AS THEY SHOULD:  Police Must Apologize to Man Who Taped Traffic Stops.

Officials representing East Vincent and Spring City recently agreed to a settlement with Richard Hookway of East Vincent. The municipalities agreed to update officer training, write letters of apology and each pay $3,200 for the plaintiff’s legal expenses.

On Feb. 19, 2007, Spring City police officers asked Hookway to step out of his vehicle after he was seen filming a traffic stop from a distance, according to the Pennsylvania chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. Police then handcuffed Hookway, placed him in a police car and searched his vehicle, said ACLU staff attorney Mary-Catherine Roper. . . .

Roper, the ACLU attorney, said police officers often believe residents do not have the right to film them. She said they erroneously apply the Pennsylvania Wiretap Act, which deals with the discreet recording of private conversations.

Courts have been “very clear” on this matter, she said. So long as residents do not interfere with police duties or harass any other person, they have a right to document officers’ activities while they are in uniform.

Ignorance of the law, as they’re always telling us, is no excuse.