The Beltway Outsider

From Universal Hub:

A Boston lawyer suing the city and police officers who arrested him for using his cell phone to record a drug arrest on the Common won a victory today when a federal appeals court said the officers could not claim “qualified immunity” because they were performing their job when they arrested him under a state law that bars audio recordings without the consent of both parties.

This will be an interesting case to watch. Police have used some creative charges to stop citizen journalists from recording their behavior and thus holding them accountable for their interactions with the public. The current trend points toward these citizen recordings being legal as long as the citizen stays far enough away as to not be impeding the arrest or investigation. Read the opinion here: http://www.ca1.uscourts.gov/pdf.opinions/10-1764P-01A.pdf

To: Mark Seagraves, WTOP reporter (msegraves @ wtop.com)

Mark,

In reference to your story here: http://wtop.com/?nid=109&sid=2514785

I have a quick pop quiz:

1: If you or I were caught in D.C. with an unauthorized, unregistered firearm, what would be the charge?

2: If you or I fired that handgun (in D.C., while drunk 0.15 BAC) into a car with 3 occupants, what would be the charge?

3: Does shooting at transgendered citizens also constitute a “hate crime”?

The answers should be you would be charged with one count Carrying a Pistol Without a License, in violation of D.C. Code § 22-4504(a) (2001); one count of Possession of an Unregistered Firearm, in violation of D.C. Code § 7-2502.01 (2001); one count of Possession of Unregistered Ammunition, in violation of  D.C. Code § 7-2506.01(3) (2001)  and multiple premeditated murder charges, one for every occupant in the vehicle  (in addition to DWI). But, when you are a cop working for the second most corrupt police force in the nation (after Chicago), and you have been specifically told you no longer have authorization to carry a gun in performance of your duties (this includes non-duty hours too) I guess it’s OK to get drunk, drive around town with your gun, and find some transgender folks to shoot at while drunk and standing on the hood of your car (a full 90 minutes after an altercation at CVS, that’s where the “premeditated murder” part comes in, Furr had to be out looking for these folks). You won’t be held fully accountable for your drunken attempted murder spree, at most you’ll be slapped with DWI and assault with a dangerous weapon charge. This is Lanier’s new management plan of “training trumps discipline“. Not being held fully accountable.

Some might say the cop shouldn’t be charged with the firearms charges, but once you lose the special police powers to carry a gun in D.C. you are no longer exempt from the same laws everyone else must follow. If you are not allowed to carry in the performance of your duties then any and all firearms and ammunition you possess outside the home in D.C. would NOT be legal, yes?

Mark, are you planning to follow up with DCMP to ask why this cop is receiving special treatment when you and I both know that someone NOT wearing a badge would also have these charges levied at them if they had done the same crime? Inquiring minds want to know!

Sincerely,

Ian Branson

Vienna, VA