Sunday, June 20: The A.D.D. Detective
SPEECH IS FREE
Recording it isn’t.
by Leigh Lundin
In the early dawn, police burst into the home of Maryland Air National Guard Staff Sergeant Anthony Graber, frightening his parents, his wife, and his two young children. In the course of the hour and a half raid, authorities detained Graber’s mother and sister, preventing them leaving for work.
Police seized four computers, Graber’s video camera, and several disc drives. Only the fact Graber couldn’t be moved due to gall bladder surgery prevented police taking him, too, charging him with a felony that could take five to sixteen years out of the soldier’s life. When authorities finally arrested him, they set a $15,000 bond on a $10,000 felony.
Apparently, the search and warrants contain no judge’s signature, making it unclear if a judge signed documents at all. State Attorney Joseph Cassilly says the judge’s name is secret for "privacy" concerns.
What had Graber done? As he rolled to a stop at an interstate exit ramp, his helmet camera recorded an anonymous grey man leap from an anonymous grey car that swooped down upon him, shouting at Graber to get off his motorcycle. The man brandishes a pistol, but as a police car pulls up behind them, the man appears to block sight of his weapon with his body before tucking it away.
Who was that unasked man?
You may have noticed the rash of citizen videos showing county officials nipping out for a nap in the park, state officials nipping into topless bars on expense account, and city bus drivers just nipping. You may have also noticed people documenting incidents of police misconduct including an officer punching the face of a teen girl who’d stepped in to defuse an argument.
If you didn’t notice, prosecutors did and they’ve been quietly punishing… not the wrong-doers but citizens themselves for wielding the video cameras. State Attorney Cassilly previously prosecuted other ‘civilians’ for videotaping police officers conducting questionable activities. Some Baltimore police officers now tell citizens that recording police activity is illegal in Maryland. According to Cassilly, the state can record you– you can’t record them, a reversal of traditional American liberties, reminiscent of Iron Curtain countries that banned cameras, typewriters, and copy machines as treasonous.
Some wonder if State Attorney Cassilly was exacting vengeance for the very public embarrassment after three Prince George’s County Police beat and arrested two students for assault, claiming one was injured by horses’ hooves. Privately shot video showed events the other way around, that police beat and arrested without apparent provocation. (A Boston auxiliary policeman once bragged to me he enjoyed beating "hippie types" with his flashlight simply because he could. "It’s a flashlight; who’s to say it’s a weapon?")
Meanwhile, back to our story…
A month before the raid and arrest, our Sergeant Anthony Graber sped up the interstate an estimated 80 mph in a 65 mile-per-hour zone. Graber wore a helmet camera, an oversized unit in these days of sleek, tiny devices, and his camera recorded Maryland State Trooper Joseph David Ulher– the anonymous grey man who leaped from the anonymous grey vehicle brandishing a pistol but never showing a badge– violate several protocols and call into question a number of "facts" in the arrest complaint (hinting Graber intended to flee but not borne out by the video).
As John Stossel reports, Graber admitted to speeding and admitted he deserved the ticket. He paid his fine. But then he did something that again enraged Trooper Ulher– Graber posted the video of his arrest on YouTube, exposing Ulher’s violations and excesses that made him look like an unprofessional bully.
Trooper Ulher and State’s Attorney Joseph Cassilly decided to get even. They staged the dawn raid and arrested Graber. And they might even win.
What is going on here?
Government employees– our employees– are too often embarrassed when excesses, petty corruption, vulgarity, and even violence become exposed. Officials are punching back using two arguments to go after videographers, assertions that:
- Public servants expect privacy without public scrutiny.
- Citizens are violating wire-tapping laws by recording public officials.
The obvious response would seem to be:
- They are public officials supposedly in pursuit of their public duties. Citizens have a right to subject public duties to inspection.
- Wire-tap laws were written to protect citizens from government, not protect government from citizens.
None of these cases have made it to the Supreme Court, which has tilted so far toward government against citizens, a positive ruling is in doubt. For years, some authorities have taken the position they may be government employees, but they are not public servants. (You may have noticed a recent odd decision that an arrestee still has a right to remain silent, but only if he doesn’t remain silent! The Court reversed the law and your rights from opt-in to opt-out.)
