Powder Springs GA cop gets reprimand

Powder Springs GA cop gets reprimand for tasering man pulled over for a malfuncitoning license light on video [0] bit.ly/xdiBfO

Noth Chicago IL cop suspended

Noth Chicago IL cop suspended for unspecified period of time as discipline for hitting a man in custody on video [2] trib.in/zhJEZU

Worcester MA police sued by man

Worcester MA police sued by man alleging he was held 73 days on false charges contradicted by video [3] bit.ly/vZ8pif

New York NY cop faces

New York NY cop faces disciplinary action after photgraphed sleeping on train while armed and in uniform [0] nydn.us/yiCob4

Joliet IL cop fired after

 •Joliet IL cop fired after investigators review video of him beating woman while responding to domestic dispute [0] bit.ly/yklY4V

UC Davis CA sued by students & alumni alleging

UC Davis CA sued by students & alumni alleging civil rights violations involving an infamous videotaped pepperspray incident. [0] http://lat.ms/zcYt58

Sanoma Co CA prosecutors ask

Sanoma Co CA prosecutors ask judge to issue court order removing Santa Rosa CA police brutality video from internet [5] bit.ly/ynMuZ0

Gilroy woman plans to sue for police misconduct

A Gilroy woman who plans to file a lawsuit against the City of Morgan Hill claims to be the victim of false arrest and invasion of privacy in an incident that resulted in a police department internal investigation.

The city last month rejected a claim for damages filed by Casey Serrano, who accused Morgan Hill police of illegally using her smart phone to post a personal photograph “she did not intend to share with the public” stored on the device to her Facebook account, according to her attorney.

The city rejected the claim Jan. 13, according to city attorney Danny Wan.

The city’s police chief launched an internal investigation into the involved officers’ conduct shortly after the July 16 incident, and the department took unspecified punitive action against them. Chief David Swing did not name the officers involved, but other sources indicate the city’s K-9 officer David Ray was one of the arresting officers.

Serrano plans to file a civil lawsuit next month claiming more than $25,000 in damages, her attorney Dan Siegel said.

Serrano was arrested on suspicion of public drunkenness about 2 a.m. July 16, 2011. The Santa Clara County district attorney never filed charges against Serrano, and Siegel said she was arrested because she asked officers to move a patrol car from the front of her residence at the time on LaRocca Drive.

Just before her arrest, Serrano also took photographs of the patrol car, which was in the area on an unrelated call, Siegel said.

“She was arrested because she objected to a police car blocking her driveway for two hours,” Siegel said. “The officers thought she had no right to object, so they arrested her.”

While Serrano was detained, an officer or officers “took her mobile phone” and downloaded a photograph to Facebook that “she did not intend to share with the public,” Siegel said.

A friend of Serrano’s was arrested along with Serrano at the same time, Siegel said.

Swing said last week that he launched an internal investigation of the officers involved in the July 16 incident shortly after Serrano’s arrest, though at that time he did not mention Serrano by name.

The investigation followed a verbal complaint by one of the suspects, who visited the police department shortly after she was cited and released and accused an officer of improperly accessing personal information on her cell phone.

“We took immediate action to investigate the complaint, and we initiated our investigation without waiting for a formal (written) complaint,” Swing said.

The department contacted the D.A.’s office, which found the officers who were the subject of the investigation did not commit any illegal conduct, Swing said.

However Morgan Hill police continued an internal investigation, which “did find that the officers acted inappropriately, and we responded with corrective action to hold them accountable,” Swing said.

The chief declined to name the officers involved in the case, citing state laws prohibiting him from releasing any more details of the case, including what kind of punitive or corrective action the city took toward the officers, and details about the nature of the complaint.

This newspaper filed a Public Records Act request for the police report of the incident with the city clerk’s office this week, but the city has not yet provided a copy of the report. By state law the city has 10 days to respond to a PRA request.

