Cops Arrest Priest For Filming Them

Police Report Says Priest Wielded Unknown Object; But Cop On Tape Knows It’s A Camera

(AP)  A Roman Catholic priest who monitors law enforcement treatment of minorities with a video camera released footage that appears to contradict the police account of his own arrest.

A police report says the Rev. James Manship was confronted and arrested Feb. 19 because he was holding an "unknown shiny silver object" and struggled with an officer who was trying to take it from him. But a 15-second video released this week by Manship's attorneys shows East Haven police Officer David Cari asking Manship, "Is there a reason you have a camera on me?"

"I'm taking a video of what's going on here," Manship replies.

"Well, I'll tell you what, what I'm going to do with that camera," Cari says as he approaches the priest. The tape then goes blank.

The arrest has reignited the debate about racial profiling and ethnic discrimination in East Haven, a working-class community of about 28,000 that borders New Haven. The shooting death of an unarmed black man by an East Haven officer in 1997 sparked harsh criticism by minority groups that has lingered. Manship and his parishioners say officers have been unfairly targeting Hispanics in recent months.

Hugh Keefe, a New Haven attorney who represents East Haven police, said the videotape shows only a small portion of what happened and confirms part of what Cari wrote in his report. He also said the tape doesn't show what happened from the time the camera was turned off until Manship's arrest.

Marcia Chacon, co-owner of My Country Store, where Manship was arrested, said Friday that the priest surrendered peacefully after the camera was shut off.

"He didn't say anything," she said.

Manship was not at his parish, St. Rose of Lima Church in New Haven, midday Friday and did not return a telephone message left Friday afternoon. He is due in court March 27 on misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and interfering with an officer.

Keefe criticized Manship for "creating controversy where none needed to be."

"You've got to conclude that he was out there with a video camera in an attempt, in my view, to provoke the police to do something," Keefe said. "If his goal was to attempt to stop the perceived harassment of the Hispanic community in East Haven by the police department, why didn't he go to the mayor's office?"

Chacon, a 36-year-old immigrant from Ecuador who moved to the U.S. 15 years ago and a parishioner of Manship's church, said she had called the priest to her store that day because the two officers were confiscating license plates displayed on the store's wall, saying they were illegal. She and her husband, Rodrigo Matute, were given a $372 ticket.

She said the seizure and ticket were part of a pattern of racial profiling against Hispanics by town police over the past eight months.

"I don't know why it happened," Chacon said of the priest's arrest and the seizure of the license plates. "We work very hard and ... everything we do is legal."

Keefe said there has never been a complaint, oral or written, about town officers harassing Hispanic people. If a complaint were filed, city officials would look into it, he said.

Last weekend, anti-immigrant fliers apparently printed by a white supremacy group were left in front of Chacon's store, she said. And on Monday, someone broke the window of her home's basement door, she said.

"I'm very scared," Chacon said.

[goingbust]

"So, how do we prevent this kind of behavior in the future?"

The answer to this question is getting simpler and simpler.

REQUIRE COPS TO WEAR AUDIO VIDEO RECORDERS WHILE ON DUTY.

Have you seen the size of the latest iPod and Cellphones with cameras? Some manufacturer should easily be able to build a clip-on AV recorder that can store DAYS worth of video. This should be done, officers should be required to wear them. Failing to wear one should be a firing offense.

Cops should want to wear them too. The fact is that 99% of the lies come from accused criminals, not the cops. The recorders would help the vast majorty of cops. They would deter or expose the few bad ones. Everybody wins.

[goingbust]

"So, how do we prevent this kind of behavior in the future?"

The answer to this question is getting simpler and simpler.

REQUIRE COPS TO WEAR AUDIO VIDEO RECORDERS WHILE ON DUTY.

Have you seen the size of the latest iPod and Cellphones with cameras? Some manufacturer should easily be able to build a clip-on AV recorder that can store DAYS worth of video. This should be done, officers should be required to wear them. Failing to wear one should be a firing offense.

Cops should want to wear them too. The fact is that 99% of the lies come from accused criminals, not the cops. The recorders would help the vast majorty of cops. They would deter or expose the few bad ones. Everybody wins.

[heman12]

I see this kind of thing every night on "COPS".

[LOL_AT_CBS]

"If his goal was to attempt to stop the perceived harassment of the Hispanic community in East Haven by the police department, why didn't he go to the mayor's office?"

Um... because he would have received the same chickenstuff stonewalling you're giving him right now... instead of having the hot, bright laser he needed to slice through the innumerable layers of delay and obfuscation that tyrants always use to muffle the truth. When the system is broken, only a moron expects the system to correct it. HAL isn't going to open the pod bay doors, Dave, no matter how nicely you ask.

[FactsNews]

Blueprints For A Police State - Evidence!
Marjorie Cohn
Counterpunch
March 4, 2009
Seven newly released memos from the Bush Justice Department reveal a concerted strategy to cloak the President with power to override the Constitution. The memos provide ?legal? rationales for the President to suspend freedom of speech and press; order warrantless searches and seizures, including wiretaps of U.S. citizens; lock up U.S. citizens indefinitely in the United States without criminal charges; send suspected terrorists to other countries where they will likely be tortured; and unilaterally abrogate treaties. According to the reasoning in the memos, Congress has no role to check and balance the executive. That is the definition of a police state.
Who wrote these memos? All but one were crafted in whole or in part by the infamous John Yoo and Jay Bybee, authors of the so-called ?torture memos? that redefined torture much more narrowly than the U.S. definition of torture, and counseled the President how to torture and get away with it. In one memo, Yoo said the Justice Department would not enforce U.S. laws against torture, assault, maiming and stalking, in the detention and interrogation of enemy combatants.

