# Police Abuse Power in Confiscating Dirty Pics **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 31, 2005, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-abuse-power-in-confiscating-dirty-pics/306248 "2005-05-31T18:20:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![askeptic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb9ed0/32.png) [@askeptic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/askeptic)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2005, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-abuse-power-in-confiscating-dirty-pics/306248/21 "2005-05-31T20:47:09Z")
Hmm, I wonder what the penalty is for filing a false police report in that jurisdiction. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2005, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-abuse-power-in-confiscating-dirty-pics/306248/22 "2005-05-31T20:49:54Z")
Let’s see… Violation of 4th amendment rights, filing a false report against an innocent citizen, uttering threats, and (possibly) the very same traffic infraction that the officer accused the photographer of. A hat trick, at least. Way to go, Devore! ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2005, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-abuse-power-in-confiscating-dirty-pics/306248/23 "2005-05-31T21:03:34Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > Third, what grounds did he have to take the camera at all, given that it was entirely unconnected to the guy’s alleged offence, which was an illegal u-turn? The idea that the camera may have contained any evidence relevant to this is ridiculous. What, you don’t think it’s reasonable to assume that the man took a picture of himself yelling obscenities at a cop while performing an illegal u-turn? I take pictures of myself doing that _every day_! You can tell I’m yelling obscenities, too, because my camera makes little word balloons on all of the pictures with the relevant text automatically included. ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2005, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-abuse-power-in-confiscating-dirty-pics/306248/24 "2005-05-31T21:06:17Z")
> [@Larry Mudd](#): > > Let’s see… Violation of 4th amendment rights, filing a false report against an innocent citizen, uttering threats, and (possibly) the very same traffic infraction that the officer accused the photographer of. > > A hat trick, at least. Way to go, Devore! And don’t forget libel and defamation. ---
**Author:** ![I\_don\_t\_care\_about\_your\_cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f08c70/32.png) [@I\_don\_t\_care\_about\_your\_cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_don_t_care_about_your_cat)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2005, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-abuse-power-in-confiscating-dirty-pics/306248/25 "2005-05-31T21:20:44Z")
[Here’s](http://www.jumptheshark.com/xsl.jpg) a photo of the officer. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2005, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-abuse-power-in-confiscating-dirty-pics/306248/26 "2005-05-31T21:21:10Z")
> [@](#): > > In the course of conversation i obtained a piece of property i believe may have contained evidence of his actions. When the property was “unusable”… …destroying evidence… ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2005, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-abuse-power-in-confiscating-dirty-pics/306248/27 "2005-05-31T21:23:57Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > Second, what does he mean when he says that he pulled the guy over “in an attempt to see if he needed anything”? You know…like maybe he needed his ass kicked or his face rearranged. I think it’s splendid that the police are out there looking after our needs. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2005, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-abuse-power-in-confiscating-dirty-pics/306248/28 "2005-05-31T21:31:30Z")
> [@I don't care about your cat](#): > > [Here’s](http://www.jumptheshark.com/xsl.jpg) a photo of the officer. Hmm. A not-to-bright officer who engages in exceedingly petty power trips? I think he looks more like [this.](http://www.star-collector.net/autographs/jamesbest.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2005, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-abuse-power-in-confiscating-dirty-pics/306248/29 "2005-06-01T00:55:26Z")
This sounds just like good old Buford T. Justice. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2005, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-abuse-power-in-confiscating-dirty-pics/306248/30 "2005-06-01T02:01:04Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Hmm. A not-to-bright officer who engages in exceedingly petty power trips? I think he looks more like [this.](http://www.star-collector.net/autographs/jamesbest.jpg) Those comments make me think of [this](http://www.fh.az.gov/PublicSafety/LawEnf/images/Sheriff_Arpaio.JPG) guy. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Violaceous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2bfe46/32.png) [@Miss\_Violaceous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Violaceous)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2005, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-abuse-power-in-confiscating-dirty-pics/306248/31 "2005-06-01T12:22:24Z")
> [@Martin Hyde](#): > > The damages should instead be paid to the jurisdiction where the trial takes place, I don’t see it as being necessarily just that punitive damages go to a party that has done nothing to earn any right to them. It’s an imperfect system, but it does strike fear in the hearts of people who commit civil, not criminal, wrongs. Litigation costs significant amounts of money, and lots of people wouldn’t make that investment if all they could get out of it was the “actual damages.” In this case, the actual damages wouldn’t even approach the cost of the attorney, so the plaintiff would back off. The cop would never face any sanction bigger than the 1-day suspension, and probably not even that, because without lots of money at stake the press would be more likely to jump on that and the department would be less inclined to do anything about it at all. ---