Pretext Tickets
Sometimes police can’t find a valid reason to arrest an annoying party, so they devise ‘pretext tickets’, such as disturbing the peace, blocking a public walkway, creating a public nuisance, or resisting arrest without violence. Whether they are eventually upheld or dismissed, they create an atmosphere of intimidation and vengeance that is unfair to good citizens and good cops alike.
It’s important to note this isn’t an anti-police screed, but an article questioning abuses of authority. One may have out-sized expectations of justice, but bad public officials tarnish the reputations of the good. Elliot Ness wasn’t the only honest cop in Chicago in 1929, but he was the one who wouldn’t tolerate dishonesty in his team.
That’s ironic considering the corruption-prone state of Illinois (home of Gov. Rod Blagojevich caught on tape) legislated away your right to video-record in public places. Want to legally tape your family on the beach or public park? You must obtain everyone’s permission who might show up in a frame. Want to capture a politician’s bribe or a security guard clubbing a drunk? You must obtain their permission, else you are the villain.
And here in Florida…
Naturally, Florida has to trump Maryland by arresting a model from Maryland, Tasha Ford, for, in her words, "filming [police] for my own protection."
"Since your mother is such a fucking asshole, I’m going to arrest you for trespassing."
"You fucking northerners think you can come down here and mess with cops. You are about to get a lesson 101 on how to deal with Florida cops."
Supposedly, these police statements were recorded by her video camera as police tackled and arrested her son for allegedly passing a movie ticket back in line to a friend to gain free entry. I say "supposedly", because Boynton Beach Police confiscated her camera.
A police supervisor ordered the mother’s arrest under Florida’s electronic surveillance statute, which is supposed to be applied to recording phone conversations without the other party’s consent. Asking too many questions of police can be considered obstructive, and yes, they added the charge of asking too many questions, to wit– resisting arrest without violence.
At her arraignment, the judge lectured Tasha Ford, asking if she’d learned her lesson.
Say what?
You mean the lesson freedom requires constant vigilance? Probably not what the judge had in mind, but that’s my take.
After Palm Beach State Attorney’s Office dropped charges ("the State will not be able to establish beyond a reasonable doubt either that the defendant’s actions constituted a violation of the interception of communication statute or that the officers were acting in the lawful execution of a legal duty”), Boynton Beach Police were reluctant to release the camera and contents intact but, according to police, the camera should have been returned by now.
Donut Capers
Remember the mounds of doughnuts in Twin Peaks? I don’t mean to pick on cops, I really don’t. It’s a tough job, but I can’t resist a touch of light relief. A few years ago, a policeman called a radio station to complain about the local shock jock ragging on overweight cops and doughnuts– and he happened to call from a Mr. Donut. At least he took his outing in stride.
In separate incidents, civilian videographers recorded officers in a hurry to get to Dunkin Donuts, some variously speeding, running red lights, darting in and out of traffic, and parking illegally– in a handicap space– and then resenting their illegally parked cars being photographed. One of the officers responded by issuing a NYC city councilman a $165 ticket. (As the officer says, each story has two sides and he claimed the councilman illegally parked, too.)
Doughnuts, just sayin’…
Source Disclosure
My primary source for the latter part of this story is Florida whistleblower Carlos Miller, a veteran news reporter and activist for the right to record officials in the performance of their duties. He’s exposed several abuses and false arrests and has himself been arrested at least twice for videotaping police. Miller’s blog pops up on our local radar screen with unnerving irregularity, and he’s managed to gain national attention.
Darn, I’m hungry for a glazed Krispy Kreme.
Update 09 July 2010
Three states now use wiretapping laws– intended to protect citizens against the state– to protect the state from citizens and make recording police illegal without police permission. Those three states are Illinois, Maryland, and Massachusetts.
Maryland police are interpreting the law that public officials have a right to privacy– and private citizens do not. "The state can watch you– you can’t watch the state."
It’s different when when police are caught on their own cameras. In the Maryland student beating case, official cameras mysteriously stopped working and the only recordings made came from private cell phones. Maryland police have proved particularly recalcitrant when defendants sought exculpatory police dash cam recordings in court. In one case, police claimed all seven cameras in seven different police cars failed to record at the critical moment.
