Sunshine
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Criminal Justice Program
at Wake Forest University,
also said that the use of cell
phone cameras is an
incredible tool for police
accountability.
"A lot of police officers
arc aware that citizens, and
public faces, are under
video surveillance. In
many cases, there are dash
cams to record the behavior
of police officers," she
said. "There are studies,
one in Rio Alto, Calif, and
Mesa, Ariz., that confirms
that when officers are
wearing body cameras that
complaints against those
police and uses of force
decrease. Part of that is
when the public knows that
they are also being record
ed, then they change their
behaviors as well."
North Carolinians have
the right to record officers'
interaction with another
resident if that resident
gives permission.
According to the
American Civil Liberties
Union, taking photos of
things that are plainly visi
ble from public spaces is a
constitutional right and that
I
includes federal buildings,
transportation facilities'
and police and other gov
ernment officials carrying
out their jobs.
When in public spaces
where you are lawfully
present, you have the right
to photograph anything that
is in plain view, except
when you
are on pri
vate prop
erty, where
the owner
can set the
rules.
Officers
cannot con
fiscate or
demand to
view pho
tos or
videos
without a
warrant.
The
U.S.
Supreme
Court has ruled that police
may not search your cell
phone when they arrest
unless they have a warrant.
In June 2014, the
Supreme Court unani
mously ruled that police
must obtain a warrant
before searching the con
tents of a cell phone seized
by someone who has been
arrested, in the Riley v.
California case.
Chief Justice John
Roberts wrote in the court's
opinion that cell phones are
not just a modern conven
ience but that they contain
the privacies of Americans.
"The fact that technology
now allows an individual to
carry such information in
his hand does not make the
information any less wor
thy of the protection for
which the Founders
fought," he said.
Dennis said that there
have been instances of offi
cers seizing recording
devices but those do not
override the rights of citi
zens to record law enforce
ment. "Two most noted
instances are Felicia
Gibson, 2009 in Salisbury,
and Emily Good, in
Rochester, N.Y. in 2011.
These are illustrations of
how it is not always as sim
ple as a citizen having a
recording device and, from
the perception of law
enforcement, conducting a
recording of the incident
that is not distracting," she
said. "Felicia Gibson, for
example, was considered
by the law enforcement
officer to be causing a dis
traction during a traffic
stop and high speed chase".
The ACLU believes that
the law applies to stand
alone cameras and other
digital data.
That can change if
courts approve the tempo
rary warrantless seizure of
a camera in extreme cir
cumstances where the
device would be necessary
to save a life, or to prevent
the destruction of evidence.
Officers can't delete
photographs or tamper with
memory/data cards and
they may legitimately order
citizens to stop recording if
they are interfering with
law enforcement opera
tions. "Depending on the
circumstances, recording
law enforcement does not
necessarily inhibit or dis
tract law enforcement.
Citizens have to be careful
not to interfere, distract, or
place themselves in harms
way," Dennis said.
"Citizens also need to be
careful not to "take the law
into their own hands"."
If you are stopped or
detained for taking photos,
the ACLU asks that resi
dents remain polite and
never physically resist an
officer.
In many, states, there
has been talk of passing
legislation that would make
it difficult or illegal to
record, audio or visual, in a
public place because it vio
lates wire tapping or eaves
dropping laws.
In Illinois, a bill was
passed that made it a felony
to secretly tape private con
versations. That law has
since been revised so that
the part that would make it
a felony for citizens to
record public interaction
with law enforcement and
residents was removed.
While it is technically
legal to record on-duty
police officers in every
state in the country, resi
dents should be aware of
other laws that deter it.
Residents are often creat
ing a sense of accountabili
ty for those officers that
have sworn to protect and
serve. So have we come to
the point where residents
are policing the police?
"The Eric Garner inci
dent reminds many people
of the Rodney King inci
dent. Law enforcement
have dash-cameras in their
cars and many law enforce
ment departments use
recording devices on their
uniforms,"
Dennis said. "Citizen
recordings only create
checks and balance for law
enforcement if we can trust
citizens are catching the
full incident, are not editing
the recordings, and are not
interfering with law
enforcement's job."
Simmons said that
some people, both the gen
eral pubic and officers, fear
that the cameras can
change officers behaviors
that could endanger them
or the public.
"The idea is, are they
concerned that something
on that tape could be mis
construed as unnecessary
force or improper, and we
call that the chilling effect
undo cameras may have on
policing. There is an
important balance that we
need to strike between
being transparent and pro
tecting officer safety," she
said.
