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posted by CoolHand on Thursday September 22 2016, @07:41PM   Printer-friendly
from the keeping-an-eye-on-big-bro dept.

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2016/09/cops-record-themselves-allegedly-fabricating-charges-with-suspects-camera/

In a US federal civil rights lawsuit, a Connecticut man has shared footage to bolster his claims that police illegally confronted the pedestrian because he was filming one of them. Authorities seized Michael Picard's camera and his permitted pistol, and the officers involved then accidentally recorded themselves allegedly fabricating charges against the man.

Picard's police encounter began as he was protesting a sobriety checkpoint while lawfully carrying a handgun in a holster. The plaintiff often protests near sobriety checkpoints in the Hartford region and is known by locals and police in the area, according to court documents. "Cops Ahead: Keep Calm and Remain Silent," read the 3-foot-by-2-foot sign Picard held up to motorists ahead of the checkpoint in West Hartford last year.

-- submitted from IRC


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  • (Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 22 2016, @09:45PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 22 2016, @09:45PM (#405293)

    The cops are doing exactly what they're supposed to -- the fault lies with the legislators who pass such a ludicrous assortment of catch-all "crimes" so that anyone can be charged with *something*.

    There isn't anything *wrong* in what Picard was doing, but there were things that were unlawful. You pretty much can't exist without being in violation of something. *That's* the root problem.

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  • (Score: 1) by Francis on Friday September 23 2016, @01:03AM

    by Francis (5544) on Friday September 23 2016, @01:03AM (#405359)

    Absolutely and combine that with the practice of piling on whole lists of crimes that could possibly be applicable to force a plea bargain and I'm not even sure how that represents justice.

    If you make the list long enough, chances are you'll be able to convince the jury that the defendant is guilty of at least one of the crimes they're being charged with. The fact that an Alford plea is even a thing speaks volumes about how little they care about justice in the legal system.