TexasCHLforum.com

dicion wrote:

puma guy wrote:

davidtx wrote:

A Harford County Circuit Court judge Monday dismissed wiretapping charges against Anthony Graber, a motorcyclist who was jailed briefly after he taped a Maryland state trooper who stopped him for speeding on I-95. Graber used a camera mounted on his helmet, then posted the video on YouTube.

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/story-la ... ed_ag.html

Dangit! Does this mean I have to root for the ACLU?

To me, and ACLU and the NRA are similar, in that, While I do not support every single thing they do, and I actually vehemently oppose somethings on rare occasion, I support them and their existence overall.
For example, I disagree with their view on Capital punishment and some of their actions regarding 'Racial Justice', but completely back their views on Free Speech, Religous Freedom, National Security, and Technology and Liberty.

IMO, Without them, we would have some much more serious problems than we do now.

Actually I agree with you. They have provided representation for a lot of issues I agree with.

davidtx wrote:

A Harford County Circuit Court judge Monday dismissed wiretapping charges against Anthony Graber, a motorcyclist who was jailed briefly after he taped a Maryland state trooper who stopped him for speeding on I-95. Graber used a camera mounted on his helmet, then posted the video on YouTube.

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/story-la ... ed_ag.html

Dangit! Does this mean I have to root for the ACLU?

KD5NRH wrote:

PvilleStang wrote:Wow... pretty sure most if not all 1000cc crotch rockets do NOT come with center stands (at least I know CBR, GSX-R, and R1 models don't). Throw the center stand idea out the window.

Yes, of course, because nobody ever adds aftermarket equipment to their toys.

Took me all of ten seconds to find no-drill center stand add-ons for three different sport bikes with Google.

I'm afraid I'm not up to speed on that. It is not really that big a deal. The biker move a few feet backward. The officer who appears to be not too tall only needed two steps. We sometimes get focused on the minutiae. We try to analyze who was thinking what and reasons for actions, etc. The long version indicates the rider became aware of someone behind him and he came to a stop, He only looked backward once. There is no sound on the long version which is not helpful, but the short version shows no lights or siren. BTW i just snapped to my first sentence. No pun intended.

The anamorphic distortion of the camera is also very misleading to the eye. Judging speed and distance is very is very difficult. I don't doubt the bike was traveling fast. That's apparent by his overtaking other vehicles. That he was speeding is not the issue, the manner of the stop is.
As the biker comes to a stop the unmarked car virtually cut him off . Even after back pedaling the unmarked car was very close to the front of the bike. The distance he back pedaled is not great, as I stated previously, the cop covered it in two steps. Watch the video. Count the steps from the back of the car not his exit.
Beside the behavior of the LEO captured by the video and without reading any thing into what the rider reacted to or saw that caused him to stop there are some very obvious things I don't see. There are no flashing lights on the B&W light bar after the stop and I didn't see any in the "look back" shot either, which is very, very odd. There is no siren. I had noticed there were no flash reflections off the bike mirrors nor the unmarked car when I first viewed it and went back to look again. We know for sure the unmarked car had to exceed the speed limit to catch up. The B&W probably did as as well. The unmarked undercover was breaking the law to enforce the law unless in Maryland it's legal for LEO's to drive with no lights or sirens at 80-100 MPH.
I haven't ridden bikes in years so the center stand remark earlier is probably wrong, but the guy did not move back very far and as I said earlier he could have fled by taking the exit to the right.
What I saw and heard is a guy in car jump out with gun in hand, unidentified yelling "Get off the motorcycle, get off the motorcyle, get off the motorcyle" delay "State Police". There is no siren in the background and no lights. Draw your own conclusions.

couzin wrote:If the biker hadn't started back pedalling the bike like he was going to run, that would probably just had the cop keep his gun holstered but hands on JIC.

The camera lens dramatically distorts the perspective on what you term back pedaling. He appears to be about even with the rear of the unmarked car. When he stops moving backwards it only takes the officer two steps to cover the space between the car and the bike. The motorcycle appears to have a center stand that requires going backward. Regardless of whether or not he was about to flee, it wouldn't warrant stopping him with a bullet. I really see no reasonable cause for a peace officer to behave in that manner. The wiretapping was thrown out by the judge so now the LEO is going to keep throwing something 'til it sticks.
Not the finest hour in Maryland Law Enforcement. "Get off the motorcycle, get out of the car.... " that's what hijackers say.
The guy could have continued off toward the right exit if he was going to flee. He reacted to something after looking backwards and started slowing and came to a stop. He may have heard the B&W's siren and seen lights. We don't know. The point is he stopped. I don't think he had a clue the charcoal car was LEO. That a guy with a badge would behave this way is a very scary thing to me. If he'd reached for his camera to turn it off would he have been shot?