In Illinois, recording police is a Class 1 felony (same as sexual assault and many violent crimes), punishable with 4-12 years in prison. Journalists now wonder if these laws can be used against them.
James Machado, executive director of the Massachusetts Police Association, makes the point that most private records support and vindicate police in the performance of their duties. As another police man said, "If we’re doing what we’re supposed to be doing, we shouldn’t mind."
On 8 July 2010, Neal Conan talked with Carlos Miller (in our article) and Reason Magazine’s Radley Balko in an NPR interview. (transcript)
In Britain, you can be arrested for photographing and being too tall!
UK police are flexible though, they’ve also arrested tourists, schoolboys and passers-by for innocently taking pictures.
So what does this do to the private detective characters that snap away at unsuspecting wrong doers to prove cases for their clients? Imagine some hard-boiled P.I. running up to a cheating spouse waving a model release in one hand and a 38 in the other!
Over the past two months a number of your CBs have tackled the trampling of various civil liberties – all alarming and unsettling – today’s is no exception. I am appalled.
Please understand, I’m not suggesting this is unique to the US but, naively (?) imagining your civil liberties so respected and fiercely guarded, each new revelation takes the gilt off the gingerbread – or the glaze off the doughnut.
In South Africa, civil liberties for all are only 16 years old, still very precious and new, cherished and jealously guarded – some might say over-zealously in instances, but still fought for at every turn. We are a work in progress and look to long- established democracies for guidance.
A friend whose opinions I value and admire said “We are taught that the price of freedom is constant vigilance.”
“En garde!” I say.
Cindy, good question, especially since threads of corruption and exposure run through many noir novels and films.
Aba, growing up, I was inculcated with the importance of civil liberties, so I can’t not speak up. I’m constantly surprised others weren’t raised that way. Keeping Constitutional freedoms in sight makes it easy to cut through left versus right, conservative or liberal.
Novelists reflect the society around them, as Cindy says. I hadn’t intended another serious column quite so soon, but sometimes my overgrown conscience says, “Stop, this is wrong.”
I sincerely hope, Leigh, that your home isn’t going to be raided now, in the small hours of the morning, for writing this article and for posting a picture of the Maryland State Trooper Joseph David Uhler, who probably just needs a good shrink (or a good lay).
Whoops, shouldn’t have said that. I hope my home isn’t going to be raided now. But Maryland cops have no jurisdiction in Europe, right?
Anyway, great article! 😉
Thanks, Yoshinori!
Several years ago, I received a ticket for turning on a red light. I knew the officers’ view was blocked by a semi (semi-tractor-trailer… an articulated lorry). When we arrived in court, HE asked the judge to dismiss the charges. That really impressed me.
Most of my experiences have been positive or at least I couldn’t fault decisions that impacted me. Unfortunately, the police profession attracts some types who should never be in authority. Most police departments try to psychologically weed out those who’d harm citizens and besmirch professional reputations, but a few slip through.
It’s more difficult with elected officials like prosecutors– the general public rarely knows what it’s getting. They might be good; they might not. “Tough on crime” always sells well, but what is the price?
When I lived on the East Coast thirty years ago, I had frequent occasions to drive between Virginia and the Northeast. I quickly learned the one place along I-95 you should never exceed the speed limit was between Washington, D.C., and Delaware. After a while, I started to take U.S. 1 through Delaware instead of taking the interstate, avoiding as much of Maryland as I could.
Too bad. We all had fun in Baltimore, didn’t we, Leigh?
Yes, we did. Good company, good books, good dinner, good host.
I have to point out that Illinois sent all their thugs to DC and as far as civil liberties go, I’m still shakin’ in my boots to see what I “give up” next.
Cameras, computers, texting phones—there is no privacy. We’re told from the get-go at work emails can be dug up no matter you thought them to be “deleted”.
I don’t know that much about wire-tapping, but I know cell phone conversations can be obtained while speaking….a few politicians have found that out.
Texting is like a computer….downloading information from sites can be found (thank goodness on the porn sites for children, those evil asses) and additionally, downloading music, movies, and books illegally.
We should be scared I guess.
