LA County Sheriff Sergeant Records Photographer

[ellisonz]

Film the police enough and eventually you get inside their heads...

Go Daniel Saulmon! - http://www.mistakenbacon.com/

http://photographyisnotacrime.com/?s=daniel+saulmon

[tofuandbeer]

1. That seems childish of a sergeant to stand there and film like that. :/

Hawthorne isn't far from where I reside.
Oh, I see at the end why he was video taping. But his attitude was wrong, I think.

[ellisonz]

4. I'm very close to Hawthorne.

Sergeant Rojas is simply trying to intimidate Daniel Saulmon because he routinely films the police and confronts them when he captures misconduct. The fact that Sergeant Rojas acts like a complete goon establishes the humorous nature of his failed attempt at intimidation.

Also, those searches are very questionable. If they had seen the bicyclist had drop something on the ground they would have found it. This is just a de facto "stop and frisk" policy.

[tofuandbeer]

7. Thanks. Yeah, I've been watching a lot of his videos at that link you posted.

Daniel's a great man.
I hope he keeps safe.

[ellisonz]

8. You're welcome.

He's an interesting person as a police observer because he engages and tries to get to know the police as much as possible rather than simply standing back. Most of the smart cops learn to deal with him in a friendly, professional manner; some like this goon Rojas do not.

He's performing a public service.

[tofuandbeer]

9. Agreed.

That was strange in one video, when one of the nice guys, asked where he was going to spending his time that day.

[JDPriestly]

5. The police want to avoid frivolous, unfounded lawsuits that cost taxpayers lots of money.

I think they should videotape their own activities and those of people who distract them or interfere when they are doing their jobs. The officers may have stopped the cyclist because the cyclist was riding at night in the LA area (which automatically means heavy traffic in many areas) without a headlight. We have too many bike accidents. Bicyclists don't have to buy insurance. They don't have to have licenses. There are few laws concerning how they ride. In our area, there are bike lanes, but while cars can't drive in the bike lanes, bike riders are perfectly free to ride in the car lanes and hang up traffic. We need to revamp our laws concerning bikes on the roads and insure the safety of all. If a bicyclist causes an accident, there is a huge question as to who pays for the damages to vehicles and people involved.

Above all, bike riders need to have headlights at night. In fact, in my opinion, bicyclists should be required to wear reflecting or brightly lit vests after 6:00 p.m. in Los Angeles. And they should have to be licensed if they want to ride on streets with cars. Kids could get license. All bicycles should carry insurance.

A bike ride should be as safe as possible. Bike riders sometimes seem to think that the safety laws are an imposition. They are not. No more than the laws requiring seat belts, headlights on cars and other safety features for automobiles.

This is a big concern for me. I have seen so many illegal maneuvers by bike riders in my hilly area.

[Niceguy1]

6. there are already plenty of bike laws in California

like proper reflectors and lighting at night. As far as riding in the trafffic lanes go bicyclists are to ride as far to the right as safely possible. Sometimes that means you have to ride in the lane like when theres cars parked. It is safer to ride in the traffic lane that way you avoid running into people opening their doors without looking. The laws reflect this

requiring insurance and license is to ride a bicycle is that ffing insane

[JDPriestly]

16. Why a license and insurance?

If you get into an accident and you are at fault, say because you ran a red light or could not brake in timer, you can a) run up huge medical bills for your own care that someone has to pay or b) run up bills for property or personal injury damage for someone else. That's why you need to prove you know the rules of the road and that you can pay for any damages you cause. Once you are riding on highways or roads or city streets that you share with cars, you should share the same responsibility for any damages that your negligence or intentional wrongs cause. It's only fair.

[pipoman]

10. Kids may be able to get your license

But in nearly every state one must be 18 to enter a legal contract for insurance...Most kids couldn't afford it. I don't disagree that bike riders do stupid things and should be required to follow the rules of the road. Maybe the penalty for infractions should be mandatory safety classes and a fine.

