I don't envy cops. We all think of the power they have wearing the uniform, but I think it's more of a burden/curse in many ways.
Examples:
If some rude a$$ was just standing down the street recording me, a nobody, I'd want to walk up and scream/slap/punch the guy. And I could probably do it and walk away. A police officer tries and then he has a viral video on YouTube about it.
I'd probably shoot a dog if I had a gun and felt threatened. Officer does the same, he's front page news. Probably ruined his life over it.
Whether or not filming police from a distance is legal, the dude was just flat out blatant and rude about it. We're all curious what's going on when cops arrive at a scene, but decency & safety tells us to stay the eff away and mind our own business. I don't know what that guy's story was with his dog anyway. He was in a car, so he wasn't out for a neighborhood stroll. If you have a dog some deem dangerous, make sure the windows are up high enough to where he can't get out. So much stupidity in this whole event.
You MIGHT get away with it,but if caught,or the person filming has a CCW,and get shot,You're guilty of a FEDERAL crime,should the local fed's decide to push it.You have NO,read NONE,expectation of privacy outside of the 4 walls of Your home. Ergo,If someone wanted to follow Your every move,for no reason at all,they could.See
apparazzi/Private investigators. That's as a civilian.With nearly 32% of the P.D./Sheriff's in the Country equipping vehicles with cam's,and in fact some officers,I'd say that those two things coupled together let a peace officer know they're being watched.Oh,that Federal crime?Freedom of speech.Yep,it's a media-based item and available for defense as such. Do I agree with it?HELLSYEAH!JUST for cases like THIS crap.
The restraint of the dog may not mean much here. It seems the dog wasn't charging,hackles up..It was "questioning' the same thing 99% of all dogs do when shown a new situation. True to canine nature,He did just that.Were He trained,chances are a quick whistle,or in My dogs case,Korean, would have that officer running for a vehicle,not pulling his weapon. A well-trained 120lb rotty can cover the requisite 21' defense rule distance in about .8 seconds,roughly.A well trained fighter can do it in nearly a second.
The stopping the car to get out/film would be a great defense for the cop,if the Gentleman posed a threat. He wasn't using a spotting scope,it was obv. the item it was thought to be at first blush. Being flat out rude/blatant is allowed under law,right or wrong. I DO agree there was a GREAT deal of stupidity here. There are unanswered questions that abound.The Mans intent on filming,having seen fit to stop His previous action *driving* to do so will be a big question here. Was He/the people the cop's were questioning,victims of previous police abuse?Does that area He was in have a history of high police contact/abuse?These things will matter mostly to Him as a plaintiff in the coming civil trial I'm sure will arise for damages. It matters not in the Criminal court. He did,at most, a poor parking job and had a unrestrained animal.Neither rise to the level of Final Defense Solution.The officers had at one point,7 different ways to handle this non-lethally including breaking contact,having owner restrain animal. Never contacting the Man as He was NOT committing a crime,Taser,Pepperballs,Pepper spray,Baton,and hand 2 hand.
I know the police wear a target on their backs,as a job. I had a job a-lot like it,but I WELCOMED films,lol. The point is,that if You're going to take a job as an officer,You MUST,repeat MUST rise to a higher level of thought and action than the avg. Joe out there. 90% of all cops I've dealt with are decent humans,doing a shitty job. That 10% though...well...No one remembers the "Good days' when the bad one is all that is repeated,seen,talked about.
