South Florida Model Jailed for Videotaping Police Officers

Just speculation here but I would assume the camera was digital. While I would like to see the video, I don't have a "right" to see the video.

Bull. I have more right to see the video then either the police or the idiot judge has to keep it from me.

The governmnet has no right to keep any scrap of information from me except for what is absolutely needed for security on a national scale.

She has the right to publish the video. Heck, she can even sell it.

Did anyone else catch the anti-Northern prejudice in the article? If Southerners don't like the stereotype of being backwards, why do they insist on reinforcing it?

Freedom of Information Act. Check with the ACLU, they might be able to advise.

Yep with the prejudice, have it here in Texas as well.

exactly.

I'm sure the camera was damaged and rendered unuseable after the altercation. Most of the time the ACLU is wasting their time on stupid stuff and I can't stand them, but I have to say where are they now?

This is true. I'm surprised it wasn't a charge of interfering with the police. There is no eavesdropping or anything else in a public place.

TL- I cant say I am truly surprised. Lived on the west coast of Flori-DUH now for over 2 years long after obtaining a crim justice degree in NY. With many departments only reaching accreditation here for a couple years running, its safe to say they are as dumb as rocks, by all observation.

Best thing to do is work in pairs when you can. Make it plain you are videotaping, and have a friend COVERTLY videotaping alongside you, so when the cops grab your camera and start trumping up charges, your friend has a videotape he can then download to the internet for everybody to see.

I know better than to piss off the cops.

Exactly...thank you!! If mom had followed that little nugget of wisdom...there would be no story to discuss!

So you'd rather be opressed by a police state the rest of your life? See, there is this little thing called a constitution...Maybe even the starting clauses of the Declaration of Independence would be relevant? Of course even Limbaugh doesnt realize when he is quoting that second document(badly)!

there is this little thing called a constitution.

I understand that very well; (IMHO) it is fomenting discord and caustic interactions that do nothing to promote cooperation; Stressing one's constitutional right to be somewhere doing something can in and of itself be an impediment to getting that something done. In my case, it was necessary to garner a form of mutual respect, detente and cooperation for/with the authority in a particular situation.

jbird

So you'd rather be opressed (sic) by a police state the rest of your life? See, there is this little thing called a constitution...Maybe even the starting clauses of the Declaration of Independence would be relevant?

First off, while it's a beautifully written and truly significant document...the DoI has NO enforceable laws written into it. None! And, I sincerely hope you're just trying to be cutesy when you refer to The Constitution of the United States, as a little thing??!!

Again, IMO, this is NOT a story about a woman who used a video camera to expose a tyrannical government agency run amok. This is a story about an extremely arrogant woman, with dubious parenting abilities, who used her camera to antagonize and berate police until she got arrested. She's not a martyr...she's an idiot!!

People like Tasha Ford...and those people supporting her unique combination of self-righteousness and ignorance...denigrate our Constitution and make a mockery of our Bill of Rights!

Widewillie:

People like Tasha Ford...and those people supporting her unique combination of self-righteousness and ignorance...denigrate our Constitution and make a mockery of our Bill of Rights!

Most cops are professonals who manage to remain professional even when confronting the kinds of people that you describe this woman as being.

Why are you giving these officers a free pass to behave unprofessionally in this situation?

Or are you saying that they behaved appropriately?

Maybe you saying that the woman's allegedly bad behavior gave the cops the right to behave inappropriately?

I've had several police officers in my adult university classes, and, by discussions that I've had with them on various policing matters, I think that they would be appalled at the kind of unprofessional behavior attributed to the cops in this article.

The police have an enormous amount of power at their disposal, and part of being a good cop is understanding that, as annoying or ornery as a regular citizen gets, that citizen is ultimately completely powerless in a dispute with a cop.

So good cops use their power judiciosuly, not indicriminately or to punish someone for some perceived slight, as seems to be the case here.

Upswing

Thank you for the comments and questions.

I think it's important to note before going further... all of our information on this story comes from Tasha Ford, who openly admits to having a pre-existing bias against police...and that the facts are being "reported" by blogger, Carlos Miller, a man with a substantial personal ax to grind on this issue. Perhaps that's not important or relevant from your standpoint...but I find these sources HIGHLY dubious, and it makes me disinclined to buy much of what they're selling at face value!

Mr. Miller works feverishly to ensure that every comment/move/assertion made by Ms. Ford is rationalized and justified via his specious editorializing...and that every alleged utterance and action on the part of the officers is taken out of context, viewed with suspicion and/or mocked!

Is your concern about professionalism and relative power, limited to police? Or does it extend to journalists as well?

Perhaps police could have handled this different or better than they did....but that's far different than saying they acted unprofessionally or behaved inappropriately! From my perspective, the fact that police called mom, instead of immediately arresting the wannabe-scofflaw, gives us the best glimpse into their state of mind at the time. Just as I think Ms. Ford's first accusatory statement upon hearing her son was detained, gives us a telling glimpse at her mindset at the time.

Could they have displayed more patience? Again, perhaps? It would certainly help to know, was Ms. Ford arrested 2 minutes after exiting her vehicle...or did the police on-scene tolerate 30+ minutes of the incendiary comments & hateful rhetoric before being instructed by a supervisor to arrest her?

For whatever it's worth, I wholeheartedly agree that police have greater power and the responsibility to use their power judiciously. But, I believe the police came closer to meeting their HIGHER level of responsibility than Ms. Ford came to meeting ANY measurable level of reasonability!!

