[betterunix]

"It does seem terribly hypocritical to complain about the police capturing images from a public street, while simultaneously defending people's right to record the police in public."

The police have great power over the general public; we must keep that power in check, and one of the ways to do that in the modern world is to record police abuses and police brutality and publish those recordings on the Internet. I would rather see people who are dissatisfied with law enforcement aim cameras at the police than to have guns aimed at the police. We generally do not want our cities to become war zones.

On the other hand, when the police record the general public, the balance of power is further tipped toward the police. They already have paramilitary teams, armored vehicles, even attack helicopters, and they have vast surveillance powers; it is hard enough to prevent such an organization from become an oppressive, tyrannical force. Further expansion of police power is unnecessary and dangerous.