video | PoliceMisconduct.net

Show ‘COPS’ – 25 Years on TV

January 16, 2013 @ 11:32 AM by Tim Lynch

The show “COPS” is celebrating its 25th season on television, the opening strains of its signature opener as familiar as the images of mascara-stained prostitutes, half-naked wife beaters, and obscured faces of a thousand different men, planted in the asphalt by the boot of Johnny Law himself.
After all these years, the gratuitous flash of “viewer discretion advised,” followed by the COPS trademark and the peal of sirens, still marks a half hour of testosterone-fueled, fast food entertainment, or a prompt to quickly change the channel, depending on who’s on the other side of the remote control.
For teenagers, voyeurs, and red-blooded law-and-order types who’ve made this show one of the longest running in American history, the pioneer cinéma vérité format ratifies the correct order of things—beginning smartly with heroes and villains, and ending with the crank of handcuffs and the door of a squad car slamming on another case, closed. …
“What disturbs me is that the audience is led to believe that they’re getting a fair peek at ‘real policing,’ but they don’t realize they’re seeing a distorted picture,” said Tim Lynch, director of the Cato Institute’s Project on Criminal Justice, who guesses among the throwaways are “awful mistakes, incompetence, or misconduct.”

Disorderly Deputy Arrests Orderly Man With Video Camera

January 9, 2013 @ 7:46 AM by Tim Lynch

From TwinCities.com:

He had been filming from about 30 feet away, he said. Henderson said deputies gave him no warning before Muellner took his camera.
The deputy wrote on the citation, “While handling a medical/check the welfare (call), (Henderson) was filming it. Data privacy HIPAA violation. Refused to identify self. Had to stop dealing with sit(uation) to deal w/Henderson.”
Henderson appeared in Ramsey County District Court on Jan. 2. A pretrial hearing was rescheduled for Jan. 30.
The allegation that his recording of the incident violated HIPAA, or the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, is nonsense, said Jennifer Granick, a specialist on privacy issues at Stanford University Law School.

I like this quote from Henderson: “I’m in the right,” he said. “If they don’t drop it, I’m definitely going to trial.” He needs some Patriot-Attorney(s).

Philadelphia Cop Under Investigation for Excessive Force

October 1, 2012 @ 10:11 PM by Tim Lynch

From ABC News:

A Philadelphia cop under investigation for punching a woman in the face has been taken off the streets and restricted to administrative duties during the investigation, police said.
A video posted on YouTube shows the unidentified cop punching a woman in the face and knocking her to the ground before she is led off bloodied and handcuffed.
It was decided today that the officer would be placed on “restricted status,” meaning that he is relegated to “administrative duties pending the outcome of the investigation,” according to Lt. Ray Evers.

Man Dies in Police Custody. Medical Examiner Rules Death a Homicide.

September 26, 2012 @ 2:10 PM by Tim Lynch

From the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:

The Journal Sentinel reported Sunday that the Milwaukee County medical examiner’s office has revised its ruling on the death of Derek Williams, who died in Milwaukee police custody in July 2011, from natural to homicide, according to the district attorney’s office. The decision came after the Journal Sentinel alerted an assistant medical examiner to newly released records.
If Williams had gotten immediate medical attention, he would not have died in the backseat of a squad car while Milwaukee police officers ignored his pleas for help, James Hall, president of the local chapter of the NAACP, said Sunday.

Video at the link above shows Derek Williams handcuffed in the backseat of police cruiser gasping for air and begging for help. The police do not take his pleas seriously and seem to think Williams is drunk or under the influence of narcotics.

Kudos to the Journal-Sentinel for pursuing the case and obtaining the police records and video. The medical examiner did not have the full picture—Hmm—and reversed his conclusion only after the newspaper brought the new information to his attention.

Roadblocks and Checkpoints

July 17, 2012 @ 12:00 PM by Tim Lynch

It’s a common police trick–fudge a statement so the citizen thinks he just heard a police command, but, technically, it was only a request. Here the police say “Do me a favor … and go over to secondary screening.” Most of us think, “Oh well, something I have to do … don’t want to disobey the police.” The driver doesn’t fall for it–he is quick to reply, “No thanks – I want to be on my way.” The police try to up the pressure–after all, it works all the time!–but here it fails. Knowing they don’t have a valid legal basis for a detention, the police let this citizen go on his way.

The root of the problem in this situation is the policy, not the police officers caught on camera. The police in the video were told to set up a checkpoint and screen drivers and passengers for citizenship. They were professional and followed their training. When their training trick didn’t work, they gave up fairly quickly. (Tho one officer, at the beginning, crossed the line and tried to coerce a response by saying, “if you don’t answer, we can detain you”). It is good that this driver is asserting his rights and showing others how to do so.

For additional background, go here.

Witness: Miami Beach Officers “took everyone’s phones and smashed them”

June 29, 2012 @ 2:21 PM by Tim Lynch

From CNN:

An eyewitness to a fatal police shooting in Miami Beach last week claims police officers attempted to confiscate the video he filmed of the incident, and even crushed his phone underfoot in an attempt to destroy the recording.

Read the whole thing.

The Jason Fyk Case: Attempted Murder for Using a Cell Phone?!

June 22, 2012 @ 12:15 PM by Tim Lynch

Story from WBFF Fox45:

A man who took out his cell phone to record an act, that turned out to be a crime, has ended up in jail.
The next time you hit record in public in Baltimore you might want to think twice. A fateful decision to do just that, put a Pennsylvania business owner in jail for first degree murder. It was a move that web site publisher Jason Fyk cost him dearly. “I couldn’t believe, I could not believe the ignorance of how they twisted this story into something I did,” says Fyk.
His ordeal started last February in a downtown parking garage new Power Plant Live. Fyk had been conducting an interview for his web site with stunt bicyclists when they decided to leave to resume the talk elsewhere. They encountered another group of downtown revelers parked nearby.
After a few heated exchanges, a fight with both sides exchanging blows ensued. Fyk said he stopped recording and intervened when the brawl turned violent. Both parties went their separate ways.
Shortly after posting his video of the scuffle online, police showed up at his home with a search warrant. Several weeks later, another warrant was issued, for his arrest. Fyk says he was charged with “conspiracy to commit first degree murder for taking a cell phone video.”
The charges against Fyk have since been dropped. University of Baltimore Law professor Byron Warnkin says it’s technically not a crime to hit record, even if you catch someone breaking the law.
Both the police department and the attorney general’s office have declined to comment on the issue.

The level of ignorance here is truly astounding. This isn’t a new cop and a new prosecutor screwing up the appropriate charge in some off-the-wall misdemeanor case. One must presume the more experienced people are handling the murder and attempted murder cases–and yet Jason Fyk finds himself facing the most severe cases on the law books! And do note how the system offered him a “break” if he pled guilty. A less sophisticated person might have caved in and accepted that nightmarish deal. Plea bargaining is a problem folks.

For additional background, go here, here, here, and here.