Why video-taping things is bad.

[CaseyGT2001]

People that video tape themselves engaging in criminal/comprimising activities ask for all the punishment they get.


http://boston.mirror-image.com/newsvideo/softwin/template.html?OAS_pos=SPONSOR2&middle=072104_vws_worcester.wmv

:abovelol:

[dragonfighter60]

:abovelol: Thats great!

[ruahighlander]

:abovelol: :abovelol: What a bunch of dumb a$$es.

[Steve]

Ouch, the tape tells all. I like how that young guy figures that if they were all in control then they weren't breaking the law? That's smart thinking...

[Guess]

who the hell tells the cops they have a camara with everything on it
DUMB AS ****

[carbonbluerocks]

First the painted rotors fiasco... now this... what is it with Golf owners :rolleyes:

[AUTOBOT]

:abovelol:

Dumbasses

[hadleyish]

Wonder where we could get that Awesome performance dolphin hanging from his rear view

Gaydar was defintly going off!!!!!

[labmixz]

well, since cops can't legally search or take anything from your vehicle without you giving authorization to do so... what fking moron gave authorization for the state trooper to take the video or even search the car...

morons...

[AUTOBOT]

well, since cops can't legally search or take anything from your vehicle without you giving authorization to do so...

Not 100% true

If there is a resonable suspicion that there could be

Automobile Search Exception--first established in Carroll v. U.S. (1925) as part of Prohibition-era laws allowing roadblocks and checkpoints. Later, amended to allow free and unfettered passage on public highways. Police can generally open luggage and parcels in the passenger compartment; a search of the trunk requires special justification. However, Chambers v. Moroney (1970) ruled that an automobile search need not be made immediately. All that is necessary in a probable cause stop is to confiscate the parked vehicle after the driver has been arrested, take it to headquarters, and do a complete inventory on its contents. Any and all evidence found in the vehicle can be legally seized. Inventory and search are technically different, but in practice, both are done at the same time. (See Moving Vehicle/Probable Cause Doctrine and Inventory Search Exception).

Later added

Moving Vehicle/Probable Cause Doctrine--an automobile, truck, van, motorhome, boat, airplane or other movable object can be searched IF there is (a) probable cause (b) the vehicle is moving or about to be moved, and (c) a warrant cannot be readily obtained. Every part of the vehicle can be searched, including closed containers in the trunk, although special justification is needed for trunks. Diminished expectations of privacy are assumed to exist with moving vehicles. Probable cause can be easily established via police dogs, who have a sense of smell six million times greater than that of a human.

http://faculty.ncwc.edu/toconnor/405/405lect04.htm

Probable cause is a little bit of a gray area that is left to be opened to interpretation. There are several reasons the cops could have searched the vehicle. One, they had probable cause to believe that because of the behavior of the kids, drugs and/or alcohol could have been involved since they were witnessed driving eratically and swerving. If so and they happened to find the recorder then it can still be used. Also, if the video recorder was in the open, which it probably was, then the would be probable cause to believe that there was evidence on the recorder. I am sure, you could think of other probable cause.

[labmixz]

they can't legally say "we have suspension you were swerving, so hand over the video camera"

because the act in question was not seen by any of the officers, but by a witness who got out and told the officers, who could have been lying or doing this out of jealiousy...

Also I find it funny that if these VW's were speeding and breaking the law and what not, how the person who "told on them" got far enough infront of them to tell the cops and like the officer said "as the witness told us this the pack of VW's came past us"... so hold up, this "witness" speed infront of all the VW's to tell on them about speeding and swerving... thats funny...

not to mention if the people driving the car were smart, when the officer asked to look at the video tape, he could have easily said "no, I believe that to contain personal images of me and my girlfiend cause I don't know what tape is in there at the moment" (which would have saved his *** if the cop still found it) they are just stupid people driving VW's that got caught doing stupid stuff and are too stupid to know how to properly avoid the situation...

[SuperGLS]

Good one.

[cclngthr]

Legally, the cop can search the car and its occupants if there is any kind of suspicious activity. Since there was a video recorder available, the cop can seize that due to the fact that a group of drivers were driving dangerously and illegally. It was this year where a case in WA State had been decided by the Supreme court (most likely state, but could be federal) that a driver was pulled over and suspicious activity was noticed and a search was initiated. The passenger had a warrant plus had drugs on him, which (his behavior after they stopped and was questioning the driver) constituted a thorough search and both going to jail.

Here, the sight of the recorder was enough to suspect the group was driving agressively and the search was initiated. The evidence found on the recorder was what summed it up, in addition to the news footage, which was also gathered.

It won't be long where we will have black boxes in cars and that records how fast the car was travelling and if the car was swerving (by sensors on the steering system. GPS systems now can accomplish some of this.

[Elantra2.001]

Your airbag system already does this with a memory of 5 seconds with speed and deacceleration data.

[vabeach_03]

damn i weave though cones like that all the time. i'm glad i'm not dumb enough to film it.

[2BIT]

There is a little rule called plain sight doctrine on search and seizure. They are dumbasses.