However, I don’t choose to live my life that way. I vote. I buy my own music and movies. I email knowing anyone can read it and text the same.
Fear is a great way to cave in to “fill in the blank”—–
Just sayin’—–
I have to point out that Illinois sent all their thugs to DC and as far as civil liberties go, I’m still shakin’ in my boots to see what I “give up” next.
Really? Which ones have you “given up” so far?
Captitalism.
Ah. Yeah, I miss capitalism, too, since the multinational corporations took over and squelched all competition. But I somehow missed any mention of it in the Bill of Rights. Silly me! 😉
Yes. Silly you.
I probably should have mentioned that the current administration is hardly decapitating capitalism (if you’ll pardon the expression). Whatever else they are, they certainly aren’t socialists—more like anti-monopolists, like Theodore Roosevelt a century ago. Monopolism, better known these days as “too big to fail,” is contrary to classical capitalism, so if anything, their health care and economic policies encourage rather than dilute market capitalism. But even in countries with a strong socialist component in government, unlike ours but like, say, the U.K. or Japan, capitalism is hardly in danger of being phased out.
In any case, economic systems are not the same thing as civil liberties—Nazi Germany was a capitalist country, too, in spite of the word NAZI being an abbreviation for “NAtionalsoZIalismus”, i.e., National Socialism—although I will certainly agree that Americans’ ability to freely engage in the business of their choice is fundamental to our freedoms.
Which brings us full circle to Leigh’s article. Right?
Freedoms are obviously (in today’s world) a matter of opinion. Anything that is a good read, can be read taking on differences of….opinion. Bill or Rights, constitution….Mike Hammer, and let’s not forget the dopehead Holmes.
Mine are definitely not yours, and vice versa.
Ah,but what a wonderful world in which we live.
It spins so much better with the freedom of speech. And though not recorded verbally, mine is being recorded in cyber. As is yours. By choice.
Leigh makes sense.
You have it in writing Leigh, dahlin’…..you make sense. Please don’t tell Velma I’m ringing your bell. I only deal in subdued competition.
Now, ‘fess up….where did you get that thong photo of me?
I have spent most of my adult life as a police officer. As a cop, I took my oath to “serve and protect” very seriously. Always mindful that the people are my duty and the protection of liberty, not the suppression of liberty are primary. This case is appalling and makes me ashamed of the profession that I so dearly support to this day. This officer should be ashamed and embarassed that a 25 year old (despite his record, behavior, etc.) could get sent to prison for years based on an obscure law that has no relevance to this situation. Further, the prosecutor should be relieved of duty immediately.
Take heart, there are good police out there as well who take thier duties and responsibilities seriously and find this type of jack booted, police action completely out of line.
The officer and prosecutor should take a course in ethics. The spirit of the law ALWAYS outweighs the letter of the law.
KAS: Yes, thank God, there are good police out there as well.
I agree with you wholeheartedly, but IMHO “ashamed and embarrassed” should be replaced with “officially reprimanded for abuse of authority” and maybe “summarily fired.” This kind of volatile individual poses a menace to society, and not much more . . . clearly Maryland State Trooper Joseph David Ulher didn’t take HIS oath very seriously. And if you asked him whether he did, he’d probably sock you one with the barrel of his gun until you lay bleeding on the road, and THEN put handcuffs on you and charge you for “resisting arrest” and then promise you to make your life living a hell all the way to the police station.
OK, sorry now for the outburst, but this kind of thing enrages me!
Back when I was a music student, I noticed that musicians gravitated toward instruments that reflected their personalities. Pianists were intellectual. Trumpet players were cocky. Violinists were sweet. Percussionists were precise.
Likewise, people who gravitate to certain occupations do so for reasons that demonstrate what they regard as significant in themselves. Correspondingly, people who choose a life of law enforcement do so for their own reasons. I expect that most people attracted to police work do so out of a sense of a justice. But it would be naive not to realize that some police officers are attracted to the job because they enjoy exercising authority.
The point is that the job is not the same thing as the person doing it. It never has been. In order for law enforcement agents to do their jobs effectively, we endue them with extraordinary powers. The temptation to use that power for one’s own ends is correspondingly greater than for most people. That’s why police are held to a higher ethical standard than regular citizens. The betrayal of such a standard has graver consequences for everyone it touches.
