[Scan-DC] RadioReference.com vs. Terre Haute

Fri Dec 30 02:51:33 EST 2016

I remember a time when RadioReference removed DoD radio data simply when presented with a written request.  What changed since that time and why not allow a similar policy for public safety re-broadcasting?  The next step is either encryption or, God forbid, a disastrous court decision from a conservative court.  I am all for the First Amendment, but this is only going to antagonize the public safety officials.

Without the damn smart phones, chances are we “radio nerds” would be still monitoring MPD, among other agencies.

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The Tribune-Star (Terre Haute, Indiana)

STATE AND REGIONAL NEWS

Terre Haute sends 'cease and desist' letter to emergency scanner broadcaster

Lisa Trigg, The Tribune-Star, Terre Haute, Ind.
December 29, 2016 Thursday

Dec. 29--Terre Haute police insist a Texas-based broadcaster of scanner traffic must stop airing its radio transmissions, but the broadcaster is balking, saying it may fight the city in court.

If the dispute does reach the courtroom, it might result in precedent-setting decisions, says one legal expert.

City Attorney Darrell "Eddie" Felling on Dec. 6 sent RadioReference.com LLC a letter asking that Terre Haute agencies "be removed from your broadcasting applications immediately."

"I understand for some, listing to public safety scanner traffic is a hobby that has been around for years," Felling wrote. "Recently, several of the city's police officers have reported that individuals listening to scanner feeds, like those broadcast by RadioReference.com and/or Broadcastify, have shown up to emergency incident scenes.

"Given the dangers our police officers face today, having our radio traffic broadcast in real-time has created a serious threat to officer safety, the security of incident scenes, and may hinder the officers ability to appropriately ascertain and respond to the emergency situation because listeners are at the scene as well," Felling wrote.

In his "cease and desist" letter, Felling asks RadioReference.com LLC to respond in order "to avoid potential legal action."

While Lindsay C. Blanton III, CEO of RadioReference.com/Broadcastify, has not returned calls from the Tribune-Star seeking comment, he did post a copy of Felling's letter on his website Dec. 13.

He wrote his company "will vigorously defend any legal action taken by the city of Terre Haute, Indiana. Any challenge by the city of Terre Haute would not survive even a lax standard of First Amendment scrutiny, as the widespread availability of these communications, often sanctioned by the public safety departments themselves, undermines any rational basis for prohibiting their broadcasts to the general public."

Police Chief John Plasse reiterated Thursday the request is "purely an officer safety issue."

Concern for officer safety grew after the intentional targeting and shooting of police officers in Dallas earlier this year, Plasse said.

Terre Haute officers responding to incidents around the city also began noticing some people showing up at the scenes and acting suspiciously, he said.

Plasse said his commanding officers made the request for radio broadcasts of THPD to be encrypted so the radio traffic cannot be heard by the general public using in-home scanners or devices with scanner apps, such as smart phones and tablets.

"We are trying to take care of our officers and keep them from harm," Plasse said.

He also pointed out that with today's smart phone technology and the digital scanner applications, it's possible for people committing crimes to monitor police radio traffic so they can avoid police officers dispatched to a crime in progress.

Indiana law, Plasse points out, prohibits the general public from having handheld police scanners for that reason. Now that smart phones and tablets can pickup scanner traffic, they have essentially become a hand-held scanner if used to monitor police communications, he added.

"In the past, mobile scanners have been illegal," Plasse said. "To me, the scanner app is the same thing. You can hear police being dispatched somewhere, so it defeats our efforts."

Plasse said he understands that for many years, people have sat at home monitoring police communications on their scanners, and for some people it is a hobby. Those people can still hear non-encrypted broadcasts, but not the "talk groups" that are encrypted.

Plasse said an initial request was not well-received by RadioReference.com, so the city attorney sent the cease and desist letter.

Jeffrey McCall, professor of communication at DePauw University, said it's uncertain how a First Amendment argument by RadioReference might play in court.

The "right to know" is inferred by media and citizens, McCall said, but is not stated in constitutional language.

In Indiana, Sunshine Laws make governmental meetings and actions open to public scrutiny, and the Access to Public Records Act makes documents available to the public. On a federal level, the Freedom of Information Act is the law designed to let the public stay in the know about their government.

But live transmissions of local police scanner traffic seem to fall outside those defined areas, McCall said.

The city is within its rights to raise the issue, and the internet service is within its rights to defend its actions, McCall said.

That could lead to a court case, and perhaps that's not a bad thing, McCall said.

"Sometimes, it's best to adjudicate these issues and let a judge decide, rather than have the agencies strong-arm their positions," he said.

However, he added, for a judge to rule against rebroadcast of public scanner traffic, McCall said it seems to him the city police would have to show that an immediate threat is present for each instance in which the broadcast would be restricted.

Lisa Trigg can be reached at 812-231-4254 or at lisa.trigg at tribstar.com Follow her on Twitter at TribStarLisa.