Crime

Not News: Cops Catch Pot Smoker in Orlando. News: By Watching Him on the Police Surveillance Cameras

Orlando Man Arrested and Charged With Marijuana Possession After Being First Seen on Police Monitoring Cameras

(Image: WKMG screenshot)

In 2008, government officials and police in Orlando, Fla., instituted I.R.I.S. (the Innovative Response to Improve Safety initiative). The program included more 60 cameras as part of phase one to monitor local activities. It signified, as Mayor Buddy Dyer described it, “entering a new era of community policing — an era in which the power of pixels can make us a safer city.”

The latest subject to be caught in a crime by the cameras was nabbed for smoking marijuana. WKMG Local 6 reports Joe Haywood being spotted by in an area monitored for drug activity using an I.R.I.S. camera. It reports the arrest affidavit stating, officers approached three men who were suspected of being in possession of the drug, at which point Haywood put the alleged joint in his mouth and swallowed it.

Haywood was arrested and has been charged with possession of cannabis and “tampering with physical evidence” — that would be his swallowing of the marijuana he was accused of smoking. The report states the officers tried to open Haywood’s mouth but he kept clenched and swallowed whatever he put into it. WKMG reports the officers noting a “green leafy substance” on Haywood’s teeth when he did open up and smelling cannabis on his clothing.

Still, the station contacted a legal expert to see if camera evidence and other clues found on Haywood’s body should be cause enough for the arrest:

Local 6 legal expert Amir Ladan said the issue with Haywood‘s arrest is that it wasn’t originally based on the evidence but instead on an officer’s opinion of what appeared to be a joint.

“I don’t know that they can watch a video and then rush to a scene and try to make an arrest based of a video,” Ladan told Local 6. “So if they show up and these three guys are hanging out and passing around a handful of peanuts, they’ve got nothing.”

Orlando Man Arrested and Charged With Marijuana Possession After Being First Seen on Police Monitoring Cameras

Joe Haywood has been charged with possession of marijuana based on video evidence and other clues officers found on his body. (Image: WKMG screenshot)

Be sure to check out WKMG’s video report regarding the arrest here. The video report states that some believe it is the “officer’s opinion” that what was seen being smoked on the camera was a joint. Haywood and his attorney are arguing that the camera may not accurately represent what was actually going on.

According to the I.R.I.S. program website, the cameras were installed to allow police officers to “intervene in crimes as, or even before, they happen.” The cameras are monitored 24-hours-a-day by specially trained officers from central command. Here’s more on the program:

I.R.I.S. is a textbook example of the way police departments around the world are embracing technology as a way to enhance safety and increase the quality of life in their respective communities. The use of cameras and camera network technology as part of a larger crime fighting and crime prevention initiative represents a major technological leap forward for Orlando’s law enforcement community.

Watch this 2011 video from the city that announced new cameras being added to the program, which at the time had helped in more than 400 crimes:

Orlando is not alone in using cameras around the city to prevent and/or monitor for criminal activity. Earlier this year, TheBlaze reported cameras in Baltimore, Md., were being upgraded to a higher-quality, high-definition version. Police in the city cited a reduction in crime since its camera monitoring program started.

The Huffington Post also points to police officials in Madison, Wisc., saying they’ve had so much success with their program, which uses 118 cameras, that they would like to install more.

Comments (67)

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  • Metalstr8jckt
    Posted on August 31, 2012 at 11:49am

    If you live in a city….Assume you are being watched at any given time, in a public place. Outdoors in an open area? Occasionally look up. Electric surveillance drones are virtually silent 300 feet above. This is the price we have paid by allowing government to “make us more secure.’” Crime rates are up. Remember it is Obama’s people releasing crime statistics, claiming otherwise.

    Report Post » Metalstr8jckt  
    • ECtech
      Posted on September 2, 2012 at 12:39am

      Judas Priest – Electric Eye lyrics (early ‘80’s):

      Up here in space
      I’m looking down on you.
      My lasers trace
      Everything you do.

      You think you’ve private lives
      Think nothing of the kind.
      There is no true escape
      I’m watching all the time.

      I’m made of metal
      My circuits gleam.
      I am perpetual
      I keep the country clean.

      I’m elected electric spy
      I’m protected electric eye.
      Always in focus
      You can’t feel my stare.
      I zoom into you
      You don‘t know I’m there.

