Let The Police State Begin

A Penn State college senior was arrested after he pointed his camera cell phone at police activity in his neighborhood. A Philadelphia NBC News Channel 10 report says the family of Neftaly Cruz, 21, is claiming the cops had "no right to come onto their property and arrest their 21-year-old son simply because he was using his cell phone's camera."

Cruz had heard a commotion outside his parents' home and walked out the door to investigate it. When he saw the street lined with police, he flipped his phone open to take a picture. Within moments, an officer came to his back gate, put him into a police car, cuffed him and took him to jail. According to a neighbor's report, the cop spoke only once during this process, allegedly saying, "You should have just went [sic] in the house and minded your own business instead of trying to take pictures off your picture phone."

The charge against Cruz was based on a new law, allegedly prohibiting people from taking pictures of police officers with cell phones. Cruz is quoted as saying, "They threatened to charge me with conspiracy, impeding an investigation, obstruction of a investigation..." Larry Frankel of the local ACLU chapter, reportedly said, "There is no law that prevents people from taking pictures of what anybody can see on the street," adding that, "it's rather scary that in this country you could actually be taken down to police headquarters for taking a picture on your cell phone of activities that are clearly visible on the street."