Update | By Trisha Marczak
Adam Mueller, also known as Ademo Freeman, has been convicted and sentenced to three months in jail for felony wiretapping charges. The charges stemmed from three telephone interviews recorded by Mueller and used on his website, copblock.org, a forum dedicated to the monitoring of police brutality instances throughout the nation.
Mueller lost his case after representing himself, using the case that the three individuals recorded, a police officer, a school principal and a secretary, all had reason to believe they were being recorded. In New Hampshire, where the incident occurred, it is illegal to record a conversation without first giving the person on the other line notice.
Mueller was attempting to investigate a case in which a student filmed an incident involving a 17-year-old fellow student whose head had been smashed onto a table by a school police officer.
(MintPress) — Websites dedicated to the coverage and exposure of incidents related to police brutality, including the CATO Institute and the Police Complaint Center, are emerging as a public way to hold law enforcement officials accountable. While sites vary in their method of coverage, the trend is clear — and it now seems to be under attack, at least in the case of Ademo Freeman, founder of copblock.org.
The 30-year-old citizen journalist, whose formal name is Adam Mueller, is facing 21 years in prison for felony wiretapping charges for allegedly recording a conversation with police officers, without proper warning — a charge the defendant is denying.
The charges against Freeman stem from an incident in which a 17-year-old New Hampshire high school student was allegedly assaulted by the school resource officer. The altercation came after the student and his sister, also a student, were engaged in a sibling dispute, in which the sister claimed her brother had taken her purse.
The incident, which included the resource officer slamming the student on a cafeteria table, was caught on tape by a classmate of the victim, who was ordered by school administers to delete the footage.
The student, who was the target of alleged misconduct, was suspended and the liaison officer returned to school the next day. In an attempt to cover the case, Freeman reached out to the Manchester Police Department, who employs the resource officer, and the school principal.
This is where the issue began.
A video produced by copblock.org received national attention, with more than 170,000 viewers. It grabbed the attention of local news outlets, as well as some national publications, including the Huffington Post.
While Freeman claims he first alerted public officials that he was a journalist recording the conversation, the principal, police officer and a secretary all claim they did not know they were on the record. As a result, Freeman has been charged with three counts of wiretapping. Each charge carries a maximum jail sentence of seven years — multipled by three, Freeman is looking at a possible 21.
In New Hampshire, it is unlawful for a person to record a conversation without first disclosing the action. However, in order to be guilty of wiretapping, the accusing party must have a ‘reasonable expectation’ that the conversation is not subject to ‘interception.’ Considering Freeman introduced himself as a journalist with copblock.org, this is an issue that could come into question.
Kate Ager, a spokesperson for Freeman, told MintPress he has been offered a plea deal, although he is refusing to accept it. Not only does Freeman not believe in taking plea deals, but Ager said he believes he is innocent and can prove that to a jury.
The charges come three months after the stated incident. Ager said Freeman was unaware of the charges, and first learned of them through the local newspaper, the New Hampshire Union Leader.
The footage was used by Freeman in a story posted to his website, which also included recorded comments from an officer, the principal and a secretary — from whom the current charges stem.
What is Freeman saying?
From Freeman and his allies’ side, he was targeted because of his profession, which is essentially a police watchdog journalist.
“In no uncertain terms, Freeman is being targeted because he sought to make transparent the wrongs committed by public officials,” his website reads. “Instead of ‘serving and protecting’ they are systematically working to censor those highlighting their misdeeds.”
A solidarity movement for Freeman is growing, with supporters expected to gather outside Hillsborough County Superior Court in Manchester, N.H. for his Aug. 13 trial.
Freeman and his followers look at the incident as an attempt to intimidate the journalists and others like him who are dedicated to exposing alleged cases of police brutality.
Ager told MintPress that Freeman is well known within the local law enforcement ring, as he was arrested last year for protesting outside the police station after four undercover police officers allegedly assaulted a man at a local bar, the Strange Brew. Ager said Freeman was officially arrested for vandalizing, a charge that stemmed from his use of chalk used at the rally.
Other sites, same mission
The CATO Institute, known as a libertarian think-tank, recently launched a website entirely devoted to the documentation of issues related to police brutality.
The National Police Misconduct Reporting Project was launched by CATO in 2010, with the goal of documenting cases of alleged police misconduct and compiling all information into a report, which can then be used to assess the state of police brutality and misconduct in the U.S.
“The purpose of this project is to gather reports of credible allegations of police misconduct so policymakers (and others) can make informed assessments of the nature and circumstances of police misconduct, and consider proposals that can minimize wrongdoing,” the website states.
On the right side of the screen, updated cases of alleged police brutality and misconduct from throughout the nation are presented, each with links leading readers to the original news reports. A map is also present, highlighting areas that have had reported cases of police misconduct.
Reports of misconduct primarily are gathered through media outlets, which are monitored by staff each day. Each report deemed credible by the organization is compiled into a database system and a report is generated through the Project. Individuals can also submit complaints, although the Institute warns that such incidents require further investigation before reports are published and included in the database.
According to information compiled from January through December 2010, 4,861 cases of police misconduct were reported, including 6,613 law enforcement officials. In all, the victim total rose as high as 6,826 — 247 of whom died.
CATO isn’t the only other web publication to specialize as a police misconduct watchdog. The Police Complaint Center has been at it for 25 years, drawing attention to issues of police brutality through its website and through major media outlets.
The Police Complaint Center is staffed by attorneys, former law enforcement officials, private investigators and researchers, who are tasked with the mission of investigating police brutality scenarios and drawing attention to them.
The CEO of the organization, Diop Kamau, is a former police detective and investigative news producer. He has received his masters degree from Penn State University and was the recipient of four Edward R. Murrow Awards — the highest of honors — for his investigative broadcast journalism.
Intended to reach out to victims who may be lost and unsure of how to file complaints, the website is easy to use, with plenty of information on how to get started and a hotline (1-800-473-5097).
Dozens of videos line the site, as well, each telling the story of cases of police brutality and sometimes incorporating the actual video of the incident in dispute. And while the organization has been at it for more than 25 years, the cases of police brutality throughout the nation continue to rise — as well as efforts seen to stifle a movement of misconduct exposure, as seen in the case of Freeman and his felony wiretapping charges.