Should You Be Able To Video Police?

Absolute power corrupts absolutely!

Of course you should. They are men, not GODS, and if they are caught by a civilian while they are doing wrong, then there needs to be video proof of it, because word of mouth will not be believed.

I hope so.....because I just video taped police arressting some dude....

Why not,if they are doing their job correctly they should have nothing to hide.

Duh.

They do it to us all the time.

The police are public servants and subject to the same laws they should be enforcing. Americans have the right to transparency in how and what police enforce.
Otherwise we're one step closer to a police state...

Any power we grant the state in "our" service derives from we the citizenry. That means it is "our rights" that we grant to them to perform a public service. We are not slaves to the state, we are its master. And state employees are our servants.

Public servants lives are not more valuable than we the citizens contrary to the budding culture behind badges across America, and a public servants "safety" is not paramount to the citizens. This isn't a two tier system. And finally back on point a public servants right to privacy implied or inumerated is no less nor no greater than we the citizens.

So the short answer is no.

err...my dyslexia is showing. (the short answer) I meant no the police should not be able to prevent you from filming them or their actions. And of course in response to the question posted....(the short answer) yes, we should be able to video police.

It's the best idea anybody could have ever come up with.

Of course.

Absolutely. We NEED to. You never know what kind of person is wearing the uniform.

Um, yeah.
Look at this fat, stupid cop harassing these kids. Hope he lost his job, the jerk.

Yes, the cop is a moron and the kid is a "wanna-be" ....
And we should be able to record any interaction with the police.

Someone needs to have a talk with this cop. He doesn't understand that HE just disrespected the badge and his department. Respect is earned, not demanded. These kids have just learned NOT to respect the police.

the police are so corrupt these days

Seriously... cops are really dangerous crazies...

Police are a double edged sword. They keep you safe, but if they turn on you, you're screwed. I wish I had video of some of the jerk cops I've run into. It would be better for everyone to get those idiots out of the uniform they definitely don't deserve.

Of course. Is America a police state? Are we subjects to fascist authority?
The problem here is that the kind of cops that would be offended by being video taped are the same cops that would kill you without blinking an eye just to protect their criminality from being disclosed.

We have no idea what the squid did to antagonize the cop.

Of course.

yes people should be able to because THIS AMERICA HOME OF THE FREE!!!!to a certian point and their is nothing against the law that says we cant video tape them

In Preparation Fof The G-20 Talks , Toronto Police Spent (They Admit To 1.3 Billion Billion So Far) On Police Security For 1 Weekend . I Went To Photograph The Sites . Got Corralled With 250-300 Other People , And Held In Torrential Rain For 4 Hours On A Street Corner. I Believe It's Imperitive That We Be Able Document Any And All Incidents So It Can Be Sorted Out Later. (photos on my facebook profile) From Toronto Incident

police and army got order from boss to beat up some one and if police doing illegay may be good to video tape but since tehy ahve gun becarfull since they can shoot you and say for selfdefence
when you enter war zone and you are innocnet and place bomb you will hit even if you are not did anything wrong then enter in batte zone and video camerat is risk involve make sure you have life insureance and good health injury insurance fi you enter in any war zone or deal with authority has gun in their cloth
police also are normal people and do not like to loose their job when their boss order them and if they are not take order theyloose tehri job if they do listena nd beat up proteser tehyw ill video film and may get sued them
being police is not easy job these days
you must understand what to do when you or how to do it

can you see any soldure show vidwo film when they drop bomb in head of enemy and kill so mnay soldure and how they kil the enemy ia m sure if we video tape those army peopel we discuse too
but some times must review


when police is there may be federal must videwo tape it not all regular ordinary with not licence for publc interst or some may bother with public interst too
may be need licence of video to not cancoer some part with new thecholagry

They have cameras in their cars so they can have a record of what went on. Why shouldn't the public be able to do the same. Fair is fair.

The now nearly ubiquitous availability of cameras and video recorders can and should be an important check on government misconduct and oppression, and this has our American Mandarins in the public sector worried.

the police often videotape themselves

Yes, Everyone has a right to a silent wittness, it keeps both people honest.

police brutality should be seen by all

Preferably second hand.

lol

Of course.... Why did this cop stop the biker, anyway ?

but please, that can hardly be considered having a gun "pulled" on you, he didnt even point it at him, perhaps it was just instinct for the cop to unholster then upon realizing his mistake, he put the gun back in the holster

The weapon was most assuredly 'pulled' on the guy, in a deliberate attempt to intimidate....most likely against department guidelines....a-hole !! You can see how reluctant his back-up is to get involved.... I'll bet the guy is known in his department as a total jerk....as much as I love cops & the military, there are always gonna be the sort of clown who should not be entrusted with a gun and badge....this is one of them...

he probably is, but i wouldnt consider it being pulled on u unless its pointed at you

Of course we should. If they can video tape us, so should we be able to video tape them. They are there to protect us yes, but who will protect us against those cops that abuse the trust they've been given? If their morals don't make them act with respect and to do their jobs right, then perhaps the video cameras will.

My son is a cop, my uncle was a cop (was gunned down by a crack head)...I'm retired military and think that of course you should be able to video tape police actions.

Matter of fact my sons patrol car has a built in camera on the dashboard for traffic stops. Here's the rub - if you are interfering in any way with the officer's ability to perform his job or with officer safety - you need to back up and give them room. Police ar already on high alert, physically, when involved in enforcement actions - so smart mouthed comments and ANT threatening behavior is taken VERY seriously. If they ask you to step back - do so - just zoom in with your lens more...if they ask you to stop, step back further and continue to tape - then ask the reason for not wanting the recording made (politely - not profanely).

Cops are human, my son is one of the kindest men on the earth, but they want to go home at night to their families and they cannot have citizens interfering with their actions - nor do they always have the time - right then - to give you a lengthy explanation why you need to move away from the scene.
Do not expect respect if you approach with profanity or “attitude”, remember police are there to protect your butt, not kiss it.