Three years ago the Gannon family bought a 4-unit building in Nashua, N.H. A year later, following a couple of crimes against them and their property, the Gannon’s bought an audio- and video-recording security system from Wal-Mart and installed the cameras to monitor their front-door and parking area.
They also placed a warning sticker on their house that people on their property were subject to being recorded. The security system has been in place for 2-years; the parking-lot camera operates 24-hours a day, 7 days a week, while the front-door camera is an on-demand camera activated at Mr. Gannon’s discretion:
[Mrs. Gannon] said [Detective Andrew] Karlis showed up late at night, was rude, and refused to leave when they asked him.
“He was just very smart-mouthed. He put his foot in the door, and my husband said, ‘Excuse me, I did not invite you in, please leave,’ and he wouldn’t,” Janet Gannon said. “We did not invite him in, we asked him to leave, and he wouldn’t.”
-from Man Charged After Videotaping Police, NashuaTelegraph.com, 29 June 2006.
Gannon’s security system recorded all the details of the detective’s visit and when Mr. Gannon took that tape to the police station to file a complaint against Detective Karlis, the police arrested Gannon on the spot. The charge? Two felony counts of wiretapping!
Eventually the police offered Gannon a plea-bargain deal: if he confessed to one misdemeanor charge of evidence tampering, they would offer him a suspended 30-day jail sentence. Gannon refused that offer, saying “I felt that I did nothing wrong, so I wasn’t guilty.”
Police have investigated Gannon’s complaint and concluded it was founded, [Nashua Police Chief Timothy] Hefferan said. Hefferan said some action would be taken, but he couldn’t discuss it because the detective has already been publicly identified.
“I have sustained the complaint, and believe one of our detectives did not afford a member of the public the level of courtesy that they expect and deserve, regardless of how provocative, uncooperative or disrespectful that individual may have been to the officer during the same encounter,” Hefferan wrote.
-from Vindication: Police drop wiretap charges, NashuaTelegraph.com, 05 August 2006
So after all that drama, here’s the conclusion of the matter: the police have decided that although they believe Gannon did break the law, they’re dropping all charges because “…police and prosecutors concluded the case wasn’t strong enough to bother prosecuting.”
Oh, and as for the Gannon’s security system? He’s waiting for the police to return his two cameras and, hopefully, to reinstall them. Gannon said, “They broke them off the mounts and ripped the wires right out of the wall. They took it, they can return it, that’s my feeling.”
As for whether the security system is illegal or not, Police Chief Hefferan said that “…citizens and businesses have the right to set up security systems that include audio recording, but they must post clear, obvious notice to warn anyone within range. The ‘obscure little sticker’ Gannon had posted on the side of his house wasn’t enough.’
Sorry, Chief, but apparently it was enough; otherwise, you would’ve gone ahead with Gannon’s prosecution.
Know what I think about this? I think everyone involved in evaluating the police’s conduct realizes that when the detective stuck his foot in Gannon’s front door without a warrant, he violated Mr. Gannon’s 4th amendment right to be secure in his person and property.
I also think the police department and the prosecutors were trying to pull a shrewd one on Mr. Gannon when they offered him the plea bargain. Had they gotten him to admit guilt or fault in any way, Gannon’s credibility would’ve been damaged and he would’ve had a much harder time holding the police department accountable for its violation of his Constitutional rights.
I also think that Mr. Gannon, if he brings the Nashua Police Department to court over this matter, is going to end up richly rewarded for the abuses and mistreatment he alleged, and that the police chief sustained.
Thank you, Mr. Gannon, for demonstrating, at great fear to yourself, that there are some things worth standing up for.
related story: For yet another example of questionable law-enforcement behavior, please read Iowa State Fair ‘Police’ Arrest Mayor For No Good Reason on the Martian Anthropologist blog.
9 responses so far ↓
1 dz // Aug 16, 2006 at 1:26 pm
I will never understand why many of the things that one does in their own home are illegal - and this is a prime example of that. Having a security system is for the sole reason of protection - so if something illegal happens there is proof. In this case the camera caught an officer abusing his role of power followed by the bullying tactics of the police department to further the blow.
We as citizens need to stand up for ourselves. We cannot continue to allow such acts to occur and I am glad to hear that the charges got dropped. Without trying to come across as paranoid, if we are not careful and dilligent about protecting our rights to freedoms and privacy, we are going to lose them.