      I take a pride in probing all your secret moves
      My tearless retina takes pictures that can prove…

      Report Post » ECtech  
  • BryanB
    Posted on August 31, 2012 at 11:29am

    You all need to look at this in a different light or in a different way.

    Do you know how much money can be saved by these Cameras ?

    Lets take NYPD for instance. There are over 50,000 Police Officers in New York City. By using these Cameras, they could cut NYPD to 2,500 Police Officers. All the Police Officers would stay in the Police Stations or Precincts, untill the Cameras would show that there is a Crime happening.
    Police would no longer need to patrol the streets because the Cameras are there, and that would save even more Money, with Gasoline.

    We all need to demand from our local governments, if they put these Cameras up, they need to make drastic cuts in the size of the Police Departments……….

    Report Post » BryanB  
    • Metalstr8jckt
      Posted on August 31, 2012 at 11:55am

      Yes power outages in NYC. No cameras. Then what? Ridiculous to say manpower is unnecessary. Just like the clueless Pentagon General 20 years ago saying boots on the ground will no longer be needed. Tell that to recon patrols in Kandahar.

      Use the force Luke; “Your Glock-saber…Feel the force through it.”

      Report Post » Metalstr8jckt  
    • Metalstr8jckt
      Posted on August 31, 2012 at 12:11pm

      NYPD could watch perps in the precinct in Lazy-boys with pizza delivery and Dunkin. Gosh, it must be great to be union. Most coppers are already portly to begin with. Ha-Ha!

      Report Post » Metalstr8jckt  
    • Metalstr8jckt
      Posted on August 31, 2012 at 12:22pm

      NYC population 8.2 million. And cameras will be able to reduce necessary police from 50,000 plus to 2500! All super-cops, able to engage 20 perpetrators at once. Sort of like law enforcements version of the USAF-22 Raptor huh?

      Report Post » Metalstr8jckt  
    • ThemDemsLie2much
      Posted on August 31, 2012 at 12:24pm

      So now you get to sit on your ass and wait for pot smokers. This is one reason you should all arm yourselves. The Cops will have your killer on camera so they can come sooner to clean up the blood. Perfect example of the concept that Cops aren’t here to prevent the crime from happening, They are hear to try and find out who did the crime. Doesn’t do much for the victim. Stay armed my friends! Lots of pot smokers work, raise a family and pay their taxes. yet the boozers kill people with cars, ruin lives and cost tax payers billions for their so called disease. Congrates that you made a 100 dollars and cost an American their job. You can celebrate at your local pub over a few drinks! I wouldn’t have published this story after spending millions to catch a pot smoker. How about internet cameras in our police stations and cars so we can watch their every move? I don’t like this big brother socialistic method of government control. It will eventually come back to haunt us. Should be a cop walking the beat if that street has problems. Still cheaper than maintaining all those cameras plus it creates a job or two. If they are street thugs, your tax dollars will get them off anyway and it will cost them nothing. You and me will pay for joint and everything that stems from it.

      Report Post » ThemDemsLie2much  
    • skippy6
      Posted on August 31, 2012 at 1:56pm

      A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep
      and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

      People Means individuals, if We were not denied the right to carry we wouldn’t need any stinking cameras and they could still cut the police by more than half……

      Report Post » skippy6  
    • NOT A CRAZY
      Posted on August 31, 2012 at 6:37pm

      I am not going to look at this in any other way that what it actually is: 1984. This is a police state with Big Brother (or Sister) analyzing every move we make. What next electronic collars that blow up if we cross into the forbidden zone? This is a big stinking pile of BS. This violates every part of our American culture and heritage. I want more freedom and more liberty. In 11 years we have allowed this government under Bush43, and even worse under B.O., to steal our God-given rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Think about this very situation. These cops are sitting somewhere monitoring people moving about freely on the street and they think they see them smoking weed. They get to the seen and they think this guy ate the weed. This is not someone killing someone on the street. This is not obvious. This crosses the line in my opinion and I am not willing to give up my right to move about freely in America because some probably hypocrite thought they saw someone smoking weed. Unbelievable.

      Report Post » NOT A CRAZY  
    • NOT A CRAZY
      Posted on August 31, 2012 at 10:28pm

      I meant scene not seen.

      Report Post » NOT A CRAZY  
    • BlueStrat
      Posted on September 1, 2012 at 6:40am

      Over in Britain the citizens have been throwing tires over speed cameras and setting them on fire.

      I wonder when people here will start doing something similar in large numbers?

