"He had refused to drop the camera which could be used as a weapon."
Right.
A jury acquitted him of all charges. Including the Officers writing in their reports that Waterhouse ran off, they chased him, and only then bean-bagged and Tasered him.
(They left out that it was on his own property as he videotaped their search of a friend's property.)
Oregon LiveHow 'bout them apples?
Four men who say Portland police ran roughshod over their constitutional rights are taking their cases to court. Monday their attorneys called for independent investigators to review complaints against police and for the mayor and chief to curb what they called officers' "dirty tactics."
Police officers followed a police dog onto the property during a search for a fleeing suspect. After the dog keyed on a car, officers broke out a window. Upset residents, insisting no one had run onto their property, started to videotape the police search.
When one woman was told to stop recording, she gave the videocamera to Waterhouse. He walked to the edge of the property, climbed up a dirt embankment and continued to record. At one point, he yelled to his friend, "Yes, I got it all on film. They had no right to come on this property."
He says in the suit that police immediately came after him, and yelled at him "put it down." Officers moved towards him, and he said, "Don't come after me." Waterhouse said seconds later he was shot with a bean bag gun and a Taser and fell to the ground.
Officers wrote in their reports that Waterhouse ran off, they chased and then bean-bagged and Tasered him. One officer wrote, "He had refused to drop the camera which could be used as a weapon."
Waterhouse was arrested, accused of criminal trespass and disorderly conduct. A jury acquitted him of all charges.
[Above] is the video that Waterhouse shot. It depicts the final 27 seconds of footage and ends with him being hit by the Taser darts.
Got to love those Fourth Amendment rights. Especially in Portland, where all the dirty rotten hippies hang out, and the Police love everyone.
No, wait. The police don't love anyone except themself.
I knew that.
And this will blow your mind: Fox News has an article which I agree with.
h/t Boing Boing via Reason Magazine.
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