Under a Gibbous Moon

This video has to be seen to be believed.

So this state trooper, who appears to be off duty, cuts in front of Anthony Graber, approaches him with a drawn pistol and screaming at him. Several seconds into the confrontation he finally identifies himself (though he just says he’s the police, he doesn’t actually produce a badge).

The police try to claim that he was on duty and just plain clothes, though I doubt it simply because why wasn’t his badge at hand and why didn’t he use his lights instead of just cutting the motorcycle off.

Since all this conduct is caught on film, they decide to charge Grabder with “wiretapping” for recording the confrontation. They claim that a police officer, a public servant in the performance of his duties (supposedly), is entitled to privacy when has contact with the people he is supposed to be serving.

This just strikes me as a massive case of district attorney CYA. The big giveaway is when the anchor reports that the DA is speculating that Graber had a camera on his helmet to incite a police officer. Nothing quite like releasing a completely unfounded statement to the press that could prejudice the jury pool.

Related (maybe) posts:

1. The Police officer who puts the “Police” in Police State
2. Police burn, shoot 7 year old during raid
3. Dangers of a double standard
4. Man uses penis as a weapon to assault police
5. The Mentality of a Police State