The camera is the our first line of defense against this crap. Get a cell phone that records video and keep it on hand. Even better, use Quik.com and stream your video live to a safe location on the web, so no one can confiscate your phone and delete the evidence.The problem, obviously, is that you don't know when you're going to need video. I think cops should be required to have cameras on them at all times, just like their dash cams. And they shouldn't be allowed to keep the videos secret very easily.
I'm so proud of MetaFilter right now. We already have 20 comments and nobody has said it was the victim's fault or that beating people up and lying about it is the reason police exist.It would be a hard claim to make with the Cop's boss in the video saying he's disappointed, knowing that the cops are facing charges, etc.
The incident was probably less serious than the melee after the university's Final Four loss to Duke in 2001, when a mob started fires and caused about $500,000 in damage. It also was less severe than in 2002, after the team's national championship victory, when at least 17 people were arrested, six police cars were damaged and three state troopers injured.posted by peeedro at 7:33 AM on April 16, 2010
Normally, I would slam McCarthy for such a clearly unconstitutional and unethical act. However, in 2001, the Massachusetts Supreme Court in Commonwealth v. Hyde, 434 Mass. 494 (2001), issued a foul abortion of a decision that upheld the conviction of a motorist under this law who audiotaped police misconduct during a traffic stop. Therefore, I think we must give Ms. McCarthy some benefit of the doubt.They run around arresting people who record them, it's insane. This is also the state where helped to keep the Gerald Amirault in prison (and from the same article):
Last year, Coakley chose to personally argue her state’s case before the Supreme Court in Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts. Despite the recent headlines detailing forensic mishaps, fraudulent testimony and crime lab incompetence, Coakley argued that requiring crime lab technicians to be present at trial for questioning by defense attorneys would place too large a burden on prosecutors. The Supreme Court found otherwise, in a decision that had Justices Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia coming down on Coakley’s left.posted by delmoi at 8:21 AM on April 16, 2010
The University of Maryland has found a missing disc of surveillance video from the camera covering the area where a student was beaten by police during last month's civil disturbances, ABC 7 News has confirmed. But the formerly missing disc has a two-minute gap, officials admitted and Maryland State Police are now investigating.posted by peeedro at 8:28 AM on April 21, 2010 [2 favorites]
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In another bizarre coincidence, the campus police official in charge of the video surveillance system, Lt. Joanne Ardovini, is married to one of the National Capital Park police mounted officers who was named in the complaint Prince George's County police filed against McKenna.
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Of course the question is, what would have happened without that camera being there?
posted by delmoi at 6:42 AM on April 16, 2010 [4 favorites]