Chicago Police: Tape Us, Get Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison
Class 1 Felony of recording a conversation is just below the prison time you’d spend for murder
Christopher Drew, a 60-year-old artist and teacher living in Chicago, is facing the charge after audio taping a conversation he had with the police. In an interview with The New York Times, he remarks on his potential 15 years of hard prison time, “That’s one step below attempted murder.”
Ms. Moore’s story is among the most alarming. She is being charged with the Class 1 felony of eavesdropping using a digital device after recording on her Blackberry a conversation she had with two internal affairs officers. The conversation occurred during her attempt to report a separate police officer for sexual harassment. Now she’s set for a February 7 trial in Cook County Criminal Court and may spend more than a decade in prison.
Contrast this state of affairs with the fact that Chicago police officers have one of the most stained reputations for police brutality. According to a 2007 CNN report, 10,000 complaints — many of them involving brutality and assault — were filed between 2002 and 2004.
and of course, the authoritarian must have his say:
Mark Donahue, president of the Fraternal Order of Police, said his organization cheered the decision, stating that he “absolutely supports” throwing those who tape police officers behind bars.
He complains that citizens monitoring police activities for wrongdoing might “affect how an officer does his job on the street.”
naturally.