ACLU sues Boston Police over videos at protests

By adamg on Fri, 08/19/2011 - 9:23am

The group wants to know what BPD has been doing with video its shot at protests; filed suit in Suffolk Superior Court, along with several other groups and two people arrested at a "die-in" outside the Israeli consulate in 2009. The suit says BPD should turn over records of its surveillance efforts under the state Public Records Law.

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Comments

You mean the BPD is guilty of

By Rob B. on Fri, 08/19/2011 - 9:57am.

You mean the BPD is guilty of "wiretapping" hundreds of people in the street?

I love this comment so much I

By Jeff Egnaczyk on Fri, 08/19/2011 - 1:37pm.

I love this comment so much I wanna take it behind the middle school and get it pregnant.

Cute, but...

By Kaz on Fri, 08/19/2011 - 1:42pm.

It's cute, but unfortunately, the "wiretap" law is written specifically so that cops can do it all they want but you can't.

I think his point is that the

By Jeff Egnaczyk on Fri, 08/19/2011 - 3:12pm.

I think his point is that the "wiretap" law as it applies to you recording someone in public - especially a public employee - is total BS.

Not really

By deselby on Fri, 08/19/2011 - 6:54pm.

Except for limited exceptions involving the safety of officers, police have to get a warrant.

The real issue is that openly videoing a public event is not unlawfully "intercepting" communications, because "intercepting" is done "secretly."

So cops videotaping demonstrations is not unlawful, but neither is a citizen openly videotaping police actions on the streets. Hidden cameras with microphones are a different story.

Some of the protest video is

By Nigel Bruce on Sat, 08/20/2011 - 10:25am.

Some of the protest video is used for training and the rest probably just gets stored and then forgotten. Legally what else would the police be able to do with it? With all the spying that the FBI did on various individuals during the 60's, did anything ever come of it? Although, it is great fodder for conspiracy theorists. Some police departments are equiping their officers with video recorders on their equipment. Everybody has a means to video you out in public and then post it on the internet for everybody to see. So, whats the big deal?

"So cops videotaping

By anon on Sat, 08/20/2011 - 4:43pm.

"So cops videotaping demonstrations is not unlawful, but neither is a citizen openly videotaping police actions on the streets."

That's how it ought to be, but in practice the cops arrest people all the time for taking videos of other people being arrested or hassled by police.