Todd
06-25-2014, 08:22 AM
Police Chief Jerry Bledsoe of the illage of Kelso, Missouri, just learned an expensive lesson in free speech.
It started last year after Chief Bledsoe threatened Jordan Klaffer with arrest for disturbing the peace for firing guns on his private property, which led to Klaffer posting a video of the incident online.
In response, Bledsoe obtained a court order forcing Jordan Klaffer to take down his Youtube video and remove any text about it from the internet.
Klaffer sued and now Bledsoe has now written an apology.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) represented Klaffer in the lawsuit and said that as part of the settlement Kelso police had agreed they would no longer seek to censor criticism of police actions, that Bledsoe had written a personal apology for doing so, and that Bledsoe agreed to pay unspecified damages, court costs, and attorney’s fees. Whether chief Bledsoe or Kelso will be paying these damages remains unclear, but we can assume the taxpayers will be paying it.
The video Bledsoe had sought to censor shows the sheriff at Klaffer’s mother’s house, demanding Klaffer turn over his guns or be arrested for disturbing the peace. After the incident, Klaffer posted videos and pictures of the event on YouTube and Facebook as well as a photo on Instagram of Bledsoe next to Saddam Hussein with the caption “Striking Resemblance.”
http://photographyisnotacrime.com/2014/06/24/missouri-police-chief-apologizes-settles-lawsuit-demanding-removal-youtube-video/
original story in this thread: http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?448558-MO-Man-Ordered-To-Remove-Cop-Video-and-Pictures-From-Internet&highlight=jerry+bledsoe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=8o1_W1s2Lgs
It started last year after Chief Bledsoe threatened Jordan Klaffer with arrest for disturbing the peace for firing guns on his private property, which led to Klaffer posting a video of the incident online.
In response, Bledsoe obtained a court order forcing Jordan Klaffer to take down his Youtube video and remove any text about it from the internet.
Klaffer sued and now Bledsoe has now written an apology.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) represented Klaffer in the lawsuit and said that as part of the settlement Kelso police had agreed they would no longer seek to censor criticism of police actions, that Bledsoe had written a personal apology for doing so, and that Bledsoe agreed to pay unspecified damages, court costs, and attorney’s fees. Whether chief Bledsoe or Kelso will be paying these damages remains unclear, but we can assume the taxpayers will be paying it.
The video Bledsoe had sought to censor shows the sheriff at Klaffer’s mother’s house, demanding Klaffer turn over his guns or be arrested for disturbing the peace. After the incident, Klaffer posted videos and pictures of the event on YouTube and Facebook as well as a photo on Instagram of Bledsoe next to Saddam Hussein with the caption “Striking Resemblance.”
http://photographyisnotacrime.com/2014/06/24/missouri-police-chief-apologizes-settles-lawsuit-demanding-removal-youtube-video/
original story in this thread: http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?448558-MO-Man-Ordered-To-Remove-Cop-Video-and-Pictures-From-Internet&highlight=jerry+bledsoe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=8o1_W1s2Lgs