One of the officers involved in the arrest signed the public drunkenness citation “D. Ray,” according to Siegel. The city’s K9 officer is David Ray, who is still employed by the city, Wan said. The city attorney said he cannot disclose if Ray or any officer is currently on leave.

According a source with knowledge of the case who wanted to remain anonymous, Ray was a subject of the department’s internal investigation.

Serrano filed a claim for damages at Morgan Hill City Hall listing her accusations of police misconduct Dec. 2, 2011, Wan said. The city denied the claim Jan. 13 in an “administrative”process that does not require city council action.

Wan declined to comment on this specific claim or the July 16 case, but said it is “not uncommon” for cities to summarily deny claims for damages and then wait for court proceedings or settlement negotiations.

Siegel added that other officers were involved in Serrano’s arrest and booking, but he does not know who they are. “They haven’t given us a copy of the police report,” he said.

While state law allows authorities to search mobile communication devices in search of evidence in certain cases; Siegel said the use of Serrano’s phone in this case was illegal.

He said the officer who accessed Serrano’s personal photograph and Facebook account violated her right to privacy under the state constitution.

“What evidence could they possibly find (on her phone) that would support the claim that she was intoxicated when she asked them to move their police car from the front of her driveway?”Siegel said.

St Paul MN settles suit for $90k

St Paul MN settles suit for $90k to robbery victim tackled & beaten by cops on video mistaking him for robber [0] bit.ly/xH9d4N

Tutwiler MS police chief & 2 officers fired

Tutwiler MS police chief & 2 officers fired for videos showing them pranking and boxing mentally disabled teen [0] bo.st/ylrqNA

Fairfax County Police Officer Amanda Perry award for Safe Driving. Fairfax County Police. Police brutality

Milford CT settles a lawsuit for $2.5mil to the family of 1 of 2 teens who were killed in a crash with a cop doing over 90MPH while allegedly drag racing with a fellow cop. [0] bit.ly/wzmzoB

Seattle WA cops received a minor reprimand

Seattle WA cops received a minor reprimand for showing dashcam video of a traffic stop to the motorist’s boss in an effort to get him fired. [2] bit.ly/ztNtIt

Chicago IL cop subject of suit alleging he beat

Chicago IL cop subject of suit alleging he beat & arrested a black man for filming police officers just minutes after he let a white guy go with a warning for doing the exact same thing. [3] trib.in/xLevd-g

Cop Caught On Tape Saying “I’m Gonna Make Stuff Up”

SEATTLE-A Seattle police officer has been caught on audio tape threatening to falsely charge two suspects with a robbery saying, “I’m gonna make stuff up.”

The two suspects, Josh Lawson and Christopher Franklin, filed a lawsuit against the city of Seattle for wrongful arrest and excessive force, claiming that an officer kicked Lawson in the face. For some mysterious reason, dashcam footage of the the assault disappeared.

KOMONEWS reports:

Both men said they suffered facial bruises and swelling after one was kicked and the other man-handled into the pavement while being arrested. But then listen to what an officer says on an audio recording after he takes the two to holding cells: “Well, you’re going to jail for robbery that’s all.”

You then hear Franklin ask, “for robbery?” And the officer responds, “Yeah, I’m gonna make stuff up.”

“These guys are guilty of being black in Seattle,” said attorney Lizanne Padula, who represents Lawson and Franklin. She believes if they’d been white “I think the most that would have happened with those kids police officer would have rolled down his window and said, ‘hey, were you guys over in this area?’”

Police Officer Caught On Tape Saying He Can "Make Up" Evidence

Seattle Cop threatens to make up stuff on tape

OFFICER THREATENS TO MAKE UP EVIDENCE AFTER ARREST OF INNOCENT MEN

Footage leak 'not the act of a whistleblower': Commissioner

 

Releasing CCTV footage showing a man allegedly being bashed by Gold Coast police officers, was not a whistleblower act, Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson said this afternoon.

