Redwood Curtain CopWatch, based in the north coast of California, is part of a larger movement of self organized CopWatch groups throughout the US. Our local efforts seek to intervene in the drastic rise of the presence, militarization, and violence of the police, and build support networks based on self-determination, caring, and concrete needs.
right to watch
Occupy Eureka Persists In Strength Despite Ongoing Arrests and Police Repression (Dec19,2011)
Submitted by copwatch on Mon, 12/19/2011 - 12:00pmEureka, CA: The first trial of an arrested Occupier (Eureka) is over. The Humboldt County prosecutor's case revolved around the arrest of the demonstrator for videotaping Eureka police officer, Michael Guy, when he approached the Occupy Eureka site at 4am. After officials jailed the person who was filming for eight days, wasted the impoverished county's money, and spent nearly two weeks in court claiming that the videotaping woman's behavior put the officer in grave danger, a jury voted ten-to-two for acquittal. The case was dismissed.
YouTube Keeps Police Brutality Videos
Submitted by copwatch on Sun, 10/30/2011 - 6:41am
Sun Oct 30, 2011 Google Inc. has turned down the demands of US law enforcement agencies to remove video files showing police brutality from video-sharing website, YouTube.
New York Police Department officers arrest protesters as they march on Wall Street. (File photo)
“We received a request from a local law enforcement agency to remove YouTube videos of police brutality, which we did not remove,” Google wrote in its Transparency Report, Business Insider reported.
Google said that it “did not comply with those requests, which we have categorized in this Report as defamation requests,” revealing that the Internet giant had been bombarded with requests for information and for content to be removed by the US government.
Atlanta Police Agreed To Back Off Citizens Who Videotape
Submitted by copwatch on Sun, 03/13/2011 - 3:27pmBy Nathan Diebenow Monday, February 14th, 2011
The Atlanta police force will no longer tangle with citizens who videotape their actions in public, according to a recent settlement between citizen activists and the city.
All the More Reason to Watch and VideoTape
Submitted by copwatch on Fri, 01/28/2011 - 10:05pmUS Police Wage War on Cameras
By RT
Today's high tech world has made it a lot easier to videotape police, but it may have also made it more dangerous. RT's Ramon Galindo shows us how a high school student has become the latest target in the war on cameras.
Posted January 08, 2011
Are CAMERAS the New GUNS?
Submitted by copwatch on Thu, 06/10/2010 - 2:03pmIn response to a flood of Facebook and YouTube videos that depict police abuse, a new trend in law enforcement is gaining popularity. In at least three states, it is now illegal to record any on-duty police officer.
Even if the encounter involves you and may be necessary to your defense, and even if the recording is on a public street where no expectation of privacy exists.
The legal justification for arresting the "shooter" rests on existing wiretapping or eavesdropping laws, with statutes against obstructing law enforcement sometimes cited. Illinois, Massachusetts, and Maryland are among the 12 states in which all parties must consent for a recording to be legal unless, as with TV news crews, it is obvious to all that recording is underway. Since the police do not consent, the camera-wielder can be arrested. Most all-party-consent states also include an exception for recording in public places where "no expectation of privacy exists" (Illinois does not) but in practice this exception is not being recognized.
