There's little doubt that Anthony Graber was being an idiot when speeding down I-95 in Maryland on his motorcycle. In fact, not only was he speeding but he even popped a few wheelies. That is extremely distracting and dangerous behavior for himself and others. That he should be prosecuted for that crime is obvious.But he should not be prosecuted (on a felony charge which carries a 5-year prison sentence, no less) for illegally recording a law enforcement officer.
Here's the story.
Graber's motorcycle helmet had a video camera on it. Clear. Unmistakable. And quite common. It was there to capture on video tape his adventurous ride.
And that camera was still running when a car caught up to Graber at a light. A man jumps out, immediately produces a gun and aggressively yells out three times "Get off the motorcycle." It is several seconds before the man identifies himself as "state police" but the fellow is not in uniform and the car he got out of doesn't look anything like a police car.
Graber is naturally spooked. He, quite naturally, thinks the guy may shoot him or steal his motorcycle. But he didn't. The yelling man turned out to really be a Maryland state trooper. Big sigh of relief. The trooper writes Graber a speeding ticket (which the young hotshot knows he deserves) and both ride off into the sunset.
But wait; that's not the end of the story.
The next chapter begins when Graber uploads the video of his reckless motorcycle ride and of the actions of the police officer onto the internet. And probably because the trooper's actions could be viewed as somewhat reckless too, the law came down like a hammer on Mr. Graber.
Police showed up at his house, showed him a search warrant, and confiscated two computers and two laptop computers. But for some medical reasons, police would have arrested Graber right then and drug him off to jail. They gave him a pass for now.
But they did follow up with those felony charges of recording someone's voice without permission.
A bogus rap? One taken because Graber's You Tube video exposed Maryland State Police in a bad light? After all, the state trooper's actions were unprofessional and unnecessarily provocative. And the claim that the trooper didn't know he was being recorded is pretty bent too -- that helmet camera just couldn't have been missed.
But the police authorities have staunchly defended the trooper's actions and the state's attorney is charging ahead with the prosecution of the head-cam motorcyclist.
It's not a healthy situation. For not only does it have all the appearance of overreaction due to embarrassment, it also seems designed to publicize the danger citizens face if they record police activity.
But is that the way we want to portray our public servants, as powerful figures who can do whatever they want without fear of being recorded and called to task?
I was once myself the victim of police brutality in Georgia. And to justify the injuries they supposed I sustained, they were going to charge me with resisting arrest. But that nonsense stopped when the police learned there was a video recording of the whole affair. I received an apology, was immediately released and no charge was filed against me.
Indeed, as a pro-life activist of some 30 years now, I can testify that audio and video recordings have been of extreme value to us, keeping us protected from all sorts of lies and false accusations. And yes, we record our interactions with police too.
To take away the cameras and tape recorders from citizens; indeed, to threaten them with years in prison merely for taping a police officer without getting prior authorization, is a very bad move. It takes away a key part of a citizen's defense against the powers that be and leaves him without the aid of the very technology that can be used against him.
No, the prosecution of Mr. Graber is not good for the reputation of Maryland police as honest, straightforward public servants. And it's most definitely bad for the peace and well-being of a free society.
If you'd like more details of this story, watch this report by a local TV channel which, by the way, contains the video clip in question. It makes one wonder if Maryland police authorities will now go after the ABC affiliate for showing the offending tape. No, I don't suppose they'll mess with the press; they'll just concentrate on the punk on the motorcycle.