The astonishing thing isn’t that there are bad cops. History is replete with brutal police. No, the amazing thing is that in America, the vast majority of the ones we have are so very, very good.
Very insightful, James, and I agree with you!
But why do you say “No, the amazing thing is that in America, the vast majority of the ones we have are so very, very good”? I don’t find that amazing. I am glad that’s the case, of course, but I don’t find that amazing. What you say somehow implies that the majority of people (in America or in the world) is “bad,” or at least has an inclination to be bad, under a certain set of circumstances. But of course, that’s far from true. Most people–in America or in the world, whether they are in law enforcement or not–ARE “good,” in all senses of the word, or at least strive to be good. I think that’s simply human nature. It’s always the few black sheep who are a disgrace and ruin it for everybody.
Thank you, James. I was hoping that someone would come to it at last. As to the Graber case, I urge one and all to wait until all the facts are in before judging. There’s usually more to the story than the media let’s on and it’s those ‘boring’ little facts that often decide a jury.
By the by, Leigh, I must say I think the photo of the ‘New World’ policeman tuning up the defenseless ‘war protester’ was a bit over the top.
David, you’re probably right and Miss Ford’s photo didn’t do much to alleviate it.
I’m glad KAS spoke up to lend real-world balance. He’s heroic for doing the right thing for umpteen years in a row. Yet, when (and how) do we introduce and applaud those who make the world a better place through vigilance and fairness, people like KAS?
I started to end my reply here, but I realized I have a partial answer– many of us craft our stories to present the other side. 8 Across portrayed an obscure county sheriff and his deputy– they took on terrorists while dealing with a semi-corrupt politician who wanted their badges. I worked to get the facts right, checking with Texas Rangers, and Linda (AHMM’s editor) let me make last minute changes regarding Homeland Security, but the real story was the kind of men they were. I hope one day to finish a larger story with similar people of integrity.
The master or at least the standard bearer was Jack Webb, creator of Dragnet. He was exacting about realism but he did something we probably couldn’t get away with today. Although Webb “changed the names to protect the innocent”, he sprinkled the names of real police officers throughout his series. What a living tribute!
(My old friend Ray Parchen’s four brothers became NYC police officers like their father, a captain, so if the names ‘Parchen’ (or KAS!) show up in a story, you’ll know where they came from.)
Yesterday, NPR broadcast a program about private citizens recording police and included an interview with Carlos Miller mentioned in our article. See Update at the end of the original article (above).
Are you serious, he was in jail for breaking the law. Not for taping!!! I saw the whole video, yes the one they editted. I am sure if I pull the report you WERE CLEARLY IN THE WRONG. If you can not read the speed signs then you need to stop taking my air!!
Thank you for responding. To clarify, I believe we are talking about Anthony Graber.
Graber traveled 80mph, was stopped and ticketed for speeding, and he paid his fine. That is a given as John Stossel and others report and Graber deserved it.
The raid and arrest came a month after that when, if the facts are correct, Graber posted video of the traffic stop on YouTube. An embarrassed Trooper Uhler and State Attorney Cassilly claim that was against the law. Unless reports are very, very wrong, the raid and jail time were not after-the-fact punishment for speeding.
If you can pull the police reports or the search warrant and arrest documents, that would be of help to us. I’d much rather be wrong about something and celebrate a higher search for truth. Thank you!
Cassilly is protecting the real criminals……..his police thugs!
For those seeking the decision you can find it here:
http://www.aclu-md.org/aPress/Press2010/Court_Opinion_092710.pdf
Hosted by Maryland’s ACLU on a page about the case:
http://www.aclu-md.org/aPress/Press2010/092710_Graber.html
VERY interesting reading! Thank you.
Once count 1 was dismissed, count 2 tumbled. Much of the opinion dealt with count 3, where the state at first evaded and finally refused to detail how the quite obvious video camera fell into the definition of “primarily useful for the purpose of the surreptitious interception of oral conversations.” The judge noted that if the state prevailed, many devices such as cell phones, cameras, and his own recorder would fall into violation.
Thank you for the update and material.