      In the US they wouldn’t even need to go to the trouble and time of burning tires, as I doubt those things would stand up to a 12GA slug or a 7.56 rifle round or ten. I wonder what shining one of those higher-powered ultra-bright “Light-Saber”-looking battery-powered lasers that have appeared in the hobbyist/experimenter market at those cameras would do to the light-sensor elements in the things? I’m talking about one of the experimenter/hobbyist type lasers from places like wickedlasers.com and similar.

      Report Post »  
    • hayesstephen
      Posted on September 1, 2012 at 7:04pm

      Either this was a poorly written bit of sarcasm or you are certifiably nuts. Please go have a nice lie down and when you get up throw you computer out the window. That is a good lad! Now remember do not ever voice your opinion to the public again.

      Report Post »  
  • Despiser25
    Posted on August 31, 2012 at 11:02am

    As this article clearly points out, the Govt IS the problem… Our Govt is in the “crime creation” business so the 70′s welfare queens can have jobs shuffling paper work… Plain and simple…

    Report Post »  
  • KeystoneState
    Posted on August 31, 2012 at 10:30am

    He should have told the cops it was Barry’s “choom”!

    Report Post » KeystoneState  
  • nobummer12
    Posted on August 31, 2012 at 10:25am

    How many people were injured in the incident? Thank goodness for thousands of dollars worth of camera. Now we can all be safe from the killer marijuana!!

    Report Post » nobummer12  
  • ktmrider1
    Posted on August 31, 2012 at 10:22am

    I’ll bet his name was drollbonger

    Report Post » ktmrider1  
  • MacGruber
    Posted on August 31, 2012 at 10:21am

    I agree with the Big Brother comments and such but there is a point that no one has brought up yet…. the Innovative Response to Improve Safety initiative sounds like something that is meant to help improve safety….. how does arresting someone for allegedly smoking a joint help improve safety? Are they concerned he is going to rob a convenience store of all their funions? He is going to order 3 pizzas for himself and not tip the delivery boy? Can someone please tell me how smoking a joint causes a safety issue for anyone but the person smoking the joint? Even then, it is a health issue if anything for that person, not a safety issue….

    Like everyone else said, Big Brother intruding into things they shouldn’t…

    Report Post »  
    • ConservativeHammer
      Posted on August 31, 2012 at 11:03am

      Oh no.. Another one of those evil pot smokers. The world would be so much safer if all of them were gone.. You hear about it everyday you know. People smoking some pot and driving cars at 100 mph into a van full of children and killing them all.. OH wait.. That’s alcohol. My bad.

      Report Post »  
  • Eastinfection
    Posted on August 31, 2012 at 10:20am

    This is the sort of thing that makes me want to buy a bong and stand out-side the police station pulling huge tubes of tobacco smoke.

    Report Post » Eastinfection  
    • NOT A CRAZY
      Posted on August 31, 2012 at 10:31am

      Thanks for reminding me. I forgot about an incident a long time ago when I was detained in handcuffs for hours because I had caffeine pills that the cops thought were speed. After their lab determined it wasn‘t speed they came out and tried to give me a lecture about how caffeine wasn’t good for me before they let me go. Idiots.

      Report Post » NOT A CRAZY  
  • Meyvn
    Posted on August 31, 2012 at 10:11am

    Lame.

    Report Post » Meyvn  
    • zorro
      Posted on August 31, 2012 at 10:19am

      Yup. We can count on the government to take the extra steps neccessary to violate our privacy and keep our cops fat and ineffective. And we wonder why you give them a little lip and they think it’s OK to kick your a$$.

      Report Post »  
  • Detroit paperboy
    Posted on August 31, 2012 at 10:09am

    And meanwhile, the southern border is wide open…………nice.

    Report Post »  
  • Wango
    Posted on August 31, 2012 at 10:07am

    Congratulations, conservatives, your deepest wishes are coming true.

    Report Post » Wango  
    • NOT A CRAZY
      Posted on August 31, 2012 at 10:26am

      Wanker you are truely a useful idiot. Why won’t you admit that it is your Leftist klan that is doing this? Conservatives want less government. That is what we fight for. It is the Leftist who want complete power and control. B.O. has signed one executive order after another giving more and more police powers to the government. Not only has he renewed legislation like the Patriot Act but he has significantly expounded on them, giving the government even more surveillance powers. Get a clue you useless turd.

