eternal05They’re not charging him with exposing an undercover operative. They’re pegging him for simply having video taped somebody (could have been anybody) with audio without that individual’s consent.
I completely agree with you. It makes sense for the police to take certain measures to keep undercover cop identities private. However, the cop knew he was on camera (I mean, how could he not with a GoPro on TOP of the guy’s helmet?), and did nothing at the time to warn him of the consequences of use of the video (at least not to our knowledge). To me that says he was not concerned about being revealed. While I think you’re right that publicly releasing compromising information should not be allowed, releasing a video showing illegal behavior by a law enforcement official should be allowed via the same means that corporate whistle blowers are allowed to reveal trade secrets. If not, there is no check against abuse of power. The police department is freaking out (I’m guessing) not because of the plain clothes officer being exposed, but because he was acting like a dick on publicly released film.
The undercover cop:
a) Did not turn on his lights or siren.
b) Ran the motorcyclist off the road.
c) Stepped out very quickly and drew his weapon immediately, while yelling at the motorcylist to dismount.
If it were me, I would have seriously considered booking it. If a guy runs you off the road and pulls a gun on you, you can only assume you’re facing extreme road rage. Yeah, that motorcyclist was a dumbass, but how was he supposed to react to that onslaught?
