There was actually a couple of Weird Ohio stories floating around today, but this one is the most disturbing. Not-at-peace officer David Devore took objection to the audacity of a citizen who took a picture of his crusier being towed after he made it inoperable by attempting a (speculating illegal, at least ill-advised) U-turn on a PUBLIC snow covered road near Akron. The officer radioed another car to detain the photographer without cause, threatened to make his life a living hell if he didn't turn over his camera, and then proceeded to delete all his pictures.
Here is a couple of links to the story:
Chillicothe Gazette
WKYC
While I sorely oppose the current system of punitive damages, this is definitely a case where the police station should be compelled to teach their officers that their duty is to enforce the law and not to be above it.
Another news excerpt at the extended link.
A blurb from WCHS TV I could not link to:
According to a dashboard camera, Devore said he would make it hard on Bell if he didn't give up his digital camera and the pictures he took of the stuck cruiser.Bell previously attempted to reach a settlement with the city of Akron, according to the lawsuit. He asked for 500-thousand dollars and new police department procedures, including psychological testing of officers. The city offered him 1-thousand dollars.
Bonus: The Cleveland Plain Dealer link - which brings up the interesting question - if a police officer stopping you for no reason and depriving you of your property is not a violation of your civil rights, as stated by Jody Roberts, what is it?
Posted by shs4 at May 31, 2005 05:11 PM | TrackBack