North Carolina Police Reportedly Arrest Woman Who Refuses To Turn Over Cellphone After Filming Alleged Abuse

In Jacksonville, police are being accused of arresting and beating the wrong man in response to a report of a fight on Christmas Eve. They then arrested family members who say that were just trying to stop police from beating their relative. Daisy Besancourt, 57, was charged with failure to disperse on command, after she reportedly filmed the police and refused to turn off her phone.

Recently, in a column, I discussed the continued crackdown by some police officers on citizens who film them in public. Citizens have a right to film police officers in public. Often we see police officers allege that such filming is “interfering” with their carrying out of their duties — a highly questionable charge in circumstances of alleged abuse.

Family members in this case insist that police focused on the wrong man and proceeded to tackle him, pepper spray him, and try to taser him.

Jonathan Guiterrez told the media that police mis-identified his 16-year-old son, Hector, based on his clothing and that they immediately tackled him. When his cousin Ruperto stepped in, he says that Ruperto was beaten with a baton. The melee ensued with a score of arrests.

The arrest of Daisy Besancourt for failure to disperse on command is particularly suspicious and demands investigation. She says that she refused to turn off her camera and that the police proceeded to confiscate it and arrest her.

I have tried to find an account from police who deserve to be heard on such allegations. However, there is only a statement that the matter is under investigation.

Source: WCTii12 as first seen on Reddit.

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26 thoughts on “North Carolina Police Reportedly Arrest Woman Who Refuses To Turn Over Cellphone After Filming Alleged Abuse”

  1. A police officer who orders someone to delete images from a camera has issued an illegal order. Why? Simple:

    If the images themselves are illegal, that is to say, taking pictures is an actual crime, then the pictures are evidence of that crime, and deleting them is destruction of evidence. Generally a felony without a court order.

    If the images are not illegal, then deleting them is destruction of property. Not a felony (unless the images somehow exceed the monetary value threshold for felony vandalism) but also not a legal act.

    If the images record evidence of an unrelated crime, then police require a subpoena to acquire a copy of the images or a warrant to seize the camera itself.

    The only time police can legally seize a camera without a warrant is when the police arrest the photographer. But even then, the police cannot delete the images legally without a court order. And false arrest just to lay hands on a camera is illegal.

  2. http://youtu.be/ccwmFpUpWmo

    ACCEPTIBLE POLICE ACTIVITY at a ROUTINE TRAFFIC STOP ?
    this is 2 Jacksonville police pulling up to a traffic stop that was called in by Marine Corps. police . I was not resisting them at all and was doing the best I could to cooperate with them . They were not even in the Jacksonville city limits . I was charged with Resisting a public officer . A judge later made a ruling that because these officers made the assumption that I was a possible danger to them ( with no substantiating facts or actions ) their actions were permissible in her court . The video is the dash cam with the dispatch audio . This is abuse of the Justice System . More video on my U-tube channel.

  3. Or alternately, to keep a room reserved at the nearest psychiatric facility.

    I figure about a month of bed rest with some major tranquilizers ought to do the trick.

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