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Freeman Z, a long-time radio reporter specializing in issues of dissent, is waging a campaign to expose MBTA's false prosecution. Through their lies, Freeman's ordinary reporting magically became a felony (wiretapping) when Officer Brian Harer walked up to Freeman who'd been using a hand-held microphone for half an hour. Harer threatened to sue the reporter for taking a routine photo, thus clearly violating applicable Massachusetts General Law
This is a fundamental violation of the Massachusetts Constitution, which clearly states that those who hold public offices (Officers) are to be held accountable at all times, It's no secret that Reporters are often watching and listening to them, whether or not they notice. The sources of Harer's problems lie within himself. It was his his choice not to pay attention, though it's part of his job. It was Harer's choice to try to intimidate Freeman who was minding his own business. Harer was apparently joking with a fellow Officer before he approached and bullied the Reporter.
Authorities are twisting a well-intentioned (if poorly-drafted and outdated) privacy law to excuse cop misconduct and to punish people who put themselves at risk to protect Citizens from corruption.
Freeman found related Police Wiretap cases such as "the Commonwealth V. Michael Hyde." Sitting in his car after being pulled over, Hyde's hidden recorder caught alleged misbehavior of cops in Abbington, and soon the old law against wiretapping had new Homeland Insecurity legs.
Graciously invited by the Park Street Peace Vigilers who've spoken out there for seven years now, Freeman, (with spaniel,) tells the story to a crowd of people attracted by colorful buzz words such as 'Perjury,' 'Wiretap,' and 'Rogue Traincop.' It was while covering such a rally, loaded with 35 pounds of pro gear, (and not demonstrating with a picket,) that Freeman was embroiled on September 28, 2002. At trial, he was painted as a Protestor feigning a journalistic defense when Persecuting Attorney Bradley questioned Manzelli's status. He drew a large crowd, and distributed stickers promoting www.mbtapolice.org, where you can see more details on the frameup.
When asked whether he knew his words were recorded in Boston Municipal Court, Freeman replied, "No...I had no idea I was being recorded! I thought the microphone there was for public address and translation. I'm outraged at this secret recording, and I believe it is a violation of Massachusetts law which should be prosecuted fully. There was no sign and nobody told me. To argue that 'everybody knows court proceedings are recorded' is as dubious as saying 'everybody knows a radio reporter holding a microphone is probably recording' ...Hmmm I'm even more confused now." Judge Forde, who put an Aide to Governor Romney on the Jury.
Freeman's testified to the Boston City Council and to a special committee at the State House, including federal authorities, and the the MBTA (audio) . In all cases, he went to the forums as a reporter, and decided to sign on to speak.
A recent Federal prosecution of rogue lawmen in Tennessee illuminates the folly of the new ultra-'conservative' abuse of the Commonwealth's wiretapping statute. Several criminal cops barged into a family's home, sending the wife and children away. The wife secretly stashed a tape deck which recorded the pigs torturing her husband. In Massachusetts, the woman would be convicted of a felony, and the tape rendered useless as evidence. Is this the kind of treatment you want from your government?
In Hyde's (explained above) well-argued and unsuccessful appeal to a Commonwealth Superior Court, a dissenting Judge argued that this law has not, and should not be applied thusly. She also predicted that a Reporter would eventually be prosecuted under this precedent. She also noted that the King Videographer would have been similarly guilty under Commonwealth law, and the violent conduct never investigated. Th court returned the lamest of answers to this point: That the Videographer, Mr. Holliday, would be spared criminal conviction basically because his mic sucked. And if his recording had been intelligible before enhancement? ...Years in a Commonpoverty of Massatooshits prison.
POLICE STATE.
Immediately after Freeman took a single snapshot of the scene about 20 feet from the pair of traincops, Harer approached to bully the veteran radio reporter, a former boy scout and family magazine publisher. Perhaps Harer didn't notice the mic because rather than paying attention to his beat during a time of terrorist threat, he was yucking it up with his soon to be co-conspirator, Victoria Riel. Or maybe Freeman fell into a trap. Only Harer knows for sure ...and he can't be trusted.
Realizing it was an awkward shot, and with Harer glaring into the lense (as shown below,) Freeman respectfully lowered his camera (one of two he carried that day along with his recording apparatus and lights,) to establish eye contact. He waited for the Officers to compose themselves for a more dignified shot. But instead, here's what happened...
That's when Harer approached, threatening to sue the Reporter 'personally' should he see his photo published. Freeman proceeded to interview the wily traincop there on the Boston Common, asking to what law he referred when he claimed his permission was required. "Any law book in any law library" Harer replied.
Harer also told the Reporter he's bound to tell the truth in uniform, which is catch-22 style lie, as Police are required to lie on undercover assignments, and during interrogations. Amused by the irony, but frightened by this bizarre behavior, Freeman retreated. Then when he saw Harer talking with an MBTA Track Inspector he thought he could trust, he returned to ask what this was all about. Harer finally acknowledges the mic, asks if he's being recorded and chaos descends.