"I think the cameras are
good for transparency and
accountability.
"You don't want offi
cers to risk their safety, but
at the same time, as long as
they are executing their job
properly, the law is actually
very favorable, as we have
seen in the Eric Garner and
Michael Brown cases."
Simmons
Dennis
Meeting
from page Al
North Carolina.
Those named on the suit stated
that they were suing because the
board did not have "a policy which
discourages or prohibits those whom
[the board] has invited to deliver
prayers from including references to
Jesus Christ, or any other sectarian
deity, as part of their prayers."
The injunction was thrown out by
U.S. District Court Judge James A.
Beaty Jr., who reminded board mem
bers to be inclusive in their policy
choice. His ruling was made possible
by the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in
the Greece, N Y. v. Galloway case,
where justices voted 5-4 that the town
didn't violate the U.S. Constitution
by allowing ministers to deliver
Christian prayer at meetings because
the town had an inclusive policy.
The Commissioners' clerk will
complete the invocation schedule and
make sure the speaker will not be
scheduled to offer an invocation at
consecutive meetings or two meet
ings in a year. There will be no prior
inquiry, review of or involvement in
the content of the invocation. Other
potential speakers can be added to the
list at any time.
While the Board did not include
many stipulations in the updated pol
icy, they did include this:
"The Board requests only that the
prayer opportunity not be exploited as
an effort to convert others to the par
ticular faith of the invocational speak
er, threaten damnations, nor to dispar
age any faith or belief different than
that of the invocational speaker."
Commissioner Everette
Witherspoon said that he is happy
with the updated policy and said so
are his constituents. "For many,
including African-Americans, our
decisions are faith-based. We've
always had to fight for what we felt
was right... it is right for Christians to
be able to say 'Jesus' when praying,
just as it would be right if they were
Muslim and saying 'Allah,' or
Buddhist and calling upon
'Buddha,'" he said.
Charles F. Wilson, president of
the local chapter of Americans United
for Separation of Church and State,
and an ordained Baptist minister, said
that the group is happy that the coun
ty is inviting all religious groups to
participate and calls that an improve
ment of the previous policy. "Our
position overall is the same as it's
always been. We had rather there be a
moment of silence. That's not going
to happen unless the person who has
it that evening has a moment of
silence," he said. "It's a government
meeting, and we don't think they
should necessarily have any kind of
prayer at a government meeting."
Watts said, "The law of the land
now is that invited ministers can
come, give an invocation according
to the dictates of their own faith, and
that's acceptable."
I March is TB Awareness Month I
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disease caused by
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Know the Facts:
? People with TB Disease are sick with
active TB germs, symptoms, and can
spread the (fsease to others
? People with Latent TB Infection do not
feel sick, do not have symptoms, and can
not spread the disease to others.
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Winston-Salem, NC, March 12, 2015 - St.
Peter's Church and World Outreach Center
launches a 6-month program to strengthen
families in the Winston-Salem and
surrounding communities.
The Strong Family Movement kicked off on
March 1, 2015 by hosting Bishop Dale C.
Bronner, founder/senior pastor of Word of
Faith Family Worship Cathedral. Bishop
Bronner delivered a dynamic message that
challenged families to reframe their thinking
and reach God's best for their lives.
To continue the remarkable start to The
Strong Family Movement, St. Peter's will be
holding informational sessions on relevant
family topics on the third Wednesday of each
month and fun family outings on the fourth
Wednesday of each month from March
through August. The current itinerary is as
follows:
? 3/181 We Are Family
? 3/251 Family, Food and Fun Night
? 4/151 Balancing Life And Family Part 1
? 4/221 Balancing Life And Family Part 2
? 5/201 Healthy Sex Education For The
Family Part 1
? 5/271 Healthy Sex Education For The Family
Part 2
? 6/171 Effective Parenting At Every Age Part 1
? 6/241 Effective Parenting At Every Age Part 2
? 7/151 The Wealthy Family Part 1
? 7/221 The Wealthy Family Part 2
? 7/261 Fatherless Generation, Motherless
Generation
? 8/21 Strong Family Movement Culmination &
Family Fun Day
Learn more about The Strong Family
Movement by visiting
www.SPWOC.com/TheMovement
St. Peter's Church and World Outreach Center
is located in Winston-Salem, NC where Dr.
James C. and Mrs. Joyce Hash, Sr. are Senior
Pastors. St. Peter's World Outreach Center is
focused on transforming lives for global
service, winning souls and making disciples.
Services are held each Sunday at 9:30 am.
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