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View Full Version : Rochester police harass supporters of woman arrested for videotaping police in front yard




jct74
06-24-2011, 05:15 PM
Check out the latest from Radley Balko on the case of Emily Good, the women arrested for videotaping police from her own front yard:


Petty Thuggishness in Rochester
Friday, June 24th, 2011

The video below is from a Rochester, New York, neighborhood meeting in support of Emily Good (http://rochester.indymedia.org/feature/display/20088/index.php), the woman arrested for videotaping a traffic stop from her front yard. So Rochester police sent four squad cars to ticket the cars of meeting attendees who parked more than 12 inches from the curb. Yes, they even brought a ruler.

That’s some staggering vindictiveness, officers.

By the way, due to a $50 million budget shortfall (http://rochester.ynn.com/content/top_stories/546045/city-council-takes-hard-look-at-police--fire-budgets/), the city of Rochester is considering cutting 27 full-time police positions. If the the cops in Rochester have time to carry out petty grudges against citizens who dare to show support for a woman who was illegally arrested, maybe the city ought to consider cutting 40 or 50 positions instead. They could start with the cops in this video.

(Via Boing Boing (http://www.boingboing.net/2011/06/24/rochester-police-use.html))

MORE: Local news writeup here (http://www.whec.com/news/stories/S2171728.shtml?cat=566), with the obligatory, transparently ridiculous defense from the local police union rep.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxHPW-l88f0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxHPW-l88f0


http://www.theagitator.com/2011/06/24/petty-thuggishness-in-rochester/


Much longer video clip here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ytk_FpvHquw

Background threads on the case of Emily Good here:
http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?299960-Video-of-Woman-Being-Arrested-for-Filming-Police-on-Her-(Friends-)-Property
http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?300141-Call-The-Rochester-Police-Department-Regarding-Illegal-Arrest!

tpreitzel
06-24-2011, 05:19 PM
The Rochester police are likely going to lose this contest .... eventually. Stupid, Stooooooooopid!

AGRP
06-24-2011, 05:28 PM
Its the 95% of bad apples that give the other 5% a bad name.

aGameOfThrones
06-24-2011, 06:30 PM
http://www.anunews.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/aa-police-poster-you-want-some-of-this-good-one.jpg

liberty2897
06-24-2011, 06:44 PM
No surprise that the cops are still being assholes, but the fact the people in the community got together to discuss police misconduct in response is really great news! Reading some of the comments in the first link about the meeting, the cops are really showing off some sub 100 IQ material there. People taking their community back instead of cowering in fear.. Excellent!!!!

Dr.3D
06-24-2011, 06:50 PM
Its the 95% of bad apples that give the other 5% a bad name.

Well, sometimes it easier to digest when said this way.....

"It's the bad apples that give the other 5% a bad name."

:D

AGRP
06-24-2011, 06:55 PM
Well, sometimes it easier to digest when said this way.....

"It's the bad apples that give the other 5% a bad name."

:D


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKgPY1adc0A

Anti Federalist
06-24-2011, 06:56 PM
http://www.anunews.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/aa-police-poster-you-want-some-of-this-good-one.jpg

Beat me to it.

Dr.3D
06-24-2011, 06:56 PM
Many of the wrongs done by police could be remedied by not allowing police to be the complainant in any "crime" they may witness. They should have to find someone other than "law enforcement" to file a complaint.

jct74
06-24-2011, 09:14 PM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzQWRxP032s

pcosmar
06-24-2011, 09:19 PM
Seems folks are getting a clear lesson on who the enemy is.
This is a good thing.

devil21
06-27-2011, 10:06 PM
Looks like the prosecutor was in a big hurry to get this case off the docket.

http://www.whec.com/news/stories/S2174896.shtml?cat=566



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

Early Monday afternoon, demonstrators rallied outside the Hall of Justice in support of Emily Good, the city woman who was arrested while videotaping police officers during a traffic stop on May 12 in front of her 19th Ward home. (Click here to watch the video)

Good kept recording police officers while standing in her front yard even though an officer ordered her several times 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.

Good's attorney, Stephanie Stare, had asked for the charges to be dismissed. 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.

Several of Good's supporters who filled the small courtroom quietly cheered as the case was dismissed. They hugged her outside the courtroom and Good said "I think there are weaknesses in the brotherhood of the police, and they are not above the law."

