24 Year Old Karen Dziewit of Chicopee, MA Faces Wiretapping Charges For Recording Her Own Arrest of Disorderly Conduct

It’s illegal to tape your own arrest, REALLY?

24 year old Karen Dziewit of Chicopee, Mass. charged with daring to record her police arrest. She was arrested over the weekend for disorderly conduct and an open container as she was being a little too loud and belligerent while drinking on Chestnut Street Sunday morning in Springfield and refused to cooperate with police. But that is not the story here. It appears the she activated the voice recording feature on her smart phone and recorded her arrest. The Chicopee woman was taken to police headquarters for booking where the officers inventoried the contents of her purse, they found the phone actively recording the entire process. They added the charge of with unlawful wiretapping.

A Chicopee woman apparently got a little too loud and belligerent while drinking on Chestnut Street Sunday morning, and refused to cooperate with police when they asked her to quiet down. When she was about to be arrested, police say the woman activated the voice recording feature on her smart phone, hid it in her purse and surreptitiously? recorded the entire arrest. Now she faces the unusual charge of unlawful wiretapping.

She was arrested. But, before she was taken into custody, she apparently started the voice recorder in her smart phone and put it in her purse.

She was taken to police headquarters for booking and as officers inventoried the contents of her purse, they found the phone actively recording the entire process.

Not sure if I agree with this one at all. The Daily Caller points out that Massachusetts s is among the least friendly states for citizens recording cops.

While it may seem absurd that a person could be prosecuted for recording the police–something that civil libertarians encourage responsible citizens to do when they are confronted by law enforcement–Massachusetts is among the least friendly states for citizens recording cops. In most states, it is either always legal to record another person, or at least always legal to record the police, who don’t have an expectation of privacy when serving in an official capacity.

Massachusetts and Illinois, however, have laws on the books requiring both parties to consent to be recorded–even if one of the parties is a cop.