Video: Cops seize MCN camera
By Steve Farrell -
General news
16 September 2009 12:15
Cops in an unmarked car dramatically seized an MCN camera after we took their picture in North Wales on Sunday.
The officers had been waiting in a lay-by on the A5 secretly watching thousands of riders heading to our meeting in Betws-y-Coed, a protest rally over North Wales Police's heavy-handed treatment of law-abiding motorcyclists. A marked patrol car was positioned further along the same route.
When questioned by MCN, the covert officers first claimed to be “monitoring traffic”. But when MCN produced a camera they said they were armed response officers and threatened to seize the camera if pictures were taken.
Asked under what powers the camera would be taken, an officer couldn’t answer and instead simply repeated his threat – so our man began recording the exchange.
The officer then said the side of the car could be photographed. But when our man quickly fired off a snap the officer snatched the camera, claiming he could be endangered.
He handed it back after our man persistently asked what powers it had been seized under.
We organised our Reclaim North Wales rally after the force admitted stopping around 400 motorcyclists every summer weekend, including 350 who have committed no offence. It became the UK's biggest protest by motorcyclists in over 20 years.
