I got a summons for my scanner

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SKYNET156

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So the other day i was in the confines of the 90th pct of brooklyn north, and i was crossing the street @ broadway and flushing ave, i had my scanner in my hand because i was adjusting my belt, i was stopped and the officer asked me why i had it and i told him that i was monitoring fire calls, so he told me it is illegal in nyc to decode police frequencies, and i received a Desk Apperance Summons to go to downtown brooklyn.
Ever since when is it illegal to decode police frequencies in nyc? and i was also told by the 90 that nypd and fdny, ect frequencies are private?

Whats the deal with this and how much and i going to have to pay for the summons?
and is there any way to beat this summons?
 

garys

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Were you in a vehicle? If not, I don't think the ordinance of NYC applies. Nor does it seem that the NYS law applies, if you were on foot. Nor are you "decoding" since it's not coded or encrypted. I think there are a limited number of encrypted channels for NYPD, but those are the exception.
 

SKYNET156

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I was not in a car and the scanner was not on, i was holding it in my hand with my earphone wrapped around it because i was adjusting my pants, but the cop saw me crossing the street and stopped me walking...and told me to come over and speak to him because it was probable cause of suspicion to stop me, he told me it's illegal to decode the police frequecies, it's illegal to keep the scanner parked on 1 channel and it's a viloation of the homeland security laws in nyc, and i got hit with criminal possession of a weapon summons because i bought a combination lighter/flashlight/switchblade, in chinatown a few months back, i'll take that summons in stride, but as far as the scanner summons, im pissed, because now my scanner is in downtown brooklyn marked as evidence and i'll never see it again...
 

Utah_Viper

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I was not in a car and the scanner was not on, i was holding it in my hand with my earphone wrapped around it because i was adjusting my pants, but the cop saw me crossing the street and stopped me walking...and told me to come over and speak to him because it was probable cause of suspicion to stop me, he told me it's illegal to decode the police frequecies, it's illegal to keep the scanner parked on 1 channel and it's a viloation of the homeland security laws in nyc, and i got hit with criminal possession of a weapon summons because i bought a combination lighter/flashlight/switchblade, in chinatown a few months back, i'll take that summons in stride, but as far as the scanner summons, im pissed, because now my scanner is in downtown brooklyn marked as evidence and i'll never see it again...

He confiscated it?? WTF?? this has to be a April fools joke. i would go NOW and get a lawyer and fight it big time. There was nothing illegal about what you were doing.
 

IceT

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What bunch of bull. WHy would it be illegal to keep it on one channel. For all they know you could be listing to FM radio station or anything else other than fdny. I really don't think homeland security has laws for just one state. Must have a really bored policeman. With all the other going on in NYC you'd think he'd have bettter things to do.
 

w8jjr

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and i got hit with criminal possession of a weapon summons because i bought a combination lighter/flashlight/switchblade, in chinatown a few months back,...

Always two sides to a story. Is it a crime in NYC to commit a criminal act while in possession of a scanner.

You need to check this out. Other wise you should get the scanner back. Question -- based on your other postings was this a scanner or a motorla radio. It could be illegal to commit a criminal act while in possession of a police radio in NYC. They have added a few new homeland security laws in NYC in the last couple of years.


GL
 

rdale

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April Fools... Good job - you got quite a few RR readers!
 

rdale

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Yes.

If he wants to say otherwise, scan the summons and post it...
 

auxscan

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I dont think its a joke, I got stop by cops in the 88 pct a couple months back and wanted to know why I had a radio on me. I said I like to listen to whats going on around before I can explain I work for the city he snatched the radio from and looked over the frequencies and saw he's pct 84/88. He tried to key up but the radio beeps since it programmed to RX only. And then ask me If I had any criminal record. I said no i've never been arrested before as well. He called over another unit. at that point I thought I would be in cuffs on the way to the station house. When the other unit came it was a senoir officer who seemed to have alot of years on the Job. He casually asked me again why do I have a radio with public safety frequencies in it and you dont work for either department. I said I work for the MTA. he looked over and saw some of the MTA uhf frequencies in one bank. He let me go after explaining to him it was NOT illegal to listen to public safety and it was only illegal to have in a car. And I was on the way to the train. I got all 3 of the cops sheild numbers and names without them knowing ofcourse. Then called my uncle who a PD transit sarge. He told me dont openly carry scanners with you espcally if your a person of color. We all hate to admit it but racism still exist today.

Im telling you 95% police officers in NYC think its illegal to monitur police frequencies. Trying to explain to cops that are rude and have no respect for you while they smirk at you while you talk is NOT an easy job for you to do. I feel your pain skynet.
 

auxscan

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Wtf!!!

Why would you think this BS!!!! most of you going against him arent even from New york!!!

@skynet
i would contact the following...

ARRLWeb: ARRL Home Page
www.n2nov.net
NF2G
NYPD - Precincts
New York City Criminal Law Lawyers
311 Online Police Officer Misconduct

And last and not least the mayor if he'll ever respond lol. but its worth a shot.
NYC.gov

I know many people in NYC who are harassed constantly by the NYPD regarding scanners even hams. At least Skynet has something worth fighting over since his scanner was taken away and was issued a summons.
 

captmfa7112

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I hate to chime in on these keyboard lawyer threads but...

It's been said here before, discretion is your best friend. If your out in public don't go flashing the radio/scanner whether it be for a second or parading it around Grand St. Even if it may be "legal" to walk and listen is it really worth the hassle or time of being stopped and questioned by PD.

Finally, there are three sides to every story; yours, his and the truth. Did you get collared for criminal possession of a weapon and given a DAT or just a C summons on the street?
 

auxscan

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I didn't wave it around in plain view, had on my belt under my coat where the cop saw the bottom of the radio. and asked why I had one as explained in post #16.
 

bezking

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Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_1_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7E18 Safari/528.16)

Guys, honestly...

If you were a cop in the number one terrorist target in the world and you saw some guy walking down the street with a device that could intercept (and maybe look like it can disrupt) Police radio, what would YOU have done?

With that said there is no excuse for officers being ignorant of the law. If you are a ham, keep a copy of your ticket with you... That way if you are confronted you can at least try to show the cop that you are legit...
 
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