Cop Block bloggers arrested on felony wiretapping charges for filming cops

 

 
Police once again used felony wiretapping charges to arrest a pair of men who were videotaping them in public.

This time, the incident occurred in Massachusetts, a state that makes it illegal to secretly audio record a public official in public.

However, in this case, it was no secret that the officers were being videotaped because one law enforcement officer even allowed them to continue filming before a cop from another agency stepped in to make the arrests.

That officer, Greenfield Police Sgt. Todd M. Dodge, also searched the men’s RV without a search warrant or their consent.

“They claimed they were able to get into the RV because the VIN number was manipulated,” Pete Eyre said in a Skype interview with Photography is Not a Crime Monday night.

Police said they found ammo in the RV, which led to Eyre getting charged with a felony firearm charge as well.

Eyre was arrested Thursday night along with Adam Mueller as the two men were attempting to bail another friend out of the Franklin County Jail.

Eyre and Mueller penned a detailed account of the incident on their blog, Cop Block.

The two men ended up spending 13 hours in jail before they were released upon their own recognizance. However, police have yet to return their video cameras and cell phones. 

The incident began when Eyre and Mueller drove down from New Hampshire where the gun laws are not as strict to bail out their friends, who had been charged with possession of marijuana and firearms after they had been pulled over for speeding.

They both walked into the lobby of the Franklin County Jail with video cameras, prompting a debate with detention officers on whether or not they had the right to film.

A supervisor who was wearing a white shirt instead of a green shirt eventually told them they were allowed to continue filming as long as all they were doing is bailing their friend out.

So then they stepped outside to walk to the grocery store to withdraw cash from an ATM, which was when they noticed they were being followed by a Greenfield police officer in a car who turned out to be Sgt. Dodge.

“He asked, ‘Are you filming me, are you audio taping me, that’s illegal in Massachusetts’,” Eyre said.

“I asked if we were being detained and he said no.”

After making their way back to the lobby of the Franklin County Jail, they were suddenly informed by the detention officer behind the counter that they were not allowed to film. The supervisor who had given them prior permission was no longer around.

Sgt. Dodge stepped into the lobby and joined the debate along with two other Franklin County Jail detention officers.

After a few minutes of debating the double-standards of jail officials being allowed to film them with surveillance cameras, Eyre and Mueller suggested they all step outside onto the public sidewalk to continue the discussion.

And that’s where they were arrested.

Outside almost immediately we were ordered to turn off our cameras – a threat, they stated, that if not followed, would result in our arrest for trespassing. We again continued to point out the double-standard they were enforcing – that they could film but we could not, that the policy they cited wasn’t clear as what was now supposedly banned had earlier been approved and that their facility itself was public property. Moments later Dodge grabbed Adam’s wrist and twisted it back, stealing his camera. Other men with badges moved to reinforce Dodge and descend upon me. We did not resist but went limp. Adam was dragged to a car and forced inside. I was carried to another car.

After they were released from jail the following morning, they discovered that police had trashed their RV. Check out the video below.

The main issue here is that this is obviously a false arrest because it was no secret that police were being audio recorded.

It is true that people have been convicted on wiretapping charges in Massachusetts when they have secretly recorded cops, even though they did so in public.

But it is also true that cases have been dismissed in Massachusetts when the recording is done openly as it was done in this case.

The ACLU in Massachusetts helped in the latter cases, so hopefully they’ll help in this case.

Comments

Anonymous
Anonymous

What a bunch of contempt of cop bullshit.

Anonymous
Anonymous

This dumbass cop should arrest himself, what the hell does he think his dashcam does?
Jody recently posted..Public Schools Are Anti-Mind

Anonymous
Anonymous

It’s worth noting that their RV was legally parked two and a half blocks away from the jail. Their arrest had nothing to do with the RV or driving.

Not only did they have to pay an impound fee, they had to pay two towing fees, because the RV was first towed to a police station where it was searched, then the wrecker was called again to tow it to the impound lot.

If you’re curious about the firearms charge, Massachusetts does require a valid FID to even possess ammunition, even with no gun present. And if you think that’s crazy, an FID is required to possess pepper spray for self defense. The fee for this FID is $100.

Anonymous
Anonymous

I have been fallowing this story on other blogs. There seems to be some thing a little odd about it, I would recommend reserving judgment until we have more information.

Anonymous
Anonymous

It also shows on copblock.oeg., several items down, as a satire piece. Would recommend caution.

Anonymous
Anonymous

I know it may be hard to understand that the filth are in fact nothing more than a bunch of thuggish assholes Roger but it’s true, as is this story. People in the USA who wear a tin badge seem to have become the biggest pricks on the planet. If you ever fly through Denver you may meet the TSA agent who likes to sniff personal electronics like iPods and cell phones, seems they are getting these idiots from the retard homes now. Deedeedee!
Jody recently posted..Public Schools Are Anti-Mind

Anonymous
Anonymous

I did not say right or wrong. I said use cation and gather further information.

Anonymous
Anonymous

These guys look like they like to prevoke cops. The name Cop Block doesn’t do them any favors.

I’m all for photog rights but this just looks like they’re in it to see what kind of reaction they can get.

Anonymous
Anonymous

It all sounds a little hinky to me. There’s more to the story.

Many police stations utilize both concealed and non-concealed cameras. Do the police in Mass. do this as well? Is it felony wiretapping if they do so with a concealed camera?

Anonymous
Anonymous

One of these days, I’m gonna kill that fucking pig.

Anonymous
Anonymous

Adam and Pete later said on Free Talk Live that the curtains were drawn on the RV so that the VIN couldn’t be seen from the outside. So the cops had to first enter the RV to see the thing that gave them permission to enter the RV.
Zach recently posted..Basic pigeon care

Anonymous
Anonymous

The easiest way to provoke a cop these days is to stand on your legal rights. The question is, why are cops provoked by that?

Anonymous
Anonymous

Hear, hear!!!

Anonymous
Anonymous

Photography IS a crime, if you dare to cover the oil spill – a D Felony and $40,000 fine, as a matter of fact:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpJBsjKhRTo

Anonymous
Anonymous

The only way to ensure your rights is to exercise them.
Calladus recently posted..Won in the Emergency Room

Anonymous
Anonymous

This is one of the reasons I question this report.

Anonymous
Anonymous

@Roger – if you haven’t done so already I encourage you to read the overview of the incident that Adam Mueller and I wrote: http://copblock.org/greenfield

The satirical piece you cited is just that – satirical. It was written by someone else and obviously does not accurately reflect what happened during or after the incident. I struggle to understand why it would mitigate the facts of what happened in your eyes. It’s clear that Adam and I were not the aggressors that day and that it was us who’s rights were usurped by Dodge and his colleagues.
Pete Eyre recently posted..Liberty Radio Network to Advertise with Liberty On Tour

Anonymous
Anonymous

Now this more like it. You are the ones involved, give us more information. As I said, I am not judging, I just want clarification. The satirical entry causes confusion, if any thing I lean toward your side.

Anonymous
Anonymous

By the way, I would recommend mini cameras pined to your clothing and radio linked to a remote site that can not be found by the cops. Run them at all times. Also bug your coach. Now, get a lawyer and sue there asses.

Anonymous
Anonymous

Good call Roger. In addition to the video cameras Adam and I each carried in our hands, Adam had a smaller camera hooked to his chain/necklace. All of those and our cell phones are still being held at the Greenfield, MA PD.

Both of the lawyers we were assigned for our bail hearing on July 2nd filed motions to preserve evidence, to ensure that the content captured on those devices is not deleted. We’ll see if that happens…

It looks like Adam is going to retain the lawyer he drew but I’m still trying to nail down a lawyer who can practice in MA. Ideally we’ll have a team advising much like our http://motorhomediaries.com/jonescounty case. As Carlos noted – we’re hoping to get the ACLU of MA involved. We’ve also emailed and left a VM with them so we’ll see what pans out.
Pete Eyre recently posted..Liberty Radio Network to Advertise with Liberty On Tour

Anonymous
Anonymous

Well its good to see Adam and Pete atleast free to help us understand the situation better. But still answer me this WHY THE HELL DID THEY break into a legaly parked motor home with the window shades drawn where they couldnt see the vin number did they run the plate I mean comon how stupid can you be……

Anonymous
Anonymous

I second the notion that everyone here should watch this video.

seriously. thad allen or whatever that guys name is backpedaled so hard he hit a brick wall.

Anonymous
Anonymous

Carlos, I recommend you delete the above comment from your blog. I know this site is about the preservation of 1st amendment rights, though threats like the above comment, whether they are serious or not, don’t fall under the protections of the 1st amendment. For your own “CYA” purposes, you should report the threat and/or simply delete it.

Anonymous
Anonymous

Police think they have the right to do as they please, most often it is violating the rights this country was founded on. The only way i have found to beat a cop is to remove their power. Show them they have no power over you, and you will get assulted. In other words, if you cant beat them, join a group who can. I know this because i was convicted of “criminal trespass” for bringing a cat into a coffee shop. Case you didn’t know, police don’t have to follow laws because they will just lie their way out of it. Judges love cops, cops love judges. They all work together to put ALL blame on us. Stand up and fight these lawless assholes.

Anonymous
Anonymous

What a bummer, anarch child: I recall with great fondness a coffee shop in Vienna, Austria where a big, black tomcat insisted he owned the place. He’d jump up on a chair next to someone and purr until they fed him or scratched him behind the ears. What coffee shop wouldn’t appreciate that? OK, Starbucks. But that sort of proves my point….

Anonymous
Anonymous

OK, back on topic. I’ll repeat my recited reiteration. Only one way exists to halt actions such as those of Sgt Dodge et al. Make it cost them personally. That tactic alone will make those with power think carefully about whether they use it to advance personal vendettas or public good. Without it, the conversations Eyre and Mueller attempted will remain less than unilateral, no more than ignored persuasion echoing in a cell.

Anonymous
Anonymous

If you think this is bad, try having a gun some day. Check the shooters blogs, the stories will sicken you. They have been killing people.

Anonymous
Anonymous

Also, I have experience in electronics and the Idea of sniffing equipment is valid. A great deal of information can be derived by the smell of circuit boards. So the fact that he smells equipment is not strange , I do it my self. It only means that he has experience with electronics or explosives.

Anonymous
Anonymous

And I do mean the cops.

Anonymous
Anonymous

Now your talking out of your ass.
Jody recently posted..Did Federal Operatives Help Kill Kennedy

Anonymous
Anonymous

No, I am not. Google it, there are a great number cases of just this.

Anonymous
Anonymous

Jody; Why do you insult others? It only makes you look small and undermines your statements. It makes it look as though you are not sure of what you have to say and others when they see this will be convinced that you are wrong for whey else would you do this.

Anonymous
Anonymous

Re: your link about people being convicted of secretly recording in Massachusetts. I was standing next to Pete Lowney when he was arrested. Pete was openly recording. The cop lied or was wrong when he said that Pete had the camera in his pocket.

Anonymous
Anonymous

For future reference: The big mistake they made was agreeing to go outside the police station. The cops did that so that there would be no video record of the arrest.

Remember, the cops had their own security cameras running inside. As long as they were inside, there was an “official” video record of the encounter, one even the cops could not deny or dismiss.
L recently posted..Attention- strategies- and sides

Anonymous
Anonymous

Oops – the above comment is from LarryE. Messed up the name part.
LarryE recently posted..Attention- strategies- and sides

Anonymous
Anonymous

@Rance, who said, “Carlos, I recommend you delete the above comment from your blog. I know this site is about the preservation of 1st amendment rights, though threats like the above comment, whether they are serious or not, don’t fall under the protections of the 1st amendment.”

You are incorrect. A “threat” must be specific and unconditional. A nebulous statement about “someday I’m gonna…” is not specific enough to be a criminal threat.

Anonymous
Anonymous

Sgt. Todd Dodge and his wife Jodi live at 401 Green River Road in Greenfield.

Officer Marcus Paulin and his wife Jennifer live at 12 Revere Circle in Greenfield.

Provided in case anyone wants to send them a note thanking them for their service to the community.

Anonymous
Anonymous

Moderator: The above obtained from public records the defendants consented to having their information included in.

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