A New York state trooper told a driver recording a traffic stop earlier this month that he’d “find a way for the DA’s office to arrest you” if the driver posted the video to YouTube. The driver, John Houghtaling, posted the video to YouTube on December 21st, shortly after the traffic stop. The trooper, known as Officer Rosenblatt, stated during the video that Houghtaling was stopped for a loud exhaust. As Houghtaling recorded the interaction with the trooper, Rosenblatt became increasingly defensive and angry, demanding numerous times that Houghtaling put down the phone.
The video starts after Houghtaling has been pulled over. The driver points out he does not know why he’s been stopped and that he’s going to record the conversation with the officer. Once Rosenblatt approaches the car, he requests Houghtaling to stop recording the interaction. He also attempts to block the camera from seeing his face. After about a minute of back and forth between the two, a clearly perturbed Rosenblatt responds to a question from Houghtaling by saying, “How about if I see this video posted to YouTube I find a way for the DA’s office to arrest you?”
Throughout the traffic stop, Houghtaling repeatedly asks if it is illegal to record the police or if he’s legally obligated to answer a certain question. Rosenblatt reacted belligerently to all of Houghtaling’s questions and told him on more than one occasion that if he tells him to stop recording that he needs to stop. Beyond issuing the threat of arrest through nefarious means, Rosenblatt seems to not be aware of the actual law and instead feels the need to bully the driver into full compliance with his orders.
Below is video of the stop, courtesy of Houghtaling’s YouTube page:
Apparently, Houghtaling has a reputation in the area for video recording his interactions with local law enforcement. Towards the end of the video that Houghtaling posted, Officer Rosenblatt specifically asks him, “What is your issue with always videotaping?” Houghtaling responded back to Rosenblatt’s question by saying, “Am I legally obligated to answer that?” Eventually, the cops storms off, presumably to write up the ticket for the traffic violation.
In this instance, it would seem like the officer should face some kind of discipline, up to and possibly including termination, for threatening to concoct an arrest just to get revenge on the driver. It seems like Houghtaling is a bit of a provocateur and was itching for a reaction from the police officer by being a bit ‘in-your-face’ with his recording of the stop. However, he was well within his rights and police officers need to get used to citizens recording traffic stops, arrests and other interactions.
H/T Raw Story
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