OFF THE WIREIllinois police officers have to be the most smug cops in the nation knowing they have the power to arrest citizens on felony charges for recording them in public while they themselves have every right to record citizens.
That smugness is very evident in the latest case to emerge from the Land of Lincoln.
Louis Frobe was pulled over last year by Lindenhurst police for speeding. Frobe didn’t think he was speeding so he pulled out his Flip camera to record the interaction.
Meanwhile, the officer who had pulled him over was recording the interaction with his own dash cam.
Here is the conversation recorded by the officer’s dash cam and obtained by ABC7 in Chicago.
Fortunately charges against him were dropped, even though he was technically breaking the law as absurd as that law is.
And he has since filed a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the law.
And let’s not forget the ACLU is also challenging the constitutionality of the law. And let’s not forget an Illinois judge dismissed felony wiretapping charges against Michael Allison earlier this month.
However, prosecutors plan to appeal that decision, which should turn out to be one of the most laughable arguments in the history of law.
That smugness is very evident in the latest case to emerge from the Land of Lincoln.
Louis Frobe was pulled over last year by Lindenhurst police for speeding. Frobe didn’t think he was speeding so he pulled out his Flip camera to record the interaction.
Meanwhile, the officer who had pulled him over was recording the interaction with his own dash cam.
Here is the conversation recorded by the officer’s dash cam and obtained by ABC7 in Chicago.
Officer: "That recording?Frobe, who ended up spending the night in jail, was facing 15 years in prison.
Frobe : "Yes, Yes, I've been...
Officer: "Was it recording all of our conversation?
Frobe: "Yes. Officer: "Guess what? You were eavesdropping on our conversation. I did not give you permission to do so. Step out of the vehicle."
Louis Frobe was then cuffed and arrested for felony eavesdropping.
"I was terrified. I was absolutely terrified. I was begging him, I said I didn't know about this law. Would you please take the camera - this is no big deal - and smash it. You know I didn't know about the law,"
Fortunately charges against him were dropped, even though he was technically breaking the law as absurd as that law is.
And he has since filed a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the law.
And let’s not forget the ACLU is also challenging the constitutionality of the law. And let’s not forget an Illinois judge dismissed felony wiretapping charges against Michael Allison earlier this month.
However, prosecutors plan to appeal that decision, which should turn out to be one of the most laughable arguments in the history of law.
