In 2009 a man was beaten unconscious by Springfield, Massachusetts, police.  A witness recorded video of the crime.  Now that witness is being threatened with a lawsuit, and even criminal charges.

Officials are citing a Massachusetts law that prohibits “…the secret use of such devices [recorders] by private individuals…”. However, attorney’s for the woman who recorded the police crime, say the law was meant to be applied to organized crime, not individual citizens: “Even a cursory review of the law would show that the Legislature took the time to insert a preamble into the statute showing that it is specifically aimed at organized crime prosecutions.”-Daniel D. Kelly, attorney

The woman posted the video on the internet, you can see it in a report posted by masslive.com.  The victim tries to run from police, but is caught.  One police officer then proceeds to beat him, sometimes the blows are so loud you can hear them in the video.  You can also hear people in the background begging police not to hurt him.  The beating continues until the man is unconscious.  For more than 15 minutes police stand around, as if they’re trying to figure out what to do, some are laughing.  After eleven or twelve minutes some of the residents of the neighborhood come out, asking for an explaination.

Massachusetts is one of several states that use a law that requires “consent” before you can record a conversation.  Other states include California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Washington.  Massachusetts is claiming the woman who video recorded the police crime, violated the two-party consent law because she recorded audio.  Apparently if she had recorded silent video she would have been within the law.