Mr Atkinson faced the media over the excessive use of force allegations, which were highlighted in The Courier-Mail today.

He said the matter was being jointly investigated by the Ethical Standards Command and the Crime and Misconduct Commission and while he could promise there would be a “full and thorough and exhaustive” investigation into the matter, it was not his place to “pre-judge” the outcome which could be weeks away.

However Mr Atkinson said an investigation into the allegation had been launched shortly after the gentleman involved made a complaint about the January 29 incident on February 6.

The commissioner said while it was not a primary factor of the investigation, who leaked the watch house footage of the alleged incident in the basement of the Surfers Paradise police station.

“The gentleman had made the complaint and the Ethical Standards Command had the footage and we need to be clear about that, that is not a whistleblower act, there is nothing there that is exposing or uncovering anything,” Mr Atkinson said.

“The complaint had been made, it was being investigated, the Ethical Standards Command had the footage. What someone has done has given the footage selectively to one media outlet. That is not appropriate.”

One officer, who Mr Atkinson said was at the primary focus of the investigation, has been removed from operational duties but was still working with Queensland police.

The other officers featured in the leaked footage had been questioned as part of the investigation, Mr Atkinson said.

Mr Atkinson said he did not believe the media investigation had sped up the progression of the ethical standards investigation.

“There have been developments today, which I can’t go into which resulted in the officer being removed from operational duties, he has not been stood down,” Mr Atkinson said.

“The progression of it [the Ethical Standards Command investigation] to the decision today to remove the officer from operational duties would have occurred anyway.

“If it was a result of the media, I’d tell you about it, but it is not my view that it is.”

However he did call on the unnamed police officer quoted in The Courier-Mail as saying bashings were not rare and complaints were often dismissed, to come forward.

“We have come a long way in the Queensland Police Service,” he said.

“This year is 25 years since the start of the Fitzgerald Inquiry and the officer had my absolute assurance that he or she will be totally protected and supported if they come forward with information that is valid.

“There is no question of that. If there is any doubt at all, what I urge the officer to do is to contact the Crime and Misconduct Commission and discuss the matter.”

In answering a reporter’s question about the reputation of the Surfers Paradise police station for thuggery, Mr Atkinson said any “claims like that needed to be backed up with evidence”.

But he did say that officers in some areas had a more difficult job than others.

“It is important to recognise police officers do a difficult job, a job that often, often compromises their own safety and we have to find the right balance here and in some areas of the state, and Surfers Paradise is one, it is more difficult than it is in others and statistics bear that out.”

Mr Atkinson said for the past five years, complaints regarding excessive use of force by Queensland police officers had remained steady at the 600 to 700 mark, despite the number of police officers increasing.

“In reality, the rate of complaints is going down,” he said.

Mr Atkinson said “every one” of the complaints was taken “very seriously” and were referred to the Crime and Misconduct Commission.

However he made a point to speak about the number of assaults against police officers.

Mr Atkinson said during the last statistical year, 2331 of 10,557 police officers had been assaulted.

He said while the state wide average equated to 22 assaults for every 100 Queensland police officers, the Gold Coast police district’s rate was 37 assaults for every 100 police.

The Commissioner said the Gold Coast had the second highest rate of public nuisance offences in the state [behind Brisbane central, which encompasses the city and Fortitude Valley] with a rate of 931 public nuisance offences for every 100,000 people.

He compared that to Ipswich which had 389 [per 100,000 people], Caboolture [386 per 100,000 people] and Wynnum which had a rate of 206 public nuisance offences registered per 100,000 people and said Surfers Paradise alone had 230 licensed premises.

While admitting it had not been a good week for the Queensland Police Service, Mr Atkinson said he did not believe the QPS had “gone backwards” or was at “a crisis point”.

“I don’t believe it [recent events] is systemic of an organisational problem,” he said.

