Video-taping a cop: Illegal?
A Maryland man is facing 16 years in prison for videotaping the gun-wielding plainclothes cop who pulled him over. Is that fair?
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A Maryland man is facing 16 years in prison for videotaping an undercover police officer who pulled him over on his motorcycle. Anthony Graber posted footage of the gun-wielding plainclothes cop on YouTube and was promptly arrested. His actions, say the police, violate U.S. wiretapping laws that require both parties to consent before a private conversation can be recorded. That's "a stretch, to put it mildly," says Adam Cohen at Time. Surely a police officer pulling someone over on a busy highway is "engaging in a public act." Not only that, says Chris Matyszczyk at CNet, but the police themselves have a "highly technological penchant for dashboard cams." If they can sell that footage to crime-stopper TV shows, why can't the public do the same? Watch the incident below:
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