Welcome To A Police State, Maryland Edition

I ride a motorcycle and have been known to...weave through traffic because often times I can get away with it.  When I used to manage a breakfast restaurant, I got to know many, if not most of the cops who patrol my area.  Moreover, they came to know what vehicles I drive/ride and basically left me alone. 

That being said, the guy riding the motorcycle in this video deserves the reckless driving/speeding ticket he got for his imbecility.  On the other hand, the cop should be suspended as he was in a "not state" car, nor was he uniform.  I suspect that the Cop was off duty and got pissed at the stupidity and antics of the rider.  I sure would have, mainly because I'm smart enough not to pop wheelies at 70+ MPH!




But all that being said, the off duty cop was way out of bounds...Here' from the Winds Of Change 

WTH is with the officer exiting the car and immediately drawing his firearm - before identifying himself as an officer? That's outrageous on several levels. The rider had done nothing to justify the application of deadly force, and all it would have taken in this case is for the rider to have reached for his wallet for this to have turned into a tragedy. His commander's excusing this behavior would deeply trouble me if I lived in that jurisdiction; someone there needs to get a politician to remind the officers that they work for us.


Finally, he's being sued for filming and recording a conversation that took place in public, on a roadside?? You ought to be kidding...but sadly, aren't.

We have two choices here in America; we can become the UK, where subjects have few rights and the authorities have many (but are democratically elected!) or we can be something different - where those who work for the government don't automatically get a giant bushel of rights denied to the rest of us.

Not a difficult choice to me...

Nor is it for me.  I live in Maryland, and the idea that I can't video tape in a public area...police misbehaving is outrageous.  I will be contacting my state delegates and senators to voice my protest of this bullshit law.