citizen journalism

New York’s Red Light Robin Hood Indicted on 17 Counts of Criminal Mischief

The New York man known as the Red Light Robin Hood pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Friday after being indicted on 17 felony counts of criminal mischief for cutting the wires to red light cameras where officials shortened yellow light-duration times from five to three seconds, giving drivers less time to stop, enabling Suffolk County to cite more drivers for running red lights.

Watch: Chicago Meter Maids Issue Parking Tickets Before Posting “No Parking” Signs

A Chicago resident’s surveillance video captured meter maids writing parking tickets where no signs were posted, and then putting up “no parking” signs afterwards.
“It feels like an undeserved ticket at this point. These signs were not here when I parked last night. I got home from work about 2 o’clock last night. I’m in the house all night. And I come out this morning with a ticket on my car,” Joseph Castleberry, the victim of the scam, told Fox32.

Watch: New York Sanitation Officers Search Through People’s Trash to Cite them for Recycling Improperly

A video posted to Facebook this week shows New York City sanitation officers playing a dirty trick on  residents in order to generate revenue.
Digging through their trash.
And then citing anyone who wasn’t “recycling properly”.
The video begins with a man video-recording as he approaches a female officer who is digging through a trash bag.
“Ma’am, can you tell me why you’re taking out garbage from people’s houses in order to give tickets?”
He then turns to a male officer.

Watch: California Cops Brutalize Man with Batons and Taser for Jaywalking

Three Bakersfield police officers were caught on video brutalizing a man with their batons and tasering him because he had jaywalked before running from officers in an apparent attempt to keep from being cited Monday evening.
“Stop resisting,” the California cops kept saying as they beat him.
“He’s not resisting,” said the man recording, who sent the footage to his local news station, preferring to remain anonymous.
But police told the media the man was resisting, an action apparently only visible to the trained eyes of police officers.

Vermont Man Threatens Teens for Skateboarding on Video; Cops Blame Teens

A video that is going viral on Facebook shows a man threatening two teens for skateboarding on a public street, which is not illegal in that area of Manchester, Vermont.
“Don’t you fucking open your mouth to me because I’ll take that fucking board and shove it up your ass, you little smart ass piece of shit,” yells the man, who has been identified as Larry Fogarazzo, who appears to be 63.

Florida Sheriff Trashes First Amendment in Video, Demands Photographers Leave “Expanding Crime Scene”

A Florida sheriff took the law into her own hands, using unlawful excuses to expand a crime scene to exclude journalists from a crime scene.
The Palm Beach Sheriff’s deputy was caught on camera in two videos you can see below demanding that photographers cease taking images or video in without any lawful authority.
Detective Amanda Pfeifle of south Florida’s Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office yelled at a local journalist, ordering him not to take pictures of a crime scene, directly violating the First Amendment.

Watch: Ohio Mother Detained for Momentarily Turning Back on Children

What began as a routine trip to the zoo with her children turned into a frightening encounter with an Ohio cop who accused her of “suspicious activity” for strapping her children in their car seats and walking back inside her home to retrieve snacks.
Brunswick Police Sergeant Jonathan Page appeared in Ginger Borshov’s open doorway as she was about to step back outside, demanding her identification, obviously accustomed to getting what he wants.
But Borshov was not certain if she was required to hand over identification, so she grabbed a camera and began recording.

NYPD Cop Points Gun at Man Recording Arrest, Then Slugs Him In The Face Before Arresting Him

Shocking video shows NYPD cop Risel Martinez pointing a gun at a bystander for recording him making an arrest, then walking up to that same bystander and punching him in the face minutes later after the arrest was made.
“He held the gun out like he was one of them goddamn gangsters or like a gang member, you know, and saying, ‘Get away, get away,'”said tenant association president Deloris Johnson.