It’s been ten days since since a federal judge ruled that photography is no longer protected by the First Amendment and cops are already using that decision to intimidate citizens from recording them in public.
In order to build trust in the community, a Delaware cop who was caught on video kicking an innocent man in the face, shattering the man’s jaw, will be paid $230,000 to resign.
The city of Dover says this the settlement with Thomas Webster IV is in the “best interest of the community” because it guarantees he will no longer work as a city police officer.
Less than two months after a Texas law went into effect allowing citizens to open carry handguns, Texas police arrested a man for doing just that Saturday afternoon.
Brett Sanders, an open carry activist who has written for PINAC in the past, drew the attention of Southlake police after he stood on the side of a highway holding up a sign saying, “cops ahead,” warning drivers of an upcoming speed trap.
Stephen Ruth, dubbed the “Red Light Robin Hood,” has made it his mission to rid his New York county of its red light camera program, claiming it has led to several fatal accidents after the duration of the yellow lights were shortened to trick cars into citations.
The Suffolk County man has posted several videos to his Facebook page documenting the timing of the lights throughout the county. His videos seem to offer proof that yellow warning lights are much shorter at intersections where red light cameras are installed.
As addressed in my recent article, the Florida League of Cities is pushing for a dramatic and unwarranted change to Florida’s Public Records Act for which no empirical justification is offered.
Written with Maya Shaffer and Carlos Miller
Less than a month after receiving a $72,500 settlement from Fall River, George Thompson has passed away. He was 53.
The folks in Louisiana love St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Captain Clay Higgins and his viral Crime Stopper videos. They love his tough talk and criminal shaming delivered to his audience with a Cajun flair and a compassion for both the victim and the suspects he profiles.
In an embarrassing Constitutional setback for the American judicial system, a federal judge in Pennsylvania ruled on Friday that citizens do not have the First Amendment right to record police in public.
That is, unless those citizens are telling the cops to go fuck themselves.
Then it’s protected speech.
That’s the twisted logic coming from Judge Mark A. Kearney, a federal judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, who’s been on the bench a little more than a year.
PINAC reporter Jeff Gray conducted a public records audit at the town hall of Penney Farms last month, a tiny town in North Florida known more for its retirement community than its farms that describes itself as “one of the best kept secrets” in the state.
And judging by town clerk Anita Cooper’s refusal to comply with one of his request, it’s certainly living up to that promise.
The basic premise of Florida’s Public Records Act is that the public has a right to access any records dealing with official government business. Its purpose is to promote public awareness and knowledge of government actions to ensure the government remains accountable to the people.
