This is a live event that will feature multiple broadcast updates. If the above video is not live, you can access the footage on Shire Dude’s Bambuser account.
UPDATES:
The protest remained peaceful throughout the night, despite encounters I had with a couple of unsavory characters. Christopher David arrived (over 100 ft. away from the tavern, due to bail restrictions), and I convinced the owner of Daniel Street Tavern to have a conversation with him. State Representative Eric Schleien showed up and had a conversation with the bar owner, asking her if she understood economics or the fact that the state creates monopolies (referring to the taxi cartel). The bar owner became upset after this, and she even flagged down the cops in an attempt to break up the protest. The Portsmouth PD declined her request.
Unsavory Character #1 attempts to start a fight with confusing homoerotic language
Unsavory Character #2 attempts to stand in front of my camera
Owner of Daniel Street Tavern pleads for the Portsmouth PD to break up the protest
Christopher David stations himself 100+ ft. from the event, due to bail restrictions
Chris posted an update to his facebook today informing us that the officer who threatened him with fines for driving for UBER in this video has now called and asked Chris to turn himself in. A warrant has allegedly been issued for his arrest on wiretapping charges. In a previous threatening call, the PPD officer, Andre Wassouf told Chris he was considering filing felony wiretapping charges, so the warrant may be on felony charges. As of this writing, Portsmouth Police have not returned media inquiries, so a copy of the warrant has yet to be seen.
I stayed up until 4am last night setting up for the home birth of my son. I am swamped with work and preparation up to my eyeballs, and Kayla could go into labor any minute.
My interest to participate in a POLICE WITCH-HUNT designed to MAKE AN EXAMPLE OF ME by charging me with a FELONY for a YOUTUBE VIDEO showcasing EFFECTIVE ACTIVISM, and potentially making me MISS THE BIRTH OF MY SON… is LESS than zero.
To the city of Portsmouth, I opt out of your system. Leave me alone.
Sounds like he has no plan to turn himself in. Things are getting very interesting on the Seacoast. Chris has shared the number of Portsmouth Police on facebook, 603-427-1500, and encourages you to call and share how you feel about this persecution. You can also donate to Chris via paypal and bitcoin.
It is with great enthusiasm that the production crew of the controversial AKPF #1 television announces big news for the series that shook the city of Keene’s foundation. While episodes had previously been predominantly filmed and based around the Cheshire county area, new episodes to begin airing on Cheshire TV November 30th will be produced in the state capitol of Concord. This production move will ensure that more globally relevant, universally reciprocal content will be infused into the program, as series director Garret Ean and his uncredited assistant producer draw from a much larger pool of content from the heart of Shire.
As copywrong fascists continue their attack on free information sharing through youtube and other censored distribution outlets, public access television remains one of the few outlets individuals have for unrestricted self-expression in both audio and video format. For this reason, the producers also are proud to announce the show’s impending arrival on the airwaves of Concord TV. A schedule for airings on the capitol area’s public access station will be released as details are squared away with representatives of the station.
In a six page decision issued this week, NH Hillsborough superior court judge Gillian L. Abramson dismissed the misdemeanor wiretapping charge against Alfredo Valentin – affirming the right to record police in public includes secret recordings. The judge cites both the Glik and Gericke cases which were important federal cases affirming the right to record police in public. The state argued in this case, that since the recording was secret, the right to record doesn’t apply in NH, where the wiretapping statute is ridiculously oppressive. The judge smacked that claim down:
the Court finds that the First Amendment protects secretly filming police in public, for the same reasons that the First Amendment generally protects filming police. The public has the right to gather and disseminate information about the police.
Free State Project early mover and attorney Brandon Ross is Valentin’s lawyer (Ross has previously beaten wiretapping charges at the NH supreme court.) and had this to say, in an exclusive interview for Free Keene, about the judge’s decision: “By charging him with a felony, the state destroyed my client’s career–and made things much worse with this wild goose chase prosecution. I’m glad the court wasn’t fooled by the state’s manifestly incorrect representations about the law. I look forward to him getting his day in federal court.”
Attorney Brandon Ross
Ross also excoriated the NH legislature for their inaction on fixing the horrible wiretapping statutes, saying, “This never needed to happen. Numerous bills have been brought to the legislature to fix this. Each time, the legislature has failed to act to bring simple, necessary clarity to a law which police are continually abusing. But the NH chiefs of police scare them each time, and nothing happens. The resulting litigation from that spineless failure to act, does nothing but inconvenience citizens and cost taxpayers.”
You can read the full six-page order here. Will the state attorney general’s office appeal to the NH supreme court and risk making this decision apply to the entire state? Stay tuned here to Free Keene for the latest.
Over the past two weeks, I provided 16 hours of availability for the 20 candidates for city council (10 At-Large and 2 from each of the 5 Wards) to come to the Cheshire TV studios to record a 5 minute segment for Candidates’ Spotlight. I’d like to thank the candidates who made the effort to come to Cheshire TV to record a segment for Candidates’ Spotlight.
Click on a candidate’s name to watch their segment:
If there are only a few bad apples in policing, how do they rise to the top of the ranks? The last case of a corrupt police chief reported on this blog, less than one year ago, involved New London, NH’s then-chief threatening college girls into stripping so he could photograph them nude in the police department basement.
Now, in the case of Canterbury police chief John Laroche, he’s accused of multiple cases of sexual assault (rape) against a teenage girl. To be clear, the girl was of the age of consent, however Laroche was in a position of authority over her, as he was in charge of the Police Explorers program, where teenagers explore whether they would like a career in law enforcement. Apparently, it’s also not uncommon for them to explore their sexuality with the officers.
FreeUber.org founder Christopher David was released on personal recognizance today after turning himself in at the Portsmouth Police Department. Activists plan to protest the continued harassment of Uber drivers tonight, and Shire Dude will be livestreaming this protest.