After a Mr. Toad-style cruiser ride to MBTA Police hideout, and after being forced to read an obscene statement, the reporter is chained to a pole and threatened with all sorts of unlikely and contradictory charges.
After some happy quiet time in a jail cell (time well-spent doing yoga exercises,) Freeman, is basically rudely thrown out of the nice jail. The charges are set: Disorderly Conduct, Assault and Battery (which evaporated) and Wiretapping. That's right...Wiretapping. For this heineous allegation punishable by years in Private-Profit Prison?
$40.00Cash bail.
Harer seizes all the Reporter's professional equipment, most of which is utterly irrelevant to the bogus charges. Later BMC Judge Sumerville orders the equipment returned to the Reporter. Harer had no right to take it in the first place. He had no right to harrass the Reporter, and despite this obvious misconducr, MBTA Police chose to back Harer and prosecute Manzelli.
The mic, an eight inch tall 'Superscope' condensor with windscreen, had once been used to record for the Dukakis campign. Rather than admit he's a goofball, Harer fibbed the mic was small and hidden behind a nonexistent jacket when he attacked the Reporter.
MacKinnon battled the T years ago, when he worked on an effective campaign against MBTA plans to install and control televisions in the transit stations. Ever since then, the greedy T Administration has sought to line it's magic pockets with all sorts of evil ad scams, such as saturation advertisement of alcohol products where children ride, and a Bacardi Rum ad plastered green line car opponents claim is targetted toward college campuses. MBTA refuses to post certain paid adertisements on dubious grounds, and obviously for political reasons.
The MBTA has a website where you can get a taste of their mind-control agenda. mbta.com has a section on filming on the T which is interesting reading indeed, and offers some hint into Harer's bizarre misbehavior, confusing his duties to the T's greed with his responsibilities under the law. (Or maybe he's just an utter jackhole who joined a third rate, pumped up police force in order to bully people. I don't know.) Note that Freeman, who works beside cops all the time in several cities has no complaint with any other police department.
Freeman grew up in Lincoln where he had a good relationship with Chief of Police Domenic Arena, who was the arresting officer at Teddy K's Chappaquiddick adventure. Arena issued Freeman's Firearms ID, a credential which he held in good standing as a responsible firearms owner for decades. Years ago, he sold his last 'piece,' a modified Smith and Wesson Deerfield pump action twelve gauge shotgun, and invested in media equipment.
In a form blank labeled "weapon or controlled substance" Harer's charges listed "microphone and cassette" Now, Freeman says, he sometimes dreams that he regrets having switched from smokeless gunpowder to magnetic tape.
Harer's Tar-Baby Here's a cropped version of the snapshot that sent Brian into a tailspin. If Freeman had not tossed the six hundred dollar SLR camera to strangers, he might never have been able to post the photo identifying the crook in bloo. One of the Reporter's negatives (again, unrelated even to the bogus charges,) was processed (C-41) by the traincops and either stolen or destroyed. |
Harer concocted his story that Freeman shot this frame from "...about three feet." The following experiment below proves that the reporter's shadow would then be cast over Bright Boy Brian's shiny little hooves ...I mean shoes. Brian Harer Lied repeatedly under oath. That's a crime, and it's devastatd Freeman's family. Beware! Maybe it'll be your family in this Rogue Traincop's gunsights the next time he flips his lid. |
Harer parading as a Lawman |
Harer parading as McGruff |
WARNING: THIS MAN IS A CRIMINAL. |
Disclaimer: Satire; celebrity's head pasted onto model's body |
Somebody passing by chuckled, saying he's 'chokin' the chicken!' We used the same lense (Canon 28mm f2.8 FD) that was mounted on the reporter's F1(n) with motor drive, on September 28, 2002, to establish the original placements of the Reporter and the Rogue Cop. (This shot is also cropped.)
Here's a reconstruction of what Harer saw, close-cropped. The backpack is diferent because when the original Kelty pack came back from T-Pol Hindquarters, (under court order,) it "just smelled weird" and was retired. The original frame pack is larger, and was literally covered with reporting equipment, including an large and unusual bare-bulb photo flash used almost exclusively by pro photographers. The Reporter's cassette deck dwelled in a shoulder slung side-pack. All this, and Harer doesn't figure out this guy is wired? Will they want to require Reporters to wear sirens and revolving lights?
Is this a Wiretap?
Note the microphone Freeman had been using for thirty minutes. In parts of the day's recording you can hear right wing hecklers chanting against the peaceniks, and you can hear one of them refuse the microphone with a rude comment. Obviously not a hidden mic. You can hear a man, (right in front of the T Police,) saying to the Reporter " I hope somebody cuts you up!" right into the microphone. Police did nothing.
Bonus Evidence:
Here is a 'metering and priming' shot taken right after reloading with (100 ASA) film. The shadow belongs to the photographer. The shoulder bag is on the left. See the mic wire dangling below...And what's that sticking out of the bag? Ooooh! It's a 'secret' microphone! Call the MBTA Police!
