Baltimore County Cops Rough Up Cameraman, Tell Him He 'Lost' Freedom of Speech

Gootz/Vimeo

A Maryland videographer captured Baltimore County police making arrests outside a bar in Towson, Maryland. In the video, the camera seems to be at a safe distance from the action, and in no danger of interfering with the arrest. Nevertheless, in usual style, officers took exception to being recorded. A couple of super-sized keepers of the peace came over to verbally abuse the videographer for "diverting my attention," to physically abuse the videographer (you can see the camera shake and blur as a police sergeant grabs him), and to threaten arrest if he doesn't leave.

We're not fucking around. Do you understand? Do not, do not disrespect us. And do not not listen to us. Now walk away and shut your fucking mouth or you're going to jail.

Replies the videographer, "I thought I had freedom of speech."

"You don't," says the sergeant. You just lost it."

H/T Photography Is Not a Crime

Baltimore County cops doing their thing at the Towson bars. from Gootz on Vimeo.

Comments

[C. S. P. Schofield]

I foresee an expensive lawsuit. Pity the courts won't do to those cops what they deserve.

[robc]

Just police chiefs willing to fire them and fight the unions would be enough.

But that would imply chiefs that dont want their officers doing this kind of shit.

But sociopaths lead sociopaths.

[nova3930]

Nothing is going to change until we get somebody with the stones to prosecute them for violating civil rights under color of law...

[Invisible Finger]

Note that the Enron Law that requires Chief Executives to be responsible for the actions of their employees doesn't cover the public sector.

[Rich]

Here's some local news coverage of this outrage.

Officer "We're not fucking around, you just lost your rights" had jolly well better lose his job.

[Pavlov's Cat]

The local news article says, "but an altercation broke out between the man and officer."
Really? In what I saw, the cop walked over to the cameraman and assaulted him.
I hate goddamn Maryland. I don't go there.

[The Late P Brooks]

Do not, do not disrespect us.

RESPECT COMES FROM THE BARREL OF A GUN

[Swiss Servator, mehr K?se!]

And the point of a Taser and the nozzle of a pepper spray can and the shaft of an Asp...

[MJGreen]

We can disrespect you, but do not disrespect us.

[Rebekah]

Jesus. Do certain jurisdictions not do PT any more? At least two of those cops look like they couldn't do a quarter mile without collapsing in a gelatinous heap of myocardial infarction.

[Swiss Servator, mehr K?se!]

They follow the creed of the fat cop - "why run when I can shoot?"

[Pavlov's Cat]

Research has shown over and over that exercise is not effective for fat loss. Obesity is a form of malnutrition.

[some guy]

If you use more energy than you consume you will lose fat. That's a fact. Whether you have the willpower to use more energy than you consume is another matter.

[Anon E. Mouse]

HAhahahaha.....you keep telling yourself that as you sit on your ass and stuff your fat face with more donuts.

[Invisible Finger]

Police get tenure, too.

[Slammer]

Freedom of Speech is not something you can "lose", idiot.

[robc]

Accept by due process, but they werent following it.

[Swiss Servator, mehr K?se!]

Why do I suspect that dunphy really looks like the first picture?

[Doctor Whom]

Procedures were followed. The heroes made it home safely.

[Ted S.]

And yet the cops will keep telling us, "If you've done nothing wrong, you have nothing to hide."

[Doctor Whom]

One rule for the peasants, another for the nobility.

[AustinRoth]

Cops are criminals with badges and the protection of the government.

[PM]

RESPECT MUH AUTHORITAH!

SSDD

[Tommy_Grand]

Running long distances may not be the best, smartest, or most efficient way to lose weight, but it works.

[Donut-san]

Thankfully, a local talk show host is giving this a lot of coverage. It's disturbing though to hear how many people are calling in to defend the cops, most of them assuming facts not in evidence in order to do so.

[Brendan]

How amazing that the one guy filming is the only one forced to leave. I guess all the other people yelling stuff and standing on the sidewalk weren't nearly as distracting as the guy filming.

[Lars]

Freaking Nazis! I have a few friends that are cops of one form or another and they hate those pigs too. My friends do their job professionally and don't have any problem being video taped.

[Lars]

PS one of them is the equivalent of internal affairs for a state agency and he likes locking up crooked cops more than criminals.