File this under "you have to be shittin me".

[Battle Monkey of Zardoz]

I have now almost heard it all. Geez. I have lost all respect for anyone who wears a damn badge.

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/04/07/that-cop-is-about-to-snatch-a-cellphone-from-a-man-recording-police-search-his-car-and-the-sheriff-has-quite-the-defense-for-it/

A Florida sheriff reiterated Monday that one of his deputies was justified in snatching a cellphone from a detained individual who was recording officers search his car, insisting that the phone could have been used as a weapon.

“The probable cause traffic stop, K9 alert, presence of a firearm, and (name omitted)’s lack of candor created a scenario where the potential for (name omitted) to summon others to the scene via his cell phone was an officer safety concern,” Lee County Sheriff Mike Scott initially told WFTX-TV in an April 1 email.

[JN01]

“t is a well documented fact that pagers, cell phones, and other commonly carried devices have in fact proven to be firearms

I guess he should be glad they used restraint and didn't shoot him.

[roo_ster]

I would have a lot more respect for something like, "Our deputies have a terrifically difficult and dangerous job to do.  Every once in a while one of them makes a mistake.  Obviously, this was one of those times.  We are doing everything in our power to set things right and ensure this does not happen again.  We hereby apologize unreservedly.  Thank you and good night."

Such sentiment and accompanying action would require honest, sincere, and dedicated LEOs.

[Battle Monkey of Zardoz]

If one can't tell the difference from a pager, cell phone etc and a firearm then there is no hope for them punching pictures of quarter pounders at the drive thru

[dogmush]

Eh.  My outrage meter's not pegging.  Just from the part of the article you quoted in the OP he was less concerned that the phone itself was a weapon and more concerned the guy was calling for backup.  Depending on the officer's backup arrival time that seems a valid concern.

Trying to pretend the phone itself was a weapon seems more like panicky justification.

Also, the officer seemed calm, and not snatchy [heh] to me in the 10 sec of useful video at that link.

To risk sounding like CSD, I'd be pretty interested in the 3 or 4 minutes of video leading up to that scene.

*Protip: as a JBT, learn how to delete video and pictures from seized phones.

[Ben]

*Protip: as a JBT, learn how to delete video and pictures from seized phones.

Or as a cell phone wielding outlaw, learn how to live feed your video to the cloud so it can't be erased. 

[Sergeant Bob]

Sounds like theft to me.

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

He seemed to think guy was calling not filming. That's either a very good ploy or legitimate.  It would also seem to get him around the right to video deal.

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