[jennifer-marie]

If we all behaved as if a camera were upon us we would behave MUCH better both in public and in private...Posted by puzzler125 at 11:45 AM : Mar 15, 2009

-----------

Have you watched any television or read any newspaper or magizine lately? The people in Hollywood who KNOW that cameras are upon them all of the time behave with even MORE stupidity, immaturity, and irresponsibility than these police officers did. The same goes with the politicians these days - Democrat AND Republican.

The problem is, the majority of people these days feel that they have absolutely no responsibility for themselves or their actions, so they behave and speak as they wish without ANY regard for any other human being or living creature.

Shame on these police officers for abusing their power with both the store owners and the Priest.

And shame on our society for allowing things to get to where they are.

[lavetta4]

We are living in a police state. Until we, the public, demand otherwise, it will get worse.

[cny111]

There are three set of criminals.

1. The ordinary criminals.

2. The rich folks who could pay their accountant, tax guys and lawyers to kill and steal
legally through our court system. Their "jail"is in their posh million dollar property!!

3. The law binding citizens who work for the Government and don't thing the rules apply
to them, just like the the rich folks in #2. The court system is on their side.

[bobnjersey]

[A police report says the Rev. James Manship was confronted and arrested Feb. 19 because he was holding an "unknown shiny silver object" and struggled with an officer who was trying to take it from him. But a 15-second video released this week by Manship's attorneys shows East Haven police Officer David Cari asking Manship, "Is there a reason you have a camera on me?" ]

yes ... because you're abusing these people's rights ... just like you're going to do to me in a few minutes ... when you taser my azz ... and i want to make sure i capture it for the nightly news so that everyone can see how you abuse your power because you have a gun and a uniform.

[tomadams99]

As long as he does not interfere with any process they are conducting, the cops are wrong. What is it they are afraid of? They are public officials, and subject to public scrutiny are they not? Maybe they just need some sensing classes on transparency. LOL

[cepe10-2009]

These two law enforcement officers are a disgrace and need to be charged with multiple counts - harrassment, false arrest, etc.

Of course their prosecutors friends their would never charge the friends in blue no matter how they engage in crime and abuse of authority.

What a couple of pure gutless criminal cowards.

[Ceres6]

The priest, without a doubt, is a lucky man. In many other similar circumstances, police officers will only say "I thought the shiny object was a weapon, and that's why I shot to kill the gunman." Later those officers, after a mickey mouse investigation, will be found innocent, and be declared a valuable asset to the community.

[jt_lancer]

To serve and protect. Your government at work.

[ribbie149]

It is good to see that there is something for right-wing morons to do that keeps them off the streets- they write inane BS here THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE TOPIC. The shop owners weren't illegal aliens A*SS-CLOWN. But you have successfully identified yourself as a bigot tool. Good work!

[bdbeans]

tincup356 - Well said...

[tincup356]

Immigration laws are not going to be needed soon......NO ONE WHO IS A CITIZEN will own property here,,,,some foreign country will own most of the homes when the dust settles.,,,,the people everyone should be getting mad at.........BOTH parties of congress, and all tje wall street banks, and the lobbyists ...that are committing TREASON right in plain sight.......People better wake up before we see tent cities pop up ALL across America.

[luke_4u]

This is pure B.S. The cops knew who the priest was, and also what he was doing. They knew damn well what he had was a camera, and as long as he wasn't in the way or obstructing them, what he was doing was legal. The cops always have those famous last words when they want to search you or your stuff, "if you have nothing to hide", which is a crock, but then doesn't it apply to them too ? And since when is it illegal to hang up old license plates on the wall ? I've got a bunch of them up in my garage. This wjhole deal stinks ! People are always screaming for the cops to control crime, but who can we get to control the cops ? I wonder what the Mayor, and the chief of police think about all this. Are they ok with it ? Are they in on this too ? Something definitely needs to be done here. This kind of thing can't be allowed to continue.

[puzzler125]

If we all behaved as if a camera were upon us we would behave MUCH better both in public and in private. If 'professionals" such as the stupid police officer in the above article had half a brain he would have behaved much less stupidly!

[thgdriver]

The priest is lucky the police report does not read--Priest shot dead because he was holding an unknown shiny silver object--. The cop is obviously a criminal for filing a bogus report, he knew the object was a camera but lied about this knowledge in his written report.

The stupid cop should have told the priest-- I am glad you are taping this because what we are doing is perfectly legal.

Remember all the bullies in school or wherever?? Well now they legally have badges, clubs, guns.

[morphioso]

Oh,Hi! As to the commentor saying he is "coming to my town real soon." First off, your comment does not seem relevant to the article. The store owners are not illegal immigrants. Are you living and working on land that was illegally ceased from Native Americans by the U.S. gubment? It's a human weakness to get caught up in "us vs. them" type ideologies. It's simply that I don't know who I am, so It's very easy for me to be manipulated by somebody telling me what I ought to think about myself: "You are a white American. All non-white, non-Americans are your enemies. You must destroy them." This gets me to waste my energy in fighting imaginary enemies. Why don't I just admit the truth? I love to fight, and I don't need much of an excuse. The more I love myself, and learn of myself, the less need I have of "enemies." All enemies spring up from within.