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Should filming the police get you arrested?
Written by David Sirota
Tuesday, 21 June 2011 21:34
A newly released video shows a woman being taken into custody for taping cops while standing on her own property
A push is being made to criminalize the act of recording police officers in public spaces. This effort comes -- not coincidentally -- at a time when police forces are facing potential federal investigations into police brutality.
To get a sense of just how far some police departments seem willing to go to prevent citizens from exercising their civil right to record public spaces, watch this recently released video of a Rochester woman who appears to be getting arrested for video taping police from her own front lawn. (Note: The police officer in the video refers to an earlier exchange, so there may be another aspect to this story.)
For more details on the situation surrounding the Rochester arrest, go here. Needless to say, the event epitomizes the situation -- and shows how the use of police powers in this way is one major part of a larger campaign to criminalize free speech.
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David Sirota is a best-selling author of the new book "Back to Our Future: How the 1980s Explain the World We Live In Now." He hosts the morning show on AM760 in Colorado. E-mail him at
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, follow him on Twitter @davidsirota or visit his website at www.davidsirota.com.
