Date: June 30, 2006 6:56:36 PM PDT
Subject: [IPCUSA] Man charged after videotaping police
Man charged after videotaping police
By ANDREW WOLFE, Telegraph Staff
Published: Thursday, Jun. 29, 2006
NASHUA – A city man is charged with violating state wiretap laws by
recording a detective on his home security camera, while the detective
was investigating the man's sons.
Michael Gannon, 49, of 26 Morgan St., was arrested Tuesday night,
after he brought a video to the police station to try to file a
complaint against Detective Andrew Karlis, according to Gannon's wife,
Janet Gannon, and police reports filed in Nashua District Court.
Police instead arrested Gannon, charging him with two felony counts of
violating state eavesdropping and wiretap law by using an electronic
device to record Karlis without the detective's consent.
The Gannons' son, Shawn Gannon, 18, is charged with resisting
detention and disorderly conduct, and his wife also was cited for
disorderly conduct, she said.
Janet Gannon said the family plans to hire a lawyer, and expects to
sue the police department.
The couple's 15-year-old son also was arrested, charged as a juvenile
in an unrelated robbery case, according to police reports and Janet
Gannon.
The Gannons installed a video and audio recording system at their
home, a four-unit building at 22-28 Morgan St., to monitor the front
door and parking areas, family members told police. They installed the
cameras about two years ago, buying the system at Wal-Mart, Janet
Gannon told the police, according to reports filed in court. The
Gannons have owned the property, which is assessed at $382,700, for
the past three years, city records show.
Janet Gannon spoke with The Telegraph by phone Wednesday afternoon,
before going to bail out her husband. She said they installed the
system in response to crime in the neighborhood, and at their house.
"We've had two break-ins. One guy came right up our stairs and started
beating on my husband, and we called the cops," she said. Another
time, after someone broke into a camper on their property, Janet
Gannon said an officer suggested they were "too rich" for the
neighborhood, and should move.
The security cameras record sound and audio directly to a
videocassette recorder inside the house, and the Gannons posted
warnings about the system, Janet Gannon said.
On Tuesday night, Michael Gannon brought a videocassette to the police
department, and asked to speak with someone in "public relations," his
wife said and police reported.
Gannon wanted to lodge a complaint against Karlis, who had come to the
family's house while investigating their sons, Janet Gannon said. She
said Karlis showed up late at night, was rude, and refused to leave
when they asked him.
"He was just very smart-mouthed. He put his foot in the door, and my
husband said, 'Excuse me, I did not invite you in, please leave,' and
he wouldn't," Janet Gannon said. "We did not invite him in, we asked
him to leave, and he wouldn't."
After the police arrested the Gannons' sons, Janet Gannon said, they
"secured" the house, and told her and her sister-in-law they had to
stay out of it from around 8:45 p.m. Tuesday until about 4 a.m.
Wednesday.
Police said they were waiting to get a warrant to search the house,
Janet Gannon said.
"They were waiting for a warrant to seize the cameras and the tapes in
my house . . . because they said having these cameras was against the
law. They're security cameras," she said, adding, "They said they
could do that. They could seize my apartment."
Karlis went to the Gannons' home at about 11:30 p.m. Friday night and
again at about 7 p.m. Tuesday, police reported. Karlis was
investigating the Gannons' 15-year-old son in connection with a June
21 mugging outside Margaritas restaurant, for which two other teens
already have been charged, according to police reports. The boy also
is charged with possessing a handgun stolen three years ago in
Vermont, and resisting detention, police said.
The boy wasn't home when Karlis went there, and the Gannons were
"uncooperative" regarding his whereabouts, police reported.
The Gannons felt police were harassing the family, Janet Gannon said.
"There were six cops in my yard," the first time police came, she
said. "My husband was very upset. How many cops does it take to talk
to a 15-year-old."
Karlis didn't know about the security camera until his second visit,
when Michael Gannon told him to "smile" for the camera, police
reported.
Janet Gannon said her husband explicitly warned officers of the
camera, later adding "smile," as a joke.
"I heard him say it," she said. "He said, 'Gentlemen, there's a camera
right there.'"
According to police, however, Janet Gannon told officers she didn't
remember her husband warning police about the security camera.
Police reported that Gannon "has a history of being verbally abusive"
toward police, and that after his arrest, he remarked that the
officers "were a bunch of corrupