From Liberty on Tour:
Edgewater Police Officers Intimidates LOT’s Mueller for Filming
by Pete Eyre on 09. Aug, 2010 in Activism
EDGEWATER, NJ – Since it’s close to impossible to park MARV in Manhattan we’ve spent some time just across the Hudson in Edgewater, NJ working from a shopping center that includes a 24hr Starbucks – the first we’ve seen. Unlike other ‘bucks we’ve worked from, the rush isn’t in the morning from commuters on their way to work but late at night when there are literally hundreds hanging out and riding around on their motorcycles and suped-up cars. Unsurprisingly, such a crowd tends to attract the police.
The footage below – captured last Thursday – shows the tactics utilized by officer #33 of the Edgewater Police Department to build rapport with the community.
Is this the type of behavior that a business subjected to market signals would employ? I’d bet not – if they did they’d go under. Check out Bruce Benson’s The Enterprise of Law for more on this, which would make the provision of “law” enforcement more accountable and more efficient.
License, registration, and proof of insurance? Since when is that needed to stand in a parking lot and film a public official? If one of us mundanes had approached an officer in such an aggression manner, we would be beat down and arrested. Why does a shiny piece of metal on his chest give this man the right to treat peaceful people in such a threatening manner? I guess we have to take the officers apology at face value, but I have my doubts about whether he was sorry about his behavior. He may just be sorry that his behavior was going to be on YouTube for the world to see.
Thanks for posting this guys. Much appreciated.
Great video. I think you guys handled yourselves well considering that guy was itching to throw you on the ground. At least he was honest and admitted that he used it as an intimidation tactic – the way he approached you initially. His later conversation shows that he was smart enough (probably ordered) to apologize/explain his unprofessional behavior. Not sure why he needed your insurance card. Is insurance mandatory for people in New Jersey to walk around in public…?
Awesome! Good work!
[License, registration, and proof of insurance?]
WOW, the balls on this cop. Then when he is refused, he says “Oh so you are a lawyer now”. As if you have to be a lawyer to have rights or assert them.
Even the guys playing “good cop” tried to get ahold of your ID; that was pretty slick of them. Good work, though.
You think this guy teaches his kids it’s OK to intimidate people to get them to do what they want? He even brags that those tactics used to work back in the day. Now people have cameras and access to YouTube and these pricks don’t like it because it exposes them as the cowards and bullies they really are, not the heroes their public relations campaign paints them to be. Great vid guys. Keep standing your ground. The world is watching.
I used to be a police officer. When I worked in the prison systems as a Correctional Officer it was THIS kind of @$$hole who started riots and we had to wind up dragging his stupid carcass out of the fray while we dealt with the population and took back control of the situation.
Don’t worry, somewhere sometime someone will shut this guy up, tired or not.
What an A$$hole. Nice job filming Adam.. The video doesn’t lie
This is great Adam I feel as if you may have got a little sense through to this guy.Well at least he appoligized.Great work!
That was great! Hope you guys make it over to San Jose California!
When you get this way, look up San Jose Copwatch!
http://www.SanJoseCopwatch.org
I wonder if the chief has watched this officer in action. People can email the chief at [email protected] letting him know about the actions of his officer and see if he is ok with it.
Michelle, the motorcop did a “Parthian shot” of an apology, after doing even more bluster. I didn’t sense any critrition. Maybe it’s a New Jersy thing as I see that same attitude from that region on TV. But love the look on motorcop’s face as his supervisor viewed the footage between 3:01 and 3:13.
Towards the end of the video the officer asked for the camera and recording device to be turned off, the cop then asked again if recording devices were off, the individual standing in front of the cop said “yes” but as we watch nothing has been turned off all recording devices are still rolling. Why was he not honest with the cop?
Hahahahaha! You tell him it’s private property, he says it is not and then ten seconds later says it is!
Awesome work, yet again.
..That cop was quite the blabber.
It’s interesting to see him talk about using intimidation tactics.
Why should those arseholes be using intimidation anyway (oh, wait.. They’re arsehole pig-faces)?
Come on, now. Don’t we all know that no one wants to listen to someone who’s in their face? And, by law, one could report such behavior and get someone arrested for imposing it… Ironyyyy!
Getting in someone’s personal space (amoung a lot of other things that could have happened) has been reported numerous times. .
Just another thing the ocifferz can get away with that imposes on our freedoms.
Keep up being spectacular.
Because it’s even more important to document that occur when a cop thinks he’s off-camera than it is when he knows he’s being recorded.
He could have been looking for an opportunity to do something he wouldn’t want to have on record. Why take the risk?
Also, it’s not like the cops can take the moral high ground. They lie to suspects all the time, fishing for confessions. It’s the path of least resistance, too. Why put yourself through another standoff over a camera if you can get away with avoiding the situation completely? Worst case, you’re no worse off than you were in the first place.
“even more important to document that occur when a cop thinks he’s off-camera than it is when he knows he’s being recorded.”
Important to who?
“it’s not like the cops can take the moral high ground. They lie to suspects all the time,”
Humans lie to humans all the time, so dose two wrongs make a right?
“Why put yourself through another standoff over a camera if you can get away with avoiding the situation completely”
Exactly why put yourself into the situation again,
“Important to who? ”
Everyone. If the cop decided he wanted to issue a citation or make an arrest, wouldn’t it be in the interest of justice to have a video record of the event in question? It doesn’t matter which side you’re on, what’s on the tape is what actually happened.
“Humans lie to humans all the time, so dose two wrongs make a right?”
Is it wrong to lie to protect your rights? There was no harm done and no harm intended by that lie. What’s so wrong about it?
“Exactly why put yourself into the situation again,”
They didn’t put themselves in that situation. The cop initiated it. He didn’t have to do anything, but he felt a need to intimidate a person who was not causing any harm to anyone. Both legally and ethically, Adam was 100% in the right. Why should he have to give in to this bully’s wishes?
despite being a public emeployee remember in this dehumanized corporatized environment we live in he is a human being!what would your reation be if you were a cop and you were bing filmed?