“What I do believe is your police, my police the Queensland Police Service are nearly 11,000 men and women who are drawn from how community, who do slightly over six months training and go out onto the street and they face and deal with the most difficult and dangerous circumstances, who are also subject to all of the normal human stresses that we are all subject to in our daily loves,” he said.

“And what can happen is people can become de-sensitised with dealing with violence and difficult situations and sometimes their judgment can be frayed.

“Everyday in Queensland, at a conservative estimate, we have over 14,000 interactions with the community…..of those 14,000 interactions daily; there is less than 10 complaints.

“And if you think about the nature of police work, then I think, whilst I would like to see it as less, I think that is acceptable.’’

GOLD COAST MAN CLAIMS POLICE BRUTALITY

GOLD COAST MAN CLAIMS POLICE BRUTALITY

A Gold Coast police officer has been pulled from the frontline amid an investigation into what’s alleged to be police brutality, caught on camera.

The security video, which shows a young father being arrested at Surfers Paradise, was leaked to the media by a fellow officer.

BLOODY AND BRUTAL:

Video shows police bashing young dad Noa Begic with young dad and chef Noa Begic in the basement of Surfers Paradise police station, where he is kneed and punched while his hands are cuffed behind his back.

Mr Begic, 21, has pleaded not guilty to charges of public nuisance and obstructing police - saying he was arrested for singing in the street after having a few drinks with friends.

The bashing happened about two weeks ago.

Today, Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson said the incident had been subject to investigation since February 6, although the officer was only stood down from operational duties today.

He said the disciplinary action was not a result of media coverage.

Mr Atkinson said officers on the Gold Coast are called on to deal with a higher rate of public nuisance offences - and that sometimes punching someone in the head is "justified’’.

He said a third of Gold Coast police officers are assaulted in the line of duty and of the 600 to 700 complaints against police officers made each year, most are unsubstantiated.

You have to police according to the circumstances, Mr Atkinson said.

“People can become desensitised when dealing with violence and difficult situations over and over,” he said.

“Sometimes their judgment can be frayed.”

When asked if punching somebody in the head could be justified, Mr Atkinson said “of course”.

“It would depend on the circumstances and as to whether that use of force - punching someone in the head - was necessary and justifiable.”

Earlier, the victim of the brutal police bashing captured on CCTV at a Gold Coast police station made the chilling claims the worst of the violence took place out of the camera's view and officers taunted him that his injuries were "merely a flesh wound".

Noa Begic, 21, was arrested in the early hours of January 29 for being a public nuisance during a night out with friends.

Minutes later he was taken to the basement of Surfers Paradise police station, where surveillance footage obtained by The Courier Mail shows him being beaten bloody.

A senior officer even uses a bucket to wash away a pool of Mr Begic's blood.

The chef and father-of-one has only now watched the footage for the first time.

"It's pretty brutal," he said.

"Unfortunately there wasn't a camera around the corner because it would have shown what happened before we came in to view.

"I was already bleeding from punches when they pulled me out of the squad car.

"The part just before this video starts is where I get a few really good blows to the head so I was already quite dizzy by this stage.

"By the end I was pretty relieved just to make it to the wagon to get out of their grasp."

Even after he was locked in the back of a police wagon it still wasn't over.

An officer returned to deliver a few more punches and the door opens again a short time later.

"He leaned in and called me racist names and said 'it was only a flesh wound'," said Mr Begic.

"By the end you can actually see a pool of blood from my nose and mouth if you look close enough.

"And now you can see him washing away my blood.

"At least they're covering their tracks well."

Seattle Arrest Questions Cops' Use of Dash Cams

Seattle Arrest Questions Cops' Use of Dash Cams

Two friends who had planned to visit a Seattle sports bar claim they ended up being kicked, arrested at gunpoint and held in jail for several hours by a cop who said he intended to "make stuff up."

Part of the arrest of Josh Lawson, 23, and Christopher Franklin, 22, on Nov. 16, 2010 is caught on tape by the officer's dashboard camera.

