupt cop can arrest you, beat you, have you thrown in jail, and you get a permanent arrest record that will cost you tens of thousands of dollars to fight. I don't trust most of the cops in Mass. They believe themselves above the law and feel they have every right to beat people who annoy them. And they still do not understand why people do not trust them and are afraid of them. The cops view anyone who is not a cop as a criminal either now or in the future.
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Re: Re: (masssachsetts "wiretapping")
Massachusetts cops routinely harass people for videotaping them. You can easily be arrested in Mass for this. Personally, I'd much rather deal with a mugger than a cop in Mass. A mugger will only take your phone and wallet, which is a small loss and not a huge thing. A corrupt cop can arrest you, beat you, have you thrown in jail, and you get a permanent arrest record that will cost you tens of thousands of dollars to fight. I don't trust most of the cops in Mass. They believe themselves above the law and feel they have every right to beat people who annoy them. And they still do not understand why people do not trust them and are afraid of them. The cops view anyone who is not a cop as a criminal either now or in the future.
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Execpt it has.
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I can't imagine this will go far in court
It depends on the judge. We've seen all too many times that there are judges who care only for the winning of police officers even if that winning violates all laws and ethics that exist. We really need new laws that require mandatory prosecution of police, DAs and Judges who act in such disregard for law and civil rights.
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Its personnel
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He's going to spend a lot of time at the bottom of the totem pole because he got caught.
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So the one bad apple / justice has been done arguments are bullshit.
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YOUNG PEOPLE GET OUT AND VOTE FOR A SMALLER, SMALLER FEDERAL GOVERNMENT!!!!!!!!!!
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Re: Its personal
Yeah I have no sympathy for this dirt bag cop.
Just for this stupid legal stunt I genuinely hope his career is so well ended andover he won't even be able to get a job licking AIDS invested toilets clean in a Tiajuana whorehouse.
Never mind whether should ever be allowed to work for any position of authority in the public or private sector ever again. That's an obvious no and the public to keep tabs on him from now on to hound him out of any such job he ever gets again.
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Can we use that term somehow? This guy's name should live on..
Perhaps now when some public official tries to make their job 'non-public' for purposes of corruption, we could say they are "pulling a Sedergren".
Just seems oddly fitting. Obviously, there's no other real good explanation for a 'servant of the public' - while on public duty, paid by taxpayers would have to think his job is in anyway private.
After hours or in the context of an investigation, it would be different - but not in this case. This should be as public as possible.
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If filming him without his permission is violating wiretapping laws then he him self is violating wiretapping laws every time he turns on his dash cam as he is filming people without their permission.
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how many false drug convictions did this guy manufacture.
If the number of criminals charged is part of a cops pay review process or as a negotiating lever for contracts, corruption will rule and liberty suffers.
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Police officer Michael Sedergren
Police officer Michael Sedergren meet the Streisand Effect.
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Problem is they do have something to hide
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Po-lice
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Old saw, new twist.
It's done to cover their asses. If the police beat someone, that person had better be doing something wrong. It also lets them attack the person's character in the media. Charge big, and pretend you've got a sure case. After the media furor dies down, you can drop the charges or reduce them to something reasonable.
The new twist is that merely witnessing police brutality can now be treated the same way by misapplying wiretap laws, or obstruction of justice laws, or whatever else they think they can make stick.
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Re: Old saw, new twist.
“Snitches get stitches.”
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Pulic video of police
Yeah, sure, sometimes a culprit or suspect will try and push a cops' buttons, and sometimes it works. The cops have what they call "circle of force" wherein they respond to a situation using only that amount of force to resolve the conflict, and no more....Most cops are good, and trustworthy, but at times, some pass through unnoticed, until they get caught.
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1) retalatory conduct
2) unbecoming of a peace officer
3) frivilous
The woman should countersue.
And I can't wait until a Judge tells the officer that if he has nothing to hide, then he has nothing to lose.
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In public? I call BS.
"But if a citizen does the same, it's legal. It's silly"
In public - right? I think you're silly.
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1) You could be doing the police a favor thinking in case something happens I'll have proof of what I saw not have to try to remember it a couple years from now.
2) It might be cool and you just want to put it on You Tube.
3) It might be a family member and you figure: lets keep some evidence so if they treat my kid improperly we can prove they screwed up the arrest.
Regardless rarely is the camera on because people are suspecting the cops will do a crime. Probably more of trying to catch them making an error in the process so the case can be overturned against their friend/family member, or just general that's cool "I don't see cops making an arrest every day".
As mentioned several times: cops are doing things in public so shouldn't have any expectation of privacy. Often when cops are filming you they want to sneak cameras into your house/work, hide them on themselves while they try to make a buy, etc etc. They are both moving into the private realm and often setting up the scenario that would lead them to witness something illegal not just being passive bystanders.
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Mind you I doubt this would gain much traction, given how much the concept of transparency has been colored over with sharpie in this country.
I find it appalling, from reading the article, that another officer (with a long history of "alleged" police brutality) involved was fired - but they waited for his disability pension to kick in first.
While it is nice the Government wants to back the officers, they should also take into account the idea that blindly supporting them just adds to the contempt people feel for the police as a whole. The systems in place to deal with the bad apples obviously are not working correctly.
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Michael Sedergren was one of the charming officers, that stood back and watched, and did not stop their fellow officer from beating a man half to death.
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supposed unedited version of video in question.
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Police Try To Bring Wiretapping Charges Against Woman Who Filmed Them Beating A Man
The police should just license music to play during arrests, then they could team up with the RIAA to go after anyone who records them for music copyright infringement.
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This is the New World Odor
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RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE
TAKE THE POWER BACK!
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If the can film us whenever they want...
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Wiretapping charge
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not saying there arn't good cops but far and few of them between.
we all need to start using our camera's and video alot more.
hope that person get their eye sight back.
glad the cops are here to protect us.f...
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Uhh
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video
http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2011/08/videographer_of_alleged_melvin.html
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Would be videographers should be aware though, when one video tapes a crime it turns the media the video was saved on into evidence. Whether the video supports the police's position or not, it should be seized as evidence and held until trial.
Don't freak out and complain that this is just another means for the police to harass. Any good defense attorney would agree with me.
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