      Report Post » NOT A CRAZY  
    • 13th Imam
      Posted on August 31, 2012 at 10:33am

      You have alzheimers?? What a pity.

      Report Post » 13th Imam  
    • AnOregonian
      Posted on August 31, 2012 at 10:40am

      Really WANKO…..

      Here’s a heads up, your cover as an agent provacouture for the left has been blown. You may want to consider opening the window in your moms basement once in a while, No doubt your suffering from methane exposure due to leakage from the ever expanding hole in your back side.

      Report Post » AnOregonian  
    • bannedfromCNN
      Posted on August 31, 2012 at 11:01am

      Sounds a lot like Soetoro‘s ’Truth Squad’, to me.

      Report Post » bannedfromCNN  
    • Detroit paperboy
      Posted on August 31, 2012 at 11:05am

      Wango, it’s so sad that you are such an idiot, it’s the liberal left that is growing government by leaps and bounds, it’s the left ruining us with regulation, it’s the left raising our taxes to give the money to Solyndra and GE AND GM And Warren Buffet, it’s the left making sure we will never be energy independent, it‘s the left that has RUINED our schools it’s the left that has caused our industry to head overseas……..it’s the left who says foodstamps and welfare are the key to happiness and prosperity,,,,,Democrats have become the party of GOVERNMENT AND DEPENDENCY, and you sir, are a useful MORON…….now go check your mail, the welfare check ay have arrived…….

      Report Post »  
    • bitemebiden
      Posted on August 31, 2012 at 1:01pm

      Wanger, are you going away?

      Report Post » bitemebiden  
  • FEWL
    Posted on August 31, 2012 at 10:07am

    Legalize! Too much police is not the problem, too many laws is!

    Report Post »  
  • face.chewer
    Posted on August 31, 2012 at 9:59am

    That bust probably cost us taxpayers thousands of dollars. People argue that the polygamists should be left alone, that it’s none of our business, but polygamy is against the law and yet they have their own tv show and are not charged with a crime. Selective enforcement of laws is bad.

    Report Post »  
  • burned at edges
    Posted on August 31, 2012 at 9:54am

    1984
    nuff said

    Report Post »  
  • Tarantulas
    Posted on August 31, 2012 at 9:50am

    What they saw on the video was probable cause for them to detain the individual and investigate further. The tinfoil hat stuff is fun to talk about but it’s not real.

    Report Post » Tarantulas  
  • jcldwl
    Posted on August 31, 2012 at 9:50am

    I see nothing good in this. The criminals will move their activities to other areas then they will want more cameras and more and more until they are in your house. It’s just a matter of time. Look how many people willingly give up their privacy rights to get on an airplane and now they are talking about iris scans for that. Think how many people will jump at that idea. They are pushing all the sheople down the chute and it is slowly getting narrower and they don’t even notice.

    Report Post » jcldwl  
    • JRook
      Posted on August 31, 2012 at 9:59am

      Trust me follow the money on this one. The camera’s are pitched to communities as a revenue generator with an ROI based on writing tickets and collecting fines without having to invest in police or even due process. After all the person having a beer or smoking a joint is clearly the main threat to the safety of the community. No doubt the companies who sell these systems are donating generously to campaigns across the country. Innovation and free enterprise is one thing. Using creative ways to funnel money from average Americans to for profit surveillance so another handful of plugged in individuals gets wealthy is something else. And the use of surveillance cameras to grab money from citizens through fines and “court costs” while lame politicians proclaim how they have reduced taxes is a sad joke. This stuff along with higher car registration fees, school fees, etc. is nothing more than a strategy of pulling more $ from the middle class while the politicians reward their wealthy and large corporate supporters with tax cuts.

      Report Post »  
    • barber2
      Posted on August 31, 2012 at 10:05am

      ROOK: Spoken like a true ” anti-capitalist .” Maybe you should target bed makers….better look under those beds for those corporate bogeymen no doubt hiding there too !

      Report Post »  
    • midwesthippie
      Posted on August 31, 2012 at 10:14am

      …nice summation ROOK…it is all about selling “surveillance” equipment and drones so that law enforcement can run on auto pilot…profits are made…bureaucrats can sit on a$$…and the tax payer is on the hook…

      Report Post » midwesthippie  
  • TreeTrimmerJim
    Posted on August 31, 2012 at 9:49am

    Is this another version of Hitler’s SS, children being taught to report what their parents do and say, neighbors reporting on their neighbors? Is this the end of trusting public officials?

