That’s how Crawford County State’s Attorney Tom Wiseman justifies his decision to bring five felony charges against an Illinois man who recorded an encounter with police officers. As the debate over the right to record police heats up, I’ve often found myself wondering how on earth anyone in law-enforcement could justify arresting citizens simply for recording video of a public encounter.
Alas, this piece by Radley Balko answers my question and it isn’t pretty. Imagine my surprise to find the same folks who coined the phrase, "If you’ve got nothing to hide, then what are you worried about?" suddenly claiming a right to privacy after videos of police misconduct began springing up all over the web.