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Va. State Police Force BBC Reporter to Delete Footage of Flanagan Car Crash

bicycleman

bicycleman

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BBC journalist Franz Strasser has filmed through rubber bullets and tear gas in Rio de Janeiro and has at times been told by police to stop filming while on assignment.
But he had never been ordered to delete footage until Wednesday, when he and a fellow journalist came upon the scene on Interstate 66 where Vester Lee Flanagan crashed a car following a pursuit by state police.
A trooper told Strasser that police would need to seize his camera because his footage could be evidence but then ordered him to delete the footage. The trooper watched as the journalist deleted it, Strasser said in an interview Friday.
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Virginia State Police trooper ordered BBC reporter to delete video of Vester Flanagan crash scene | HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com

There are some in the comment section below the article, who do not believe the BBC reporter, but as a life time Va. resident, I believe his story because I know the Va. State Police filled with Gestapo like control freaks.

This trooper violated 3 Amendments to the Constitution: First Amendment right to free speech, Fourth Amendment freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures, and the14th Amendment right that property cannot be seized without due process of law.
 
bicycleman said:
Virginia State Police trooper ordered BBC reporter to delete video of Vester Flanagan crash scene | HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com

There are some in the comment section below the article, who do not believe the BBC reporter, but as a life time Va. resident, I believe his story because I know the Va. State Police filled with Gestapo like control freaks.

This trooper violated 3 Amendments to the Constitution: First Amendment right to free speech, Fourth Amendment freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures, and the14th Amendment right that property cannot be seized without due process of law.
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Though I don't doubt that a trooper would issue such an order, what I do doubt is that a seasoned photojournalist would comply. Something doesn't pass the smell test here.
 
Summerwind said:
Though I don't doubt that a trooper would issue such an order, what I do doubt is that a seasoned photojournalist would comply. Something doesn't pass the smell test here.
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Maybe the seasoned photojournalist wasn't in the mood to spend some time in a Virginia jail?
 
Henry David said:
Maybe the seasoned photojournalist wasn't in the mood to spend some time in a Virginia jail?
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Remember the old commercial, where the red neck cop with the Smokey Bear hat stops a motorist, "You're in a heap of trouble, boy!"

Well, Virginia may be for lovers, but it's full of red neck troopers, who couldn't care less about your rights. They were on a killing mode. They wanted Vester Lee Flannagan in their sights, and it pissed them off that he offed himself instead. It sounds like they were willing to take out their frustrations anyway they saw fit.
 
Summerwind said:
Though I don't doubt that a trooper would issue such an order, what I do doubt is that a seasoned photojournalist would comply. Something doesn't pass the smell test here.
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I've seen Va. troopers do some stupid things. Once, I was driving home from work on the interstate. It was bumper to bumper with all three lanes full of vehicles. I was in the far left hand lane near the median and as soon as I rounded the curve, I noticed 2 state cars blocking the left lane and partially in the median, which was blocked with a jersey wall. They were sitting behind a motorist. Seeing that I couldn't get into another lane, I began braking from 55 mph. My braking caused everyone behind me to either brake or attempt to get around the scene, so I was virtually trapped with the only solution to stop. At the same moment, a young trooper began yelling at me and running toward my pickup, all the while I'm braking to stop. Checking my rear view mirror, I finally was able to move to the middle lane. The trooper was pointing to his head and calling me stupid and telling me to think, think. Yeah, I thought. I thought that he had to be the dumbest cop I had ever seen. What kind of fool doesn't realize that I had nowhere to go, and then runs toward a vehicle trying to stop? Yeah, I kept my mouth shut, but I sure wanted to tell him he needed to be the one, thinking.
 