    When public officials do or say something, is it an honest action or a disguise for a hidden agenda?

    Report Post » TreeTrimmerJim  
  • momrules
    Posted on August 31, 2012 at 9:48am

    Big Brother caught some men smoking a joint. Big Brother captured said men smoking that joint with the* new area of community policing * that sends chills down my spine.

    We are already living in a police state.

    Report Post »  
  • CulperGang
    Posted on August 31, 2012 at 9:46am

    NOT acceptable in a FREE society. NO cameras spying on FREE people like voyeurs. NO BIG GOVERNMENT. http://shiftfrequency.com/doug-hagman-more-from-dhs-insider-thanks-a-l/

    This is what they did behind the Iron curtain. People became PARANOID. Like Marine Brandon Raub they snatched people never to be heard from. NOT IN THE USA.
    You Americans who carry out this intrusions on privacy and promote repression for a job ARE also subject to governments tyrany. FOOLS>

    CHOSE WHOM YOU WILL SERVE THIS DAY!!! tyrany is of satan.

    Report Post » CulperGang  
    • CulperGang
      Posted on August 31, 2012 at 10:27am

      BTW Federal Judges just ruled that to“ VOTE” THEY DON’T WANT TO SEE YOUR PICTURE!!! They want to see you everywhere else EXCEPT WHERE IT REALLY COUNTS……….’legitimate right to vote”

      phucking loons running the system, belong in loony asylums. SAY NO ,take your freedom, dignity and sanity back.

      Report Post » CulperGang  
  • copatriots
    Posted on August 31, 2012 at 9:42am

    How does that quote go?

    Those who sacrifice liberty for security deserve neither.

    Report Post »  
    • biohazard23
      Posted on August 31, 2012 at 9:48am

      I‘m soooooo glad I don’t live in Orlando anymore. That place is a mess.

      Report Post » biohazard23  
    • momrules
      Posted on August 31, 2012 at 9:50am

      More of those interesting times Copatriots. I managed to live my whole life without a Big Brother and I do not want the government version.

      Report Post »  
    • copatriots
      Posted on August 31, 2012 at 9:56am

      @ BIO Coming to a city near you……

      @ MOM Indeed!

      Good Morning to you both!

      Report Post »  
    • Kupo
      Posted on August 31, 2012 at 1:58pm

      Yep, yet for some reason Republicans have nominated a Presidential candidate who, loudly and proudly, supports the PATRIOT Act and the NDAA.

      Report Post » Kupo  
  • piper60
    Posted on August 31, 2012 at 9:42am

    Big Brother is here. All the ads for “home security” systems that “allow” you to see what’s going on in your own home without being there. As if that’s a good thing. All that does is lay the wiring for systems the government will want in your home so they can keep track of your movements and EVERYTHING you say.

    Report Post » piper60  
    • copatriots
      Posted on August 31, 2012 at 9:54am

      Exactly PIPER! The profile being collected on each one of us is stunning. It includes things as mundane as your credit card/grocery store purchases. What we watch on TV. The websites we visit. All of that was done to “market” to us for the things we may buy. But, in 10 years (if it takes that long), the government will know more about us than we know about ourselves. Sadly, the 20- and 30- somethings don’t even care if everything about there lives is public.

      This can’t end well………….

      Report Post »  
    • copatriots
      Posted on August 31, 2012 at 9:58am

      Grrrrr…….I hate when frustration creates a spelling error!

      “Their”, not “there. :-)

      Although, there are likely more to come. LOL

      Report Post »  
  • Rothbardian_in_the_Cleve
    Posted on August 31, 2012 at 9:40am

    I’m with all the Orwellian thoughts. Just one note though, why don’t you do that stuff at home? For now, at least, you aren’t monitored by thought police and pre-crime units there. Not the brightest move on his part. Sorta giving the Stasi a layup there.

    Report Post » Rothbardian_in_the_Cleve  
  • Dahart
    Posted on August 31, 2012 at 9:38am

    Can you say “Minority Report”!

    Report Post » Dahart  
  • Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
    Posted on August 31, 2012 at 9:34am

    Big Brother in action; next will come the drone strikes on ‘suspected’ criminals. No trial or courts, just a case of ‘he looks suspicious’ and then BLOOEY.

    Report Post » Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}  
  • Smokey_Bojangles
    Posted on August 31, 2012 at 9:34am

    Big Brother is also a racist.

    Report Post » Smokey_Bojangles  
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