Police accused of erasing street preacher's video evidence
Written by Editor
Saturday, 10 July 2010 16:39
A Christian missionary who preaches the Gospel message in public places across the nation says officers from the University of Pennsylvania illegally arrested him and tampered with evidence about their actions during a preaching mission on public walks in front a Philadelphia mosque.
The accusations come from Michael Marcavage of Repent America, who along with another Christian was arrested by university officers while preaching and speaking in front of the Masjid al-Jamia mosque in Philadelphia over the 4th of July holiday weekend.
As he left the scene, he heard Officer Michel stating, 'I'm concerned about what's on the video' to another officer.
"The video camera was not brought into the police station with the evangelists' other belongings," the report continued. "After the evangelists were released from jail and their belongings were returned, they discovered that police destroyed their video evidence by completely recording over the footage that had been captured."
Man arrested for taking picture of police officer in the man's own home
Written by Editor
Friday, 25 June 2010 09:57
A Texas man has sued his local police department, saying he was arrested for taking a picture of a police officer when the officer entered his home without permission.
According to the lawsuit, Sgt. Justin Alderete of the Sealy, Texas, police department arrived at the home of Francisco Olvera in October, 2009, apparently responding to a noise complaint. Olvera had been playing music on his computer speakers while working outside on his patio.
The sergeant asked Olvera for identification. When Olvera went inside his home to grab his ID, Sgt. Alderete followed him inside. Believing the officer didn't have a right to enter his home without permission, Olvera picked up his cellphone and took a photo of the officer. At that point, the lawsuit states, Alderete accused Olvera of "illegal photography" and arrested him.
Democrat congressman assaults college student on public sidewalk
Written by Editor
Tuesday, 15 June 2010 12:29
In this video, we see Congressman Bob Etheridge, D-NC, grabbing a student reporter by the arm, then grabbing his neck, when approached and asked one question on a public sidewalk.
Mass. police turn up heat on legal civilian flaggers
Written by Editor
Friday, 23 April 2010 16:40
Lynn Williams, a construction worker in a yellow vest, was standing in the middle of a South Boston intersection, holding a sign warning drivers to slow down, when police showed up and ordered her to stop, she said.
“They threatened to arrest me,’’ she said. “Wasn’t that nice of them?’’
Within moments, according to the state’s top highway official, a project supervisor had pulled Williams away from assisting traffic to “deescalate the situation.’’ Police deny that they threatened to arrest her, but by the next morning, the civilian flagger had been replaced by a uniformed officer.
The incident Tuesday was the latest flare-up in an increasingly tense dispute between the Boston Police Department and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation over the use of civilian flaggers at city construction sites overseen by the state.
State officials say they want to use civilian flaggers, allowed under a new state law, to save money; police in Boston and elsewhere, who can earn huge amounts of money working at construction sites, have argued that public safety is better served by having officers, rather than civilians, working the jobs.
Minutes after a suburban Chicago police officer was charged with striking a motorist with his baton, prosecutors handed out copies of a video showing the beating -- taken by a dashboard camera on the officer's own squad car.
In California, after a transit cop and an unruly train passenger slammed against a wall during a struggle and shattered a station window last fall, video from a bystander's cell phone was all over the Internet before the window was fixed.
The same cell phones, surveillance cameras and other video equipment often used to assist police are also catching officers on tape, changing the nature of police work -- for better and worse.
Police State
