Case Dismissed Against Woman Arrested While Videotaping Police

Case Dismissed Against Woman Arrested While Videotaping Police

www.whec.com

The case against a Rochester woman arrested while videotaping police has been dismissed.

Early this afternoon, demonstrators rallied outside the Hall of Justice in support of Emily Good who was arrested while videotaping police officers during a traffic stop on May 12 in front of her 19th Ward home.

Good recorded police officers making a traffic stop while standing in her front yard even though an officer asked her to stop and go inside. She was charged with obstructing of governmental administration. Since then, the video from that night has made it onto news shows across the country.

(visit the link for the full news article)

(Added to the story since I posted)

In court today, the District Attorney’s office says based on a review of the evidence, there was no legal basis to go forward. The charge was withdrawn and the judge dismissed the case.

A joint statement issued by Mayor Tom Richards, City Council President Lovely Warren and Rochester Police Chief James Sheppard says they support the decision of the District Attorney’s Office to dismiss the charges against Good. The statement says whatever the specific circumstances that led to Good’s arrest, they see no purpose in pursuing the criminal charges.

The statement continues, “We believe that the incident that led to Ms. Good's arrest and the subsequent ticketing for parking violations of vehicles belonging to members of an organization associated with Ms. Good raise issues with respect to the conduct of Rochester Police Officers that require an internal review. A review into both matters has been initiated.

Hahaha. I knew it.

The cops blew this one big time. Thank God for the court system.

This woman will be a rich woman. I hope she becomes the icon of peoples vs cops & RIGHTS.

Way to go girl. Mark one up for the Good Guys. US>

I hope this sends a message out to the cops. WE ARE NOT YOUR SLAVES TO BE ORDERED AROUND LIKE CATTLE.

I hope he loses his job. or rather heavily penalized by his bosses.

Way to go.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/adf153be4b6c.jpg[/atsimg]

www.whec.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

They achieved their goal of harassing the woman and it will continue to happen until people start to lose their jobs.

I am pretty sure, we will see her again. I think she should of been charged or at least have a fine.

I am glad she got off, but what choice did they have?

That poster would make a great bumper sticker. Can you imagine if you got pulled over and the cop comes walking up to the drivers side after reading it, and you are calming taking a drag off a cigarette?

I'm astonished that - for once - sanity has prevailed.

I hope she gets a nice settlement.

S&F 4U OP

reply to post by Manhater


Charged for what? Recording police from her front yard. Give me a break. She did nothing wrong therefore the charges were dropped and now the police will have to settle a lawsuit. As the great Charlie Sheen once said, "Winning"

Dang. Instead of posting the update in an existing thread, I guess I should have started a new one. Oh well.
I am glad that justice prevailed and Ms. Good was vindicated. Now we will have to see what the internal investigation yields.
An officer like this, who is willing to trample on the rights of an innocent woman, is probably not above planting evidence on a suspect. He needs to find a new line of work. He has violated his trust as a public servant.

Good for her. I hope she gets plenty of monetary compensation for the harassment she suffered. I'm also glad they are investigating these guys. Nothing will change until these bad apples start getting canned.

reply to post by Sparky63


With over 600 replys, many people may not check back on the original story etc.

Besides, it is breaking news. Within 5 mins of the story being released.... give me some credit

I wonder if those defenders of the police will be on and commenting.

For the record.. I did make this call on last Thursday (another )
www.abovetopsecret.com...

I can think few guys on the forum who are gonna be pretty embarassed. It happens when you stick to "company policy" even though you have pretty clear evidence at hand.

Great to hear.
About time this crap stops.

This happened in New York state right?

In Illinois, Massachusetts, and Maryland it's illegal to film cops because they say it's wiretapping or some BS like that.

If that happened in any of those three states, the woman would have lost... and hopefully would have brought it up to the Supreme Court and won...

By attempting to force her back into her home, the officer would have prevented her for recording any audio during the traffic stop. She may have been able to continue recording video, but without the audio it would have been very unlikely that the video would have ever been useful in documenting that the stop was due to racial profiling.

Everyone who has suggested that the cop arrested her for any other reason other than that he wanted to prevent her from recording his actions is just making excuses for illegal conduct. In my humble opinion.

reply to post by anon72

You're right...I just wish I had thought of that. Day late and a dollar short I guess.
Good luck on your thread. The important thing is that this woman was found innocent and this cop is being investigated.

reply to post by Vitchilo


This interpretation of the law is being challenged in all these states. This "wire tapping" rule is surely to be overruled sooner or later.

Im so glad that the decision went well for Ms Good. It just proves the point that most cops are not experts in law.

police must conduct themselves with appropriate respect for the rights of those involved or who are observing their actions.

- This is music to my ears

reply to post by Vitchilo

it's wiretapping or some BS like that.

I believe that is if there is sound being recorded. That is where the wiretapping etc comes into play.

Example, in PA. Both sides (or at least two sides) have to be aware and agree to the taping of voice. So, that is how the cops are trying to get by all of that.

One can easily plug their Video recorder but I don't know about a phone. I will try to get some of the videos of when the cops asks "are you recording my voice (or similar)"

Originally posted by anon72
reply to post by Vitchilo

 

it's wiretapping or some BS like that.

I believe that is if there is sound being recorded. That is where the wiretapping etc comes into play.

And I bet if you don't have sound, and you record that the cop is beating you up on video and you go to trial, it won't be accepted because ``it doesn't contain sound``...

The wiretapping law is BS.

I am a supporter of law enforcement (in general), and I believe that the vast majority of them are good people, doing a crappy job for a crappy salary, and trying to do it to the best of their ability. However, there is a segment of police that think they're above the law and that they are "better" than the civilian population. That being said, I am extremely happy that this woman had the charges dropped, and I really hope there is some type of disciplinary action taken against the officer.

I understand that a police officer has the right to come home to his/her family at the end of a shift, and I also know that cop's don't lose. Those are 2 fundamental truths that us civilians need to understand. Police will protect themselves, and yes, you may have the "right" to do whatever it is you're doing, but you also need to understand that things could go downhill for you rather quickly if you don't do what you're told. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying to be a lemming, but there are some (not necessarily this one) circumstances where you "can legally" do something, but by doing so, you're going to have to pay the piper, so to speak. It's no different than crossing a crosswalk. Yes, you can walk out into traffic, and they're supposed to stop, but are you going to risk life and limb to prove a point? Not me. I'll make damn sure it's safe to cross. The same thing with the cops. Yeah, I may be filming in my front yard, but what exactly am I out to "prove" by continuing to film? Am I intentionally baiting the cops? We'd scream "entrapment" if it were the other way around.

As for the cops not losing, they don't. You may get one, or two of them, but in the end, you're going to be a slab of meat on a stainless steel table. So, remember these truths, because whether they're right or wrong from a physiological standpoint, they are accurate from an outcome standpoint. But, like I said, I'm glad this turned out well for the woman, and I hope the officer learns a lesson over this, and that he goes on to become a better cop, serving THE PEOPLE, and not his own ego.