A privileged class?

The State of Maryland seems to want to prosecute citizens who videotape police officers in action. Perhaps that's to make sure there's no documentation in cases like this:

An off-duty Baltimore City police officer fatally shot an unarmed Marine 13 times outside a nightclub early Saturday. According to Baltimore City police, Tyrone Brown -- a 32-year-old Marine who has served two tours of duty in Iraq -- was shot 13 times at close range. He died a short time later.

The state's attorney's office will review the evidence and decide whether to file charges, which also is customary, he said.The officer, who Guglielmi said is a 15-year veteran, has not been named. Police said they are investigating whether alcohol was a factor. The officer declined to take an alcohol breath test.

Of course, if you decline to take such a breath test during a traffic stop, it means you lose your license, and possibly arrest on the spot. But shooting someone 13 times during an off-duty incident? That's apparently a different story.

To whom much is given, much should be expected, so it shouldn't surprise officials when citizens break out the cameras during an incident. Police officers are given the authority to use force--even deadly force--in certain circumstances. While I wasn't at the scene of this incident, firing 13 shots at an unarmed off-duty Marine seems to indicate this wasn't one of those circumstances. Let's hope the lack of a recording doesn't hamper the search for truth in this case.