And, does having greater power & responsibility mean police are necessarily required to endure whatever manner of aggressive stupidity someone like Ms. Ford decides to display?? Where's the line drawn...and by whom?

Now, if a judge, or a review board determines they indiscriminately punished Ms. Ford for some perceived slight, I have no problem with them being disciplined, terminated or even arrested....if deemed appropriate!

And, my assertion that she's an idiot, not a martyr...is largely based on the idea that a regular citizen is powerless in a dispute with police. But, when you're powerless...purposefully going out of your way to antagonize and provoke a confrontation with the powerful police officers...who are trying to HELP YOU AND YOUR SON, is just plain idiotic!!!

When a person acts unreasonable, petulant or confrontational it's almost universally frowned upon. Yet astonishingly, the same unreasonable, petulant or confrontational actions by someone with a camera in hand....ends up being lauded as a champion of the 1st Amendmant!!

Widewillie:

Is your concern about professionalism and relative power, limited to police? Or does it extend to journalists as well?

I was only thinking about police, but your question raises a good point per journalists' need for professionalism... A good reminder.

And, does having greater power & responsibility mean police are necessarily required to endure whatever manner of aggressive stupidity someone like Ms. Ford decides to display?? Where's the line drawn...and by whom?

If the police deem that the subject is behaving in a manner that warrants arrest, then it's their duty to arrest that person.

However, irrespective of what verbal garbage that person is throwing at them, I believe that, yes, they should grin and bear it and remain as polite and as restrained as they possibly can.

It isn't for the arresting officers to analyze and challenge the subject's politics, including wanting to know why someone is filiming them. Frankly, it's none of their business why someone would film them in a public place.

Assuming that the police comport themselves in a professional manner, even in the face of provocation, then it really shouldn't make any difference to them that they are being filmed. Professionalism is the absolute protection against any harm a camera could cause them.

Besides, it's not illegal to film people in public places.

Ultimately, the only responsibility and authority a police officer has is to react in a measured fashion to incidents that reasonably seem to be the cause of actual or potential lawlessness and/or danger.

Of course, the police officers' safety should never be subordinated to politeness or restraint. But being pissed at someone is not a life threatening situation.

Now, if a judge, or a review board determines they indiscriminately punished Ms. Ford for some perceived slight, I have no problem with them being disciplined, terminated or even arrested....if deemed appropriate!

This attitude, to me, turns the idea of professionalism on its ear.

The idea of professionalism among the police force isn't to try something and see if you get reprimanded for it.

Rather, it's to do your very best to do nothing that might be construed as reason for reprimand.

If a situation should get out of control, and further review is necessary, then, well, stuff happens.

But I don't think that "try it and see" is a tenable default posture for police officers when it comes to how they behave in the performance of their duties.

And, my assertion that she's an idiot, not a martyr

I think that any martyrdom that she might acheive would be in inverse proportion to the arresting officers' professionalism and restraint. i.e. The less restrained and professional the cops are, the more of a martyr that would make her seem ...

astonishingly, the same unreasonable, petulant or confrontational actions by someone with a camera in hand....ends up being lauded as a champion of the 1st Amendmant!!

I think that legitimate civil disobedience is a highly contextual animal -- the exact same dissent can be warranted in one situation but not in another.

As far as this situation goes -- I have very little information -- just the article and the information that your have kindly offered.

I give both of those sources equal weight, while retaining my belief that the most powerful force in any confrontation has, by default, the greater responsibility to do no harm, even if provoked by someone looking to generate good press.

Upswing

Again I thank you for your comments and feedback.

I waited a bit before responding in hopes that some new information might be available. Unfortunately, I’ve found nothing new from Mr. Miller or the MSM.

It’s clear that we are approaching this story from a vastly different point of view…where you see a victim of police aggression…I see a victim of her own hubris and recklessness. Ultimately, sans new information or evidence, discussing this much further would seem to be a poor use of time.

To our discussion on power & responsibility...I would add the following:

Holding police to a higher standard of responsibility only works if we’re ALL held to SOME standard. Asserting that police should tolerate ANY provocation that Ms. Ford (or others) may choose to dish out, absolves them of any responsibility for their own actions. So even if we hold police to a standard 10 times (or 100…or 1000 times) that of the average citizen…it’s entirely meaningless!!! Ten times zero…is still zero!!

And, while police do typically have more power...in this case Ms. Ford had ALL the power needed to avoid this outcome. She had the power of CHOICE.... the power to choose cooperation...and ultimately, the power to walk away!!

By choosing the power of confrontation and conflict....Ms. Ford chose to reap, exactly what she sowed.

Widewillie:

By choosing the power of confrontation and conflict....Ms. Ford chose to reap, exactly what she sowed.

Well I guess that we can agree that it takes two to tango ...

I tend to think that the police are always leading the dance, whereas you believe that the citizen can sometimes lead.

Seems like a reasonable disagreement based on two reasonable perspectives...

But I do think you're right that we need more explicit and "grown up" standards of behavior. I blame the Baby Boomers -- It was hard to tell whether they were raising their kids, or if it was the other way around ...

Upswing

I blame the Baby Boomers -- It was hard to tell whether they were raising their kids, or if it was the other way around ...

You said a mouthful!! And, I fear it's only getting worse.

It's been a pleasure to make your virtual-acquaintance...I'm sure we'll cross keyboards again!

~WW

widewillie:

It's been a pleasure to make your virtual-acquaintance...I'm sure we'll cross keyboards again!

Ditto. :-)

blahmni:

I haven't seen any updates yet.

Thanks!