[kylemorg]

...the sight of the recorder was enough to suspect the group was driving agressively...

Now I know that some people (especially VW drivers, it appears) occasionally videotape themselves doing dumb things in their cars; but I've never heard of the fact that having a camcorder in the passenger compartment of a vehicle correlates with aggressive driving. :confused:

[XTRAWLD]

Lucky the lane they were swerving into was clear. What if some construction guy walked out into that lane that was not supposed to be occupied, what if there was a huge pothole or something that was being blocked off down the road? The pilons were there for a reason, you don't swerve in and out of them. If you are already traveling in a pack, you'll be noticed as it is, however, not too many of them were really done up so it wouldn't have brought in alot of attention. Videotaping and handing that over to the police though, priceless...and the fact that the guy said they were driving in single file while some swerved through the cones but he wasn't one of them.....that'll look good.

[tharptroy]

lol, if he was smart, he would have destroyed the tape, though I realize that takes unusually quick thinking

[cclngthr]

Now I know that some people (especially VW drivers, it appears) occasionally videotape themselves doing dumb things in their cars; but I've never heard of the fact that having a camcorder in the passenger compartment of a vehicle correlates with aggressive driving. :confused:


As I said, the sight of the recorder in the open (likely in the reach of a person) along with the reports of agressive driving (reckless driving) would raise a normal person's suspicions about why the recorder was available when a group was driving recklessly.

I'm not a cop, but I do work alongside the law enforcement/corrections departments due to the school being in a correctional facility. Talking with them, I notice a lot of the methods they use; not to my advantage, but how they do their job, and can figure out a method they might utilize to solve a crime (traffic/criminal). Here, I think the site of the recorder raises a red flag (like, look at me) due to the reports of recklass driving in a large group. It doesn't take much to figure out that the possibility of recording the evident was very great.

I know, if I saw a recorder during an investigation of a group of drivers driving recklessly I would make a reasonable decision to seize the recorder under suspicion that it was used to tape the event.

[GTSpeedRacer]

Reminds me of those nimrods that taped themselves shooting bums with paint ball guns a couple of years back.

[AUTOBOT]

they can't legally say "we have suspension you were swerving, so hand over the video camera"


Well, it looks as if cclngthr explained it to you since me posting up the actual laws wasn't good enough.

Basically, long story short, inside your car is NOT considered private domain. The trunk CAN be unless there is probable cause but inside the passenger compartment, a cop is free to check without permission.

[2BIT]

Exactly. Here is something else alot of people don't know. Lets say you get stopped for DUI. You do the sobriety tests (which is not recommended as all they do is help the Police when you get in Court as they can say he failed the HGN test he could not follow the pen with his eyes, or failed the balance test, or could not say the alphabet) But being a nice drunk, you do the tests. You fail the tests, and the Police hook you up to haul off to jail for DUI. Usually, another Patrol will take you to jail, while the original Officer stays waiting for the tow truck to tow your ride to impound. Before the tow truck arrives, the Officer will "inventory" all personal affects left in the vehicle to prevent someone from saying they had 50 Rolex watches worth xxx amount of dollars that are not there anymore, or something else worth alot of bucks that is no longer there. It is CYA for the Officer. Essentially this inventory is a search as the Officer will look everywhere to make sure he has "inventoried" everything. If anything else is found while doing the "inventory" such as weed, or an illegal gun etc, you will be getting more charges for those items. The report wil read: as I was doing my inventory of personal affects left in the vehicle of John Doe, I Officer X found two 3 ounce bags of a green leafy substance in the center console. A NIK test (field narcotics test) was completed on the substance which tested positive for THC. Evidence seized and booked under P#xxxx.........

I remember those kids with the paintballs, they were dumb too. I have also seen kids that video themselves going in vacant houses up for sale and thrashing the house, knocking holes in the walls, tearing up tubs and showers, windows, etc. Talk about hanging your own *** out to dry in Court.....Can't very well stand there and deny it when your face is right there....

[kylemorg]

We should all drive around with camcorders in our cars from now on. Make sure that there's something extremely disgusting, funny or pornographic (but legal subject matter and a legal copy) recorded on it.

Or, it'd be fun to videotape the police rolling through stop signs w/o their lights and sirens going, chatting on their cell phones while they drive w/o a hands-free adapter in PA, etc. and leave that tape in the camcorder. (Uh, perhaps that's not the smartest thing to do to taunt the police when you're in their custody, though!)

That way, if any of us get stopped for breaking any laws like speeding (which I'm sure none of us ever do), they can watch that tape.

[cclngthr]

Around here, the state patrol does have cameras in the patrol car. They also can use that as evidence against you. They also do this with DUI stops as well, where there is a dash cam and the drunk test is performed in front of the cruiser.

More police agencies are using video with sound (wireless mic on the cop) to nab criminal activity.

[2BIT]

If you drive with a video camera just don't take pictures of things like federal court houses, or other important buildings. We will be hearing you scream all the way from GITMO in Cuba about how you are not part of a Muslim Terrorist Group............ :abovelol: