Deanimator
Member
Make CERTAIN you know the applicable laws where YOU are.A good idea is to always record interaction with police, provided you have the equipment handy(most modern cellphones record voice and video) and are able do so in an unobtrusive manner. However, this practice is being willfully persecuted in some places , as cops realize that recordings hold them to a high standard of conduct and they have to tread more carefully; they just can't allow that to spread.
Ohio is a one party consent state. You can record any conversation to which you are a party, and with no permission or even knowledge by other participants.
In addition, you can record public employees in the course of their public duties where they have no expectation of privacy, so long as you do not intrude sufficiently to interfere with their legitimate duties. Not too long ago an Akron cop got unpaid leave for falsely arresting a woman who videotaped an arrest in her neighborhood. Being especially stupid, he ignored the order of a supervisor to NOT harass the woman. I believe that she's suing him AND the city. He hasn't got a snowball's chance in Riyadh of beating the suit either.