Woman Arrested for Videotaping Police From Front Yard

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nrthshgrl
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Woman Arrested for Videotaping Police From Front Yard

Questions are still lingering about a local woman who was arrested while videotaping a traffic stop.

Emily Good was charged with obstructing governmental administration. Officers say she refused the police officer's order to leave her front yard and go inside.

The fundamental question being debated here is this -- should she have been forced to follow a police officer's order or was she lawfully within her rights to remain on her front lawn?

It started with that back-and-forth between a Rochester Police officer and a city resident. Within three minutes, the woman videotaping this traffic stop from her front lawn found herself in handcuffs, refusing the officer's order to go inside.

The woman behind the camera is 28-year-old Emily Good who now faces a misdemeanor charge of obstructing governmental administration.

“The video's going to speak for itself. People can watch it and draw their own conclusions." Stephanie Stare is Good's attorney. She tells I-Team 10 she has already filed a motion to have the charge thrown out. “Basically the grounds for the motion to dismiss are that her actions did not rise to the level of a crime. It doesn't fit the statutory elements of obstructing governmental administration."

Since I-Team 10 first reported this story 24 hours ago, we have heard from many viewers -- some praising Good's rights, others backing the police.

Rochester Police Union President Mike Mazzeo has seen the video and points out that the officer in question repeatedly told Good he felt threatened by her presence. "I see an officer using great restraint, maintaining composure, acting professional, clearly giving very clear and concise orders to an individual who just simply didn't comply.

Mazzeo says what can't be ignored is the danger police find themselves in on a daily basis and says the fact that she's on her property is insignificant. "I think she was certainly trying to engage the officers, in my opinion, and that's what's so dangerous because it's a distraction to what these officers are doing."

The police chief has ordered an internal investigation of the incident and today Mayor Tom Richards weighed in, expressing confidence the probe will be done fairly and fully.

Stare says what it all boils down to is this. “Lawful orders should be obeyed. I think the question is whether or not it was a lawful order."

What is not seen is any verbal exchanges between the woman and the police officer before she begins recording.

Mazzeo says the officer told him Good claimed to know the man that was being frisked in the video. He says because she claimed to have an association with the man, the officer had further reason to be concerned about her demeanor.

The police chief and the mayor have pointed out that no formal complaint has been made by Good to the city. Her attorney says it’s because Good has been researching a possible civil claim – something she expects will be filed in the near future.
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Posted 6/24/11 5:41 AM