But key moments of the arrest that should have been captured on video are missing and it was unclear whether the officer intentionally neglected to turn on the dash cam. None of the released footage shows the officer in the moments he made the stop or kicked Lawson.

The accusations against Richardson are among many that have put a spotlight on the Seattle Police Department and it comes after the release of a Department of Justice report in December that said "serious concerns about practices that could have a disparate impact on minority communities" were raised by its review.

The recording of the arrest was released after ABC News affiliate KOMO began an investigation into missing police dashboard camera videos.

The recording of the arrest of Lawson and Franklin -- who were picked up for allegedly assaulting and robbing a man a short time earlier -- shows the suspects being helped from the ground and into the patrol car of Officer Brad Richardson.

The officer's uniform microphone also records Richardson telling the suspects, "Yeah, I'm going to make stuff up."

The Seattle Police Department called Richardson's comment "banter" and the officer was exonerated of any wrongdoing after a use of force review was conducted, along with an investigation by the Seattle Police Department's Office of Professional Accountability.

 

"Clearly if the officer had made stuff up he would have been in hot water," Sgt. Sean Whitcomb of the Seattle Police Department told ABCNews.com.

Lawson and Richardson said the dash cam did not record crucial moments of the arrest that they said left them with facial bruises and swelling. They claimed they were manhandled and kicked in the face by Richardson, while the officer maintained that he only kicked Lawson in the chest to make him comply with an order to get on the ground.

"I don't know who was recording what," Whitcomb told ABCNews.com. "Officers should record, [but] it's not a violation not to."

Lawson and Franklin, who are African-American, were arrested after a 911 call came in from a few blocks away alleging a man had been the victim of an assult and robbery. The two suspects were described as black males in their late twenties, tall, skinny and wearing jeans.

Franklin is 5-foot-9. Lawson, who is six feet tall. Instead of jeans, he was wearing white sweat pants.

"The only thing they had to fit the description was black males," said the pair's attorney, Lizanne Padula. "This was like a meteor dropping down on them."

When they found out why they were being arrested, the two men became alarmed.

"It felt like no one was going to believe us," Franklin told ABCNews.com. "We were just going to be another statistic."

Richardson's written report described a different situation. The officer wrote in the police report that the men continued to approach his car even after he yelled at them to stop.

"The male wearing the hoodie continued to keep his hands in his hoodie pockets. With the strong possibility both of these males were the assault suspects and they were ignoring commands to stop, I again advised, 'Stop, Police, show me your hands and get on the ground.'"

According to Richardson, the two men got closer, so he drew his weapon.

Lawson said they complied with the officer's order.

"I got on the ground. I sat with my hands up frozen because I had a gun pointed at me," Lawson said. "I had to come back into myself and understand there was a gun on me. I was in shock."

Richardson said that Lawson stayed in a crouch position, not fully laying on the ground.

"I used a flat foot, front push kick to the center of the male chest knocking him backwards and flat to the ground," he wrote.

The robbery victim positively identified the two men, while a witness said she was uncertain. No charges were filed at the victims' request.

The two men want changes in the Seattle Police Department. They have also filed a complaint for damages, possibly the first step in a lawsuit.

"We're terrified of hanging out in our own city," Franklin said. "These officers have seen our faces. They know our names. We can't trust people."

CMC must probe 'culture of police violence' in wake of video of handcuffed man being bashed

Australian Council of Civil Liberties president Terry O'Gorman made the call this morning after viewing shocking video, obtained by The Courier-Mail, of an alleged prisoner bashing in the basement of the Surfers Paradise police station last month.

Mr O'Gorman said police brutality was continuing despite the presence of CCTV cameras.

"If police are doing this when the CCTV cameras are on, what are they doing away from the cameras?'' he said.

"They are committing what the cameras show - excessive violence, and in some cases grossly excessive violence, against people who are already restrained.''