Riel's Off-Point Lies Reveal Perjurous game-plan
Well, MBTA Police Officer Vicky Riel testified that when she snatched my recording equipment, there was a wire coming out of it, but she just couldn't say what it was on the wire. This testimony is almost amusingly awkward.
The reason she said this is clear to McTrough... The witnesses had been sequestered, so Riel didn't know what Harer had said (unless they spoke to each other when they had the chance, ...another crime) So she's coming in with one goal in mind, to convey that she never saw the microphone. However, her testimony was relevant to the time after Harer alleged Freeman had hidden the eight inch tall mic. By this time, (in their fictitious story,) the mic had already been revealed by the bumbling wiretapper, and recognized by Harer.
Three Feet ...Twenty Feet ...Whatever!
Harer lied that Freeman was three feet away. (Like who'd wanna get that close to him?) This is proven by the negative. Harer and Riel also lied that Freeman rudely shot many frames at a close range, which is neither true, nor illegal, but harer and Riel made a big deal of it at trial, apparently to paint Freeman as a trouble maker. With 'conservative' Judge Annette Forde on the bench, an Aid to Governor Romney on the Jury, Freeman was Eff-You-See-Kayed. But the Persecution hardly broke a sweat. Prosecution Targets are just numbers to them, and this must happen a lot.
Unlawful? That's Awful !
The law is likely to be challenged on constitutional grounds, and because it may violate Federal statues. It's certainly being used for crooked cops to hide behind these days. There's an appeal in the works, and the prospect of a Federal Civil Rights investigation.
Forde's Faulty in Function
Forde used the term 'consent' in her instructions, which implied to the Jurors that the law requires a Reporter to get permission for a public documentary recording. This is utterly false. She also stated that Freeman's First Amendment rights were contingent on his being in the act of 'legitimate news gathering' which is also completely incorrect, as well as being beyond the ability of the jury to determine without further instructions. I'd say documenting a traincop comitting a crime is pretty goddam legitimate, Judge.
After the Peaceniks packed up their banners and their spaniel-annointed amplifier, MacKinnon hit the pavement, energetically railing on the injustices committed against Freeman. The Actor boomed loudly, attracting dozens of curious and interested passersby, including a self-described Federal Judge who was keenly interested.
Reagan's Head In His Trousers
Once the victim of a travesty case himself, Ian's got a nose for nonsense.
A humorously-disadvantaged MDC cop (now the disbanded MDC ...Hint!) pursued a case against MacKinnon...when he performed with a replica Ronny Reagan head (best kind, no?) poking out his pants zipper. Obviously no more 'offensive' than what passes for everyday television, the case seemed politically motivated and was appropriately laughed out of court. MacKinnon, encouraged by legal counsel to fight, kindly declined to file a promising tort against the MDC, who evaoporated a few years later. The displaced Officers joined the State Police who are said to have resented their lax attitude and poor performance.
The Crime Pig character was originally conceived by Freeman as Hare E. Brainer, a perfect anagram of Brian Harer. (Another perfect anagram is derived from his Defense Attorney Dan Beck, yielding Nab Deck or Ban Deck!
Anyway, MacKinnon had written and performed in a play as McGruff, and when he invented his own version of the affable porcine constable, he chose the name "McTrough"
McTrough: "I'm an associate of McGruff, the Crime Dog, I am the Crime Pig, and I'm here to get to the bottom of this! I'm here at the scene of the crime! It's crooked cops who give the good ones a bad name!" With McTrough on the case, Freeman Z knows justice is at hand!
The crime pig points toward the MBTA 'henhouses,' that cover the stairways to Park Street Station. It was on the stairway that the Reporter struggled (successfully!) to toss a cassette away from Harer. Also, a camera was similarly rescued by strangers. This was his only camera for a while, since the cops 'stole' all his gear they could. Had this been a routine bust, Harer woulda been S.O.L. No "evidence!" But this wasn't a drug bust, it was harrasment of a Journalist. No illegal materials, no illegal activity. ...except MBTA Transit Police Officer Brian Harer's illegal activity.
McTrough: "Sometimes ya gotta be tough and face the fact that some cops are crooked. Sometimes a cop just has a real bad day, or makes an awful mistake ...and sometimes what a man does to 'fix' his mistakes just makes more trouble for everyone, including innocent victims, his own department ...and himself."
The stickers were a hit, and the crime pig left empty-handed. Of course, we discouraged anybody from applying them to MBTA property, because they're paper, not vinyl, a total pain in the tuchus to remove, cuz they don't peel.
REMEMBER ...Don't Sticker MBTA Property!
(When anybody's looking.)
Only ads for liquor and other family/healthy products belong in the MBTA!
Unless the ultimate authority in the Commonwealth...the traincops, object?
Copyright 2005-2006, freemanz.com