[JDPriestly]

17. A child's parents should buy insurance that covers the child's bike riding.

[pipoman]

18. If they can afford insurance

They probably own a home. If they own a home they probably have home owners insurance, if they have that, the kid and bike probably are covered. I don't love insurance companies enough to allow them to suck one more nickel from the poor, who's only transportation is a bike.

[JDPriestly]

19. If they can't afford insurance, they need to walk and ride a bus.

It is not fair to people who pay for insurance when someone rides on the streets without it.

What happens if a person on a bike does some crazy maneuver like run a stop sign and causes a serious accident? Who pays? Insurance for bike riders would not cost so much if it were strictly liability insurance.

[pipoman]

21. Wow...interesting argument considering where we're at. ...

[JDPriestly]

24. I live in LA and walk and ride the Metro whenever possible. In my area of town it's possible to do

that. Very comfortable, inexpensive and safer than a bike.

[pipoman]

25. You do know that not everyone lives in LA

Nor in an area that public transportation is available? There are people who can't afford public transportation for every trip. Do we have any stats or is this an imaginary problem?

[MADem]

2. I wish every police officer was wired for sound and video as part of the job.

A small camera w/audio should be part of every uniform, and police vehicles should be wired up looking in AND out like Cash Cab. It can be done. It should be done.

[pipoman]

11. There are privacy issues, in some places, with recording

People without their knowledge or consent.

[MADem]

15. I can't imagine how that would apply to the police.

They record people who are arrested, they record people who are questioned, they record people every single moment of every day through the dashcams of their cruisers.

[pipoman]

22. It used to be that most police dash cams didn't have sound

And if they did they were only supposed to record the officer's voice. Maybe things have changed since I was buying vehicle surveillance equipment.

[MADem]

26. Yes, they've changed. The "no sound" had more to do with capability than prohibition.

Dogs eating a police bumper:

Trouserless field sobriety test:

Suicide by cop (rather disturbing, fair warning, but illustrates use of "body cam&quot :

[pipoman]

27. likely

I remember one of the primary makers of dash cams for police requiring a "hold harmless" contract before they would sell audio for their systems. This was the days of VHS in the trunk of the car in a lock box. Black and White monitor with wired remote control.

[MADem]

28. I'd like to see body cams for all law enforcement--federal/state/local.

I'd also like to see IQ requirements raised. Smarter is better when it comes to police.

[JDPriestly]

3. Riding a bike at night without a headlight can easily get you killed.

We are an aging population with lots of people who do not see well at night (cataracts) but who must drive. When you are young, you do not understand this. But cataracts develop gradually over time. They sort of sneak up on a person. So the driver may not realize his vision is impaired. I don't think the DMV can adequately test for cataract impairment until it is extreme.

Many bike riders seem to think that nothing can happen to them because they are good people. That's not the way the world works. If you ride a bike on city streets, you had better know the rules and follow them. Drive defensively. Don't drive in the wrong direction down the middle of a lane of traffic. (I've seen bike riders do that twice on a major, busy street.)
Stop at all stop signs (even if cars don't'; you are incredibly vulnerable).

Look, when you drive or ride in a fairly new car, you are protected by your seat belt, your rear and side view mirrors, good brakes, well balanced wheels, and airbags.

When you ride your bike, you are seriously injured or dead because of a slight miscalculation on either your part or that of a distracted or even a very careful driver. Ride cautiously.

Be thankful if a police officer pulls you over no matter how much of a jerk he is. He is reminding you that you need to ride safely. And do ride safely. Please. Please. I lost a friend, a good friend to a bike accident. I have seen the aftermath of a bike accident.

We all need to be careful. That means you. Don't drive without a headlight at night, not if you value your life.

[951-Riverside]

12. Reminds me of this.

[Taitertots]

13. He has a video camera but don't actually use it to film the person they "suspect" broke the law

I could never be a police officer. I'd want to use a camera to gather evidence that could be used if that person went to trial.

They don't want to do this because it might contradict their police reports and/or capture police criminality.

[mikeyDE]

14. the police

have too much time and money.

[haydukelives]

20. no they don't

Cops are as overworked and under paid as the rest of us.

[pipoman]

23. I didn't take it that the poster was talking about individual officers

I took it they are talking about police budgets.