**Author:** ![GLWasteful](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f05b48/32.png) [@GLWasteful](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GLWasteful)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2005, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-abuse-power-in-confiscating-dirty-pics/306248/32 "2005-06-01T13:05:56Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > I wouldn’t like it much either. But I wouldn’t have the power to do what this cop did: radio for a fellow officer to stop the photographer for no good reason, then confiscate the smart card on the digital camera and erase the images. Really? You oughta get a guy like my guy. That aside, I do think that this is a pretty blatant abuse of power, and hope that Mr Bell is succesful in his case. Particularly since the confrontation was caught on videotape with a freakin’ audio track. ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2005, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-abuse-power-in-confiscating-dirty-pics/306248/33 "2005-06-01T14:20:35Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > Now that I think more about it, the cop should go to jail. I would love to hear a reporter interview the Chief of Police and the DA and ask why criminal charges were not filed/considered. And why in his report did the officer write, “f\_ \_k”? Seriously, it is a police report. If the guy said “fuck”, why not write “fuck”? ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2005, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-abuse-power-in-confiscating-dirty-pics/306248/34 "2005-06-01T14:30:37Z")
> [@vetbridge](#): > > And why in his report did the officer write, “f\_ \_k”? Seriously, it is a police report. If the guy said “fuck”, why not write “fuck”? Because this is Hudson, Ohio. Where people love their kids and don’t cuss, and make a lot of money. I live in the bitter working-class town next door 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2005, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-abuse-power-in-confiscating-dirty-pics/306248/35 "2005-06-01T15:01:00Z")
As a Cold War vet, who grew up hearing about the evils of having to have ‘papers’ to go around the country I find the whole reasoning behind the idea of a national ID to be horrifying. Beyond the potential for abuse by officious fucks as **rjung** suggests, I wonder if it’s the first step to having to get gov’t permission to move, or travel between states? I think it’s unlikely, but back 1986 I remember being told that the US gov’t would never be able to get a national ID, either. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2005, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-abuse-power-in-confiscating-dirty-pics/306248/36 "2005-06-01T15:23:42Z")
> [@OtakuLoki](#): > > As a Cold War vet, who grew up hearing about the evils of having to have ‘papers’ to go around the country I find the whole reasoning behind the idea of a national ID to be horrifying. Beyond the potential for abuse by officious fucks as **rjung** suggests, **I wonder if it’s the first step to having to get gov’t permission to move, or travel between states?** I think it’s unlikely, but back 1986 I remember being told that the US gov’t would never be able to get a national ID, either. Bolding mine. I couldn’t agree more. A national ID card is, in my opinion, an open invitation for abuse. Imagine being jailed because you chose to grow a mustache and the photo on your ID shows you without one. Could you change your haircolor? Or shave the mustache you originally had? I believe it would just bring us one step closer to a police state. ---
**Author:** ![AsecretK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ab992/32.png) [@AsecretK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AsecretK)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2005, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-abuse-power-in-confiscating-dirty-pics/306248/37 "2005-06-01T15:47:05Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Because this is Hudson, Ohio. Where people love their kids and don’t cuss, and make a lot of money. > > I live in the bitter working-class town next door 🙂 I work there too 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2005, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-abuse-power-in-confiscating-dirty-pics/306248/38 "2005-06-01T15:51:17Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Hmm. A not-to-bright officer who engages in exceedingly petty power trips? I think he looks more like [this.](http://www.star-collector.net/autographs/jamesbest.jpg) Damn you, [beat me to it](http://www.jamesbest.com/fullsize/13.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Man\_from\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Man\_from\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Man_from_Mars)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2005, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-abuse-power-in-confiscating-dirty-pics/306248/39 "2005-06-02T04:14:00Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > Second, what does he mean when he says that he pulled the guy over “in an attempt to see if he needed anything”? In some cities, the police have “To protect and TO SERVE” written on their vehicles. Clearly, the officer wanted to see if the guy wanted a cup of coffee, a newspaper, or a pair of slippers. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-abuse-power-in-confiscating-dirty-pics/306248.md?page=1)