Prince William :
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Welcome to Fairfax Underground, a project site designed to improve communication among residents of Fairfax County, VA. Feel free to post anything Northern Virginia residents would find interesting.
Prince William Officer threatens to arrest citizen for videotaping a brutal arrest in Manassas
Posted by:
Megynlynn
()
Date: September 24, 2014 03:36PM
http://photographyisnotacrime.com/2014/05/11/virginia-cop-threatens-arrest-citizen-video-recording-aggressive-arrest/
Virginia police were aggressively arresting a man at a McDonald’s when another customer decided to pull out his phone and record, capturing a pair of cops forcing the suspect to the floor, even though the man did not appear to be resisting.
The Prince William County police officers handcuffed the man and jerked him up, forcing him outside to their patrol car. The man with the camera followed them outside, intending to continue documenting the arrest.
That was when a cop named Jennings stormed up to him and ordered him back inside, first threatening to arrest him for interfering, even though it was clear he was not interfering, then threatening to arrest him for loitering, even though the man was a paying customer.
Not to mention that forcing him back inside would likely negate any loitering allegation.
“It’s my Constitutional right to do this,” the man said as Jennings bullied him with his body weight, crowding his personal space.
“Right, sure is, stay inside,” Jennings said after forcing him back inside the restaurant.
The cop appears to be the same cop identified in a 2009 Washington Post article as Kevin Jennings.
The video was posted Saturday under the username isaicruz22, who stated the following in the description:
While at a local manassas mcdonalds, I noticed a guy being talked to by the police. Being that it is my constitutional right to film an on duty police officer, I pulled my phone out and started recording. Out of no where you see the police officers throw the guy to the ground and man handle him up even though you clearly see him putting his hands behind his back. After they carried him out I decided to follow. You then see an officer by the name of Jennings confront me to go inside. He threatened to arrest me for loitering even though I was a customer at the mcdonalds. He then directs me to go inside to stop filming. This is unacceptable to be happening by the people that are supposed to be making us feel safe. I was not breaking any law by filming to keep both sides accountable. I should have never felt threatened. There was no crime scene tape to say I was not allowed to be there and as you can see in the video there are also other bystanders (none with a camera) who are left alone and not harassed to continue watching.
Call Chief Stephan Hudson at (703) 792-6650 or leave a comment on the department’s Facebook page.
UPDATE: The Prince William County Police Department responded to the call floods with the following statement on its Facebook page.
Police responded to the uproar with a post of their own, saying they are reviewing the incident.
“ … We would like to point out that it is our policy not to impede on anyone's right to video our actions in public so long as there is no obstruction of or interference with police actions or anyone else's rights or safety,” police wrote.
According to the American Civil Liberties Union, anyone in a public place where they are “lawfully present” has the right to photograph “anything that is in plain view.”
Courtesy of: photography is not a crime
Virginia police were aggressively arresting a man at a McDonald’s when another customer decided to pull out his phone and record, capturing a pair of cops forcing the suspect to the floor, even though the man did not appear to be resisting.
The Prince William County police officers handcuffed the man and jerked him up, forcing him outside to their patrol car. The man with the camera followed them outside, intending to continue documenting the arrest.
That was when a cop named Jennings stormed up to him and ordered him back inside, first threatening to arrest him for interfering, even though it was clear he was not interfering, then threatening to arrest him for loitering, even though the man was a paying customer.
Not to mention that forcing him back inside would likely negate any loitering allegation.
“It’s my Constitutional right to do this,” the man said as Jennings bullied him with his body weight, crowding his personal space.
“Right, sure is, stay inside,” Jennings said after forcing him back inside the restaurant.
The cop appears to be the same cop identified in a 2009 Washington Post article as Kevin Jennings.
The video was posted Saturday under the username isaicruz22, who stated the following in the description:
While at a local manassas mcdonalds, I noticed a guy being talked to by the police. Being that it is my constitutional right to film an on duty police officer, I pulled my phone out and started recording. Out of no where you see the police officers throw the guy to the ground and man handle him up even though you clearly see him putting his hands behind his back. After they carried him out I decided to follow. You then see an officer by the name of Jennings confront me to go inside. He threatened to arrest me for loitering even though I was a customer at the mcdonalds. He then directs me to go inside to stop filming. This is unacceptable to be happening by the people that are supposed to be making us feel safe. I was not breaking any law by filming to keep both sides accountable. I should have never felt threatened. There was no crime scene tape to say I was not allowed to be there and as you can see in the video there are also other bystanders (none with a camera) who are left alone and not harassed to continue watching.
Call Chief Stephan Hudson at (703) 792-6650 or leave a comment on the department’s Facebook page.
UPDATE: The Prince William County Police Department responded to the call floods with the following statement on its Facebook page.
Police responded to the uproar with a post of their own, saying they are reviewing the incident.
“ … We would like to point out that it is our policy not to impede on anyone's right to video our actions in public so long as there is no obstruction of or interference with police actions or anyone else's rights or safety,” police wrote.
According to the American Civil Liberties Union, anyone in a public place where they are “lawfully present” has the right to photograph “anything that is in plain view.”
Courtesy of: photography is not a crime
Re: Prince William Officer threatens to arrest citizen for videotaping a brutal arrest in Manassas
Posted by:
repost
()
Date: September 24, 2014 07:00PM
Re: Prince William Officer threatens to arrest citizen for videotaping a brutal arrest in Manassas
Posted by:
Megynlynn
()
Date: September 25, 2014 05:10PM
Legitimately I searched it and didn't find anything. Thanks for the link.
Re: Prince William Officer threatens to arrest citizen for videotaping a brutal arrest in Manassas
Posted by:
ItHappens
()
Date: September 25, 2014 06:40PM
no problem