Man Arrested For Video Taping Police

This is total bunk…

NASHUA – A city man is charged with violating state wiretap laws by recording a detective on his home security camera, while the detective was investigating the man’s sons.
Michael Gannon, 49, of 26 Morgan St., was arrested Tuesday night, after he brought a video to the police station to try to file a complaint against Detective Andrew Karlis, according to Gannon’s wife, Janet Gannon, and police reports filed in Nashua District Court.
Police instead arrested Gannon, charging him with two felony counts of violating state eavesdropping and wiretap law by using an electronic device to record Karlis without the detective’s consent.

Clearly the charges against this man are totally outrageous. That being said, this case does provide something of a dillema for privacy absolutists who support things like dual-consent recording laws.
See, in some states before you are allowed to video tape or tape record anyone (even people you’re talking to on the telephone or in person) you must notify the person being recorded (or in group settings all persons being recorded). In other states (my home state of North Dakota, for instance) no such notification is required. If you are in a position where you can see the person or overhear the person you can record what you see/hear legally.
Personally, I think the latter is how things should be. I think that if you call me on the telephone (or even if I call you) I should be able to record our conversation without having to tell you. I also think that if you’re out on your front lawn clearly visible from public space then I should be able to video tape what you’re doing.
To me it’s all about what expectation of privacy a person has. If you’re walking around nude on your front lawn you have zero expectation of privacy. If you’re shouting things loudly across a public park you have zero expectation of privacy. If you’re a police officer in my home you have zero expectation of privacy.
That’s just how it should work.

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  • http://Array mike

    it is wrong to charge him, if the police can tape you without your consent, why can’t we tape the illegal activities of the police or anyone else

  • http://private-investigator-detective.com/ Surveillance

    legal only the private areas of the house are deemed illeag id there is unclothed minors, bathroom or if the doors are closed by the occupants of that room

  • http://peatbog.net/ Sphagnum

    Why are the charges bunk and “totally outrageous”? You may disagree with the law, but it is nonetheless the law…

    For the record, I think such laws are wrong as well…

  • Money Dollars

    http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/RSA/html/LVIII/570-A/570-A-1.htm

    II. “Oral communication” means any oral communication uttered by a person exhibiting an expectation that such communication is not subject to interception under circumstances justifying such expectation.

    Mr. Gannon had a signs posted, and the recording device was in plain view. No reasonable expectation of privacy, thus, no consent was needed.

  • http://webfeedcentral.com/ Tom Simpson

    I just wanted to follow up on this, to see what was going on, and found only a couple links to more information about it.

  • http://webfeedcentral.com/ Tom Simpson

    Another reason is that this gives anybody that is robbing his house or vandalizing his property the right to claim that their rights were violated, because he didn’t get their consent to record them.

    I agree, the dual consent laws are totally outrageous, as well as the charges against Michael Gannon.

  • http://sayanythingblog.com robport

    Spaghetti, I realize what the law is. That doesn’t make the law any less bunk.

    You confuse my criticism of the law with thinking that the law somehow doesn’t exist.

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