bicycleman said:
I've seen Va. troopers do some stupid things. Once, I was driving home from work on the interstate. It was bumper to bumper with all three lanes full of vehicles. I was in the far left hand lane near the median and as soon as I rounded the curve, I noticed 2 state cars blocking the left lane and partially in the median, which was blocked with a jersey wall. They were sitting behind a motorist. Seeing that I couldn't get into another lane, I began braking from 55 mph. My braking caused everyone behind me to either brake or attempt to get around the scene, so I was virtually trapped with the only solution to stop. At the same moment, a young trooper began yelling at me and running toward my pickup, all the while I'm braking to stop. Checking my rear view mirror, I finally was able to move to the middle lane. The trooper was pointing to his head and calling me stupid and telling me to think, think. Yeah, I thought. I thought that he had to be the dumbest cop I had ever seen. What kind of fool doesn't realize that I had nowhere to go, and then runs toward a vehicle trying to stop? Yeah, I kept my mouth shut, but I sure wanted to tell him he needed to be the one, thinking.
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I little off topic, but this is one reason I'm not too terribly upset about the deputy in Texas. Just lookin' at the pics of the deputy you can pretty much tell that his attitude would be similar to what you're describing. Though it will never be publicized, imo, it's entirely possible the it was personal revernge against the deputy and not some random "kill anything in uniform," that most are trying to make it out to be.

Anyway, what I'm saying is, point made and taken seriously.
 
Summerwind said:
I little off topic, but this is one reason I'm not too terribly upset about the deputy in Texas. Just lookin' at the pics of the deputy you can pretty much tell that his attitude would be similar to what you're describing. Though it will never be publicized, imo, it's entirely possible the it was personal revernge against the deputy and not some random "kill anything in uniform," that most are trying to make it out to be.

Anyway, what I'm saying is, point made and taken seriously.
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Yeah, I can understand the philosophy of your argument.
 
Summerwind said:
I little off topic, but this is one reason I'm not too terribly upset about the deputy in Texas. Just lookin' at the pics of the deputy you can pretty much tell that his attitude would be similar to what you're describing. Though it will never be publicized, imo, it's entirely possible the it was personal revernge against the deputy and not some random "kill anything in uniform," that most are trying to make it out to be.

Anyway, what I'm saying is, point made and taken seriously.
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You cannot judge a book by its cover. :peace
 
Summerwind said:
I little off topic, but this is one reason I'm not too terribly upset about the deputy in Texas. Just lookin' at the pics of the deputy you can pretty much tell that his attitude would be similar to what you're describing. Though it will never be publicized, imo, it's entirely possible the it was personal revernge against the deputy and not some random "kill anything in uniform," that most are trying to make it out to be.

Anyway, what I'm saying is, point made and taken seriously.
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I have had those thoughts as well. It is entirely possible that he was one of the a-hole cops that gives them all a bad name. I don't like feeling that way, but I do.

I haven't seen anything to suggest that it was personal, but at the same time he was shot, what, 15 times? Generally investigators say that that kind of force is usually personal, so who knows?
 
So in less than 10 posts we've gone from "Did the Virginia cop violate the reporters rights" to "the cop in Texas looked like an asshole so it's fine that he got shot"?

Some days this place really makes me want to lace my coffee with Jack Daniels.
 
Lutherf said:
So in less than 10 posts we've gone from "Did the Virginia cop violate the reporters rights" to "the cop in Texas looked like an asshole so it's fine that he got shot"?

Some days this place really makes me want to lace my coffee with Jack Daniels.
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:3oops: Yeah, I hate when that happens, and I played a part in this one.

At least it's still about police in general. Sometimes the OTs get truly bizarre.
 
Lutherf said:
So in less than 10 posts we've gone from "Did the Virginia cop violate the reporters rights" to "the cop in Texas looked like an asshole so it's fine that he got shot"?

Some days this place really makes me want to lace my coffee with Jack Daniels.
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IMO, what you describe is fairly common on the internet.
 
Summerwind said:
I little off topic, but this is one reason I'm not too terribly upset about the deputy in Texas. Just lookin' at the pics of the deputy you can pretty much tell that his attitude would be similar to what you're describing. Though it will never be publicized, imo, it's entirely possible the it was personal revernge against the deputy and not some random "kill anything in uniform," that most are trying to make it out to be.

Anyway, what I'm saying is, point made and taken seriously.
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It's not a rules violation to say something like "What a douchebag of a post" right?. You're in the clear to say anything you want about post content, you just have to be careful about what you say about the guy who wrote the post, as in you can't say "that guy Summerwind who wrote that post is a douchebag."
 
USViking said:
It's not a rules violation to say something like "What a douchebag of a post" right?. You're in the clear to say anything you want about post content, you just have to be careful about what you say about the guy who wrote the post, as in you can't say "that guy Summerwind who wrote that post is a douchebag."
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This place is a lot more lenient than that other place we all came from. Just remember that.
 
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