2 Richard // Aug 16, 2006 at 1:31 pm
Hi, dz. Thanks for taking the time to comment on this situation.
I completely agree with what you wrote. And I don’t think you sound paranoid; I think you sound awake :-)
One of my primary motivations for this blog is to raise social awareness about so many of these situations. My hope is that as social awareness rises, so too will unity among “we the people” and, consequently, a return to the rights and liberties that were once held almost sacred by many of this nation’s Founding Fathers.
Hope you’ll visit again, and continue to share your thoughts with the rest of us. Have a great day!
3 Tony // Aug 16, 2006 at 8:19 pm
Had Mr. Gannon’s video camera recorded the evidence of a terrorist act, you know that the police would have bent over backwards to make sure that tape was usable and used in the subsequent trial. You can’t have it both ways. The man was protecting himself and there’s no expectation of privacy in the outdoors. I applaud him for standing up for his rights.
4 Richard // Aug 16, 2006 at 11:25 pm
As do I, Tony. I have a saying that I’ve used for many years now: Truth has nothing to fear from scrutiny.
It really needs no explanation, does it? I mean, red is red, dog is dog, sun is sun.
In the same vein, police misconduct is police misconduct.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Tony. Do come back again, please!
Have a great day!
5 Naomi // Aug 19, 2006 at 1:55 pm
Richard: Thanks for an excellent example of a creeping trend in America. When we have the Secret Service and FBI taking liberties with our freedoms, it seeps down into local law enforcement. Witness the treatment of ordinary citizens at Bush’s stage-managed appearances. Tshirts, decals and other “offensive” materials were cause for arrest and harassment. In one case, a Bush operative posed as a Secret Service officer, which, when exposed, was not found deplorable by the Secret Service! That once proud and respected service is now irredeemably tainted. How sad!
As a candidate in an election recently, I used to memes: “Vigilance!” (the mantra of fauxnewsman Kent Jones on Air America Radio; and a quote from General Douglas MacArthur, “No man is entitled to the blessings of freedom unless he be vigilant in its preservation”. ‘Nuff said…
Naomi (who visits you from the great townofautumn.com/)
6 Richard // Aug 19, 2006 at 2:07 pm
Hi, Naomi. Well said!
I somehow missed the faux Secret Service operative story you referred to; will have to look into that one and catch up on the details. Thanks for the tip!
Like you, I’m offended by this practice of arresting and harrassing those who would presume to wear non-supportive sentiments to a Bush appearance. This definitely overshadows the notion of free expression, free speech and the right to peaceably assemble in protest of our representatives; some have referred to it as the post-9/11, Bush-era culture of secrecy.
Those are great memes to use! I’d be interested to hear more about your candidacy and the election results if you’re comfortable sharing such things with me. Feel free to leave another comment or even send me an email (my address is in the upper-left box of my blog, where my picture is displayed).
Very nice to meet you, and a warm welcome to you and other TownOfAutumn regulars!
7 Martian // Aug 19, 2006 at 6:00 pm
Excellent post, and also a great point by Tony. The leadership of this country sees nothing wrong with listening in on people without warrants; yet a citizen videos his own property, and they want to make a big deal out of it.
I tell you, if the citizens of this country do not continue to stand up for their rights, they will lose them.
Richard, nice blog; I’m adding you to my google homepage and my links at my blog.
8 Richard // Aug 19, 2006 at 9:43 pm
Hi, Martian. Thanks for taking the time to comment here. Special thanks for your kind words about my blog, as well as including it among your links; I am honored.
I have enjoyed your blog on and off for several months now and as a token of my appreciation, I’ve add your blog to my list of favorite links. That list is its own separate page, linked to under my photo in the upper-left sidebar.
I share your concerns over the ever-steady risk to, and loss of, Constitutional authority and the rights enumerated therein. Knowing that the system is too big for any one person to change, my strategy is to communicate my thoughts, insights and reasons to whomever will listen. My hope is that we, the people, shall again re-discover the unity that makes us strong and empowers us to reclaim our rightful relationship to our representative government.
I look for to hearing from you again; take good care!
9 mamabear // Apr 4, 2007 at 12:18 am
I can’t believe the mound of information I’ve found reguarding police misconduct. My son was arrested and tased for sleeping on the grass in the middle of the day. They arrested him for trespassing and said he was fighting them. How can a boy half asleep unarmed and on ground fight three men twice his size and weight.
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