Mr O'Gorman said a number of cases of police brutality had not been satisfactorily dealt with, including the bashing of three tourists at Airlie Beach police station.

He said while one officer had been jailed over the assaults, others who were present and were 'clearly liable' had not been punished.

And the Queensland Police Service, while releasing video of the incidents, had refused to release the audio showing the full brutality involved.

Mr O'Gorman said police had also escaped criminal prosecution for the bashing of homeless man Bruce Rowe in the Queen St Mall, and lawyers had to mount a civil prosecution on his behalf.

New CMC boss Ross Martin SC needed to urgently tackle police violence, Mr O'Gorman said.

"In our view, the new head of the CMC has to deal with the issue of police violence both on the streets, and against people in custody, as his major priority,'' he said.

"The examples that we're seeing speak to a wide culture of police violence that even the Police Commissioner (Bob Atkinson) has acknowledged.''

Two years ago, Mr Atkinson voiced concern about excessive force by his officers in party hotspots including Surfers Paradise, Fortitude Valley and Brisbane City.

New York NY police deputy inspector

New York NY police deputy inspector Tony Bologna is being sued by 2 of the women he peppersprayed without cause on video at OWS [0] nydn.us/ygbk5d

Philadelphia PA is being sued by a gun rights

Philadelphia PA is being sued by a gun rights activist claiming police arrested him in retaliation for posting a video of cop swearing at him. [3] bit.ly/zCKOHv

Seattle WA cop known for being caught on camera

 Seattle WA cop known for being caught on camera threatening to “beat the Mexican shit” out of an innocent man is being sued by a man claiming the officer choked him while he was cuffed in the back seat of a cruiser after he was falsely arrested. [3] bit.ly/z9Qkxy

Louden Co VA deputy sued for allegedly

Louden Co VA deputy sued for allegedly leaving a man with brain damage after he hit him with a running sucker punch in the back of the head in an incident caught on dashcam. [0] ow.ly/1GhThe

Local man awarded settlement in police brutality scandal

The Henderson City Council has awarded a settlement of $158,500 to Adam Greene, whose assault by Henderson police officers more than a year ago was caught on tape.

The video, released on Tuesday by Greene’s lawyers, shows the officers kicking Greene, who had collapsed to the ground in a state of diabetic shock, then laughing at the victim after calling for medical assistance.

The lawsuit filed against the police alleges that Greene suffered broken ribs, and bruises to his hands, neck, face and scalp from the incident.

Police stopped Greene at about 4 a.m. on Oct. 29, 2010 near Boulder Highway and Lake Mead Drive. They suspected that Greene was intoxicated because he had been weaving among lanes.

After it became clear that his behavior was the result of low blood sugar, officers still forced Greene to stand and take a Breathalyzer test.

Authorities have not released the names of any of the officers involved in the incident and Greene’s suit does not name them.

The Henderson Police Department said that one sergeant involved in the case was disciplined, but the individual is still employed with the police department.

The state will pay Greene $35,000 in addition to the City of Henderson’s reparations. Greene’s wife received $99,000 from the city — $1,000 below the minimum amount that requires approval by the city council.

The footage was captured by a camera on a Nevada Highway Patrol vehicle. No highway patrol officers appear in the video.

Baltimore MD police are apparently trying to use the threat

Baltimore MD police are apparently trying to use the threat of arrest for loitering as a loophole around an official policy that orders police to let citizens videotape the police. The incident was caught on camera the very same day that policy, generally considered to be nothing more than an attempt to kill a lawsuit over an arrest for photographing police, was publically announced… which seems to prove that point. [5] bsun.md/zY9945

South Beloit IL settles suit for unspecified

South Beloit IL settles suit for unspecified sum to cuffed woman tased & choked on video, two officers and their police chief were criminally charged for their roles in that incident. [0] bit.ly/wewuhz

Surprise, surprise...Cops oppose plan to allow recording them in public

 

 

SPRINGFIELD – In this smartphone era, it’s “Candid Camera” all over the place. But it’s against the law in Illinois to surreptitiously record a police officer doing his or her job in public. A bill which passed an Illinois House committee yesterday would change that.

