PA - Brian D. Kelly didn't think he was doing anything illegal when he used his video camera to record a Carlisle police officer during a traffic stop. Making movies is one of his hobbies, he said, and the stop was just another interesting event to film.
Now he's worried about going to prison or being burdened with a criminal record.
Kelly, 18, of Carlisle, was arrested on a felony wiretapping charge, with a penalty of up to 7 years in state prison. (more)
UPDATE!!!
Saying Pennsylvania's Wiretap Act is "not the most clear statute we have on the books," Cumberland County District Attorney David Freed said this morning he plans to bring the issue up at the next conference of the Pennsylvania District Attorney's Association in the hope of getting the law clarified.
Meanwhile, Freed withdrew wiretapping charges today filed against a Carlisle man who videotaped a Carlisle borough police officer during a May 24 traffic stop.
And he announced a policy for future cases of recording during traffic stops: "When police are audio- and video-recording traffic stops with notice to the subjects, similar actions by citizens, even if done in secret, will not result in criminal charges."
That decision will be communicated to all police agencies within the county, Freed said.