Good was asked if she would do it over again. "Yes, I would do it again. And I would encourage other people to do the same thing. Carry a camera. Stand your ground. Go to the seen of flashing lights and observe what's going on. Keep a safe distance."

News 10 NBC's Ray Levato asked "Do you think there is racial profiling going on?" Good answered, "Everyday. Everyday. Absolutely."

KaeLyn Rich, a spokeswoman for the Rochester office of the New York Civil Liberties Union afterwards called city police actions "a disgusting disregard for an individual's First Amendment rights to videotape in public spaces. I hope we can repair the relationship between the community and the police by holding police accountable, and making sure police officers are getting the training they need to respect people's constitutional rights."

Supporter Rev. Willie Harvey of the Peace baptist Church said "the police did the wrong thing."

City activist Howard Eagle, a spokesman for a Rochester anti-racism movement said "This case really is about racial profiling. That's the reason why Emily Good grabbed her camera in the first place and began to record the activity of the police. She suspected that a young black man was being racially profiled."

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. Click here to watch the video of Chief Sheppard's statement.

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."

"Police officers must be able to cope with a high degree of stress while performing oftentimes dangerous duties, relying on their training and experience to guide their behavior. As routine as a traffic stop may appear, it has proven over time to be a potentially dangerous activity for police. Nonetheless, police must conduct themselves with appropriate respect for the rights of those involved or who are observing their actions."

"There is a mandated legal process that governs our internal response when police officer behavior is called into question. We must respect this process and that may be frustrating to those who may have already made up their mind about the outcome. We have confidence that the review will be fair and impartial and invite Ms. Good and anyone else with firsthand information to participate. We will withhold our judgment until the review is completed."

"Whatever the outcome of the internal review, we want to make clear that it is not the policy or practice of the Rochester Police Department to prevent citizens from observing its activities - including photographing or videotaping - as long as it does not interfere with the safe conduct of those activities. It is also not the policy or practice of the Department to selectively enforce laws in response to the activities of a group or individual. This has always been the case and it is being reinforced within the Department, so that it will be abundantly clear to everyone."

liberty2897
06-27-2011, 10:17 PM
Looks like the prosecutor was in a big hurry to get this case off the docket.

http://www.whec.com/news/stories/S2174896.shtml?cat=566

This might seem like a small step forward compared to the problems facing our country today, but I think the active people in this forum had a lot to do with this result. So cool!

Anti Federalist
06-27-2011, 10:31 PM
Go to the seen of flashing lights and observe what's going on

Damn spell checkers.

AGRP
06-27-2011, 10:49 PM
This might seem like a small step forward compared to the problems facing our country today, but I think the active people in this forum had a lot to do with this result. So cool!

They know they are wrong. The purpose of their actions is to harass.

Videotape us? Fine. Well arrest you and youll be spending the night in jail.

liberty2897
06-27-2011, 11:02 PM
They know they are wrong. The purpose of their actions is to harass.

Videotape us? Fine. Well arrest you and youll be spending the night in jail.

True. They were obviously intimidating her and her supporters. Great to see that people didn't put up with it. Seems like most people are so brain-dead and just follow the whole "respect and obey authority" mindset. I sure as hell don't respect them, but I have to admit I do get nervous when a pack of them shows up. Videotaping and arrest is one thing, but the number of people getting shot 20-100 times by multiple cops seems to be rising. No amount of activism can bring those poor guys back to life. So yeah... keep the cameras rolling!

[edit]
edited for clarity

V4Vendetta
06-27-2011, 11:34 PM
Are you freaking kidding me???????????? How the hell>................. This is totally obvious police intimidation!!! Wtf/.????????????

youngbuck
06-27-2011, 11:38 PM
New York cops are some of the worst in the country... f'em.

Philhelm
06-27-2011, 11:49 PM
Many of the wrongs done by police could be remedied by not allowing police to be the complainant in any "crime" they may witness. They should have to find someone other than "law enforcement" to file a complaint.

+ 999,999,999,999,999,999,999,999,999,999,999,999,99 9,999,999,999,999,999,999,999,999.999

Restore-America-NOW
07-02-2011, 08:21 PM
Yeah this is a huge deal here. The RPD is being investigated, Good was robbed of her Iphone, police are targeting the protesters, the media causing problems. It's a big mess.