Aspies For Freedom

Intolerance at it's finest. What are people afraid of? I wouldn't mind talking to this guy.

Good luck to him.

He feels the need to learn, and that's the only way he can do it. The police needed to understand and accept that. That change in routine I would suspect would have caused a major sensory overload and a meltdown.

If he was being open and honest then personally I can't see any issue and I doubt any "reasonable person" (to use the legal terminology) would either. Especially if they are talking to police and possibly being charged with a crime, the police essentially wanting to destroy an independent record and then using violence on the guy says a lot.

What are the pigs afraid of? if they genuinely act for the greater good, and act justly in doing so, then they have nothing to fear from being on record, if they have to fear it, then they obviously have something shady to hide.

Actually, if you ring just about any organisation you will be warned that they might be recording your call - for 'training purposes'.

One law for those in power...

I would think you could record your own conversations, if you told people you were doing it, just like companies are allowed to record conversations their employees have with customers. If the guy wants to do quality control on his own voice, why shouldn't he be allowed? If you don't want to be recorded, you can always write him a note.

How is that invading their privacy? If the person had a great memory for conversations and could recall them word for word - by your definition that would be a privacy breach as well.

I'd expect them to terminate the conversation..or you to - there aren't many instances where a conversation is compulsory.

Given how often we are all recorded now, in our every day lives (phone calls to large organisations, CCTV etc), I'm surprised anyone would much care if what they said was recorded - there have been a few occasions where I'd have liked to be able to reference a recording, not least in two employment tribunal cases where the Respondent's have denied saying something.  

I don't think secret recordings are permissible in courts (in the UK at least) and asking for permission to record an interview is unlikely to help get the job, even it would make people think twice about saying, for example, "we don't think we should employ you to work in this school because a) you're a man and b) you're a man" (true story, folks...).

In the actual OP case, I'm not that surprised that a police officer got agitated at being recorded - it's a difficult job with a lot of detractors, and good careers being ruined by one recording of what may have been one misjudged moment.  Then again, he may just have been an arrogant thug...who very likely has a video camera in his police car, as is customary, and at least an audio recorder in any interview room for suspects (certainly compulsory in the UK).

I should make sure I've read page 2 before responding to the last post on page 1...

I do have a phenomenal memory for words, Timelord (I deliver a 2hr recitation of a famous welsh play at the drop of a hat)  I do conversations too (although I'll remember only key phrases or expressions, but they'll stay for years, including the intonation, positions of the speaker and myself, other details as a snapshot with audio).

But a conversation I've had is still private to me and the other - whatever I tell you about is just hearsay, you have no verification, no privacy is breached since you can dismiss it as gossip or lies.  I don't lie, as it happens, but judges tend not to accept that assertion...

accommodations for disability and police -- what if a seeing-eye dog attacked the police when they were arresting someone?

<wonders if you could train a seeing-eye dog to do that...>


Apoologies to police officers and their families everywhere...but if ever did happen, I hope someone gets it on video...

Where is the law on this?

At least in the UK you are sometimes actively advised to record conversations with certain authorities if you are suspected of a crime.

Essentially, the police should NOT expect privacy in their conversations with someone who they are arresting. These conversations should be a matter of public record if so chosen by the person being arrested. How many "cops" documentaries have we seen where people are recorded during an arrest (illegally i'll note)?

For this guy to record general conversations in public if he wears a sign then personally I don't see the issue - if he enters private property or if someone requests he turn it off before talking to him then that's a different matter.

If the guy is not recording without consent, or if he's only recording the police then he could probably defend himself quite easily in court I would guess, but of course i'm not a lawyer.

Recently for various reasons I feel like i've had to turn into a hybrid lawyer/programmer. It's quite horrible as my expertise does not lie in the area of law at all.

He did not really have to be arrested for:  parking his car in a no parking zone or working on his car not in his driveway.  Those are offenses that he should have just been fined for.

He was arrested and blood was taken from him.  Did they think that he was drunk?  

Error on police part.