“Citizens are being charged under the current law for doing nothing more than what thousands of citizens do every day in Illinois: pull out our cell phone, open up the camera, and start recording,” says the sponsor, State Rep. Elaine Nekritz, D-Northbrook. “With the G-8 and NATO summits coming to Chicago in May, thousands of journalists and attendees are at great risk of prosecution.”
Police groups are against the idea, saying it will compromise officers’ duties and inhibit potential witnesses. Another worry: that a police officer will shoot someone after mistaking the other person’s cell phone for a gun.
H.B. 3944 has passed the House Judiciary I (Civil Law) Committee.

Updates on filming the police

Fresno CA teen exonerated after video shows cops had no cause to use force & arrest her while waiting for food order[3] bit.ly/xUvGvI

New York NY several cops accused of false report & false arrest of couple after video sharply contradicts reports [5] nydn.us/z92KcF

Baltimore MD police issue new policy informing cops that citizens have right to record them in bid to kill lawsuit [3] bit.ly/yRyKzZ

Film the police

2 New York NY undercover cops are being accused of making a retaliatory arrest against a copwatcher who has been filming police making stop & frisks. The officers arrested him during a stop and frisk for having a small pen knife. [5] bit.ly/xWv7SW

Albuquerque NM cop is under investigation over his use of force and abusive language that was shown on a YouTube cell video [0] bit.ly/xnCiMm

Henderson NV is settling a lawsuit for $158k to a man who was repeatedly kicked in the head by a cop when he was yanked from his car after stopped for erratic driving while he was suffering from diabetic shock. Officers can be heard on the dashcam talking about being worried that it was caught on video. [0] bit.ly/wauaUc

Indian River Co FL deputy has been fired after dashcam video, above, contradicted his report in an excessive force incident where the deputy pulled over and repeatedly tasered a cuffed suspect in the back of his cruiser because he was being loud and obnoxious. [0] bit.ly/wGIEL3

•2 Prince George’s Co MD cops are under investigation after video contradicted their report about a shooting incident. [1] cbsloc.al/yWSuvC

Miami-Dade Cop Who Arrested Me Is A Media Spokesperson

By Carlos Miller -...

The Miami-Dade police officer who had me arrested as I was covering the Occupy Miami eviction is a public information officer, meaning it is her job to deal with the media.

You would think Major Nancy Perez would have known better than to single out a reporter from the hordes of other reporters covering the eviction that night, even if she was not familiar with my face (or maybe she was).

And while it's true I was not wearing my press pass that night (I had left it in another camera bag), there is no law that requires journalists to wear credentials.

In fact, the Miami-Dade Police Department used to issue press credentials to qualified reporters, but they did away with them a few years ago because as one spokesman told me at the time, reporters don't have any more rights than non-reporters.

All she had to do was ask who I was covering it for and I would have told her Miami Beach 411, where I am a senior editor and have been covering Occupy Miami from the very beginning.

I would have given her my business card as I do to all police officers whom I come in contact with during my job.

But she gave me no chance to do any of that.

And worst, I imagine it was her who ordered the deletion of my footage because she was the only officer who had anything to lose by that video going public.

As you will see in the video I plan to post on Miami Beach 411 on Tuesday, most of the cops were acting very restrained, even if a handful of activists were taunting them.

Although the video I recovered, which is below, is a little choppy, I plan on having a forensics specialist recover the entire video without interruptions, who would also determine the time it was deleted.

And while I do plan to eventually file an internal affairs complaint against Perez, I have no confidence in a police department investigating one of its own members, which is why I also plan on filing a complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice, who are not too keen on police officers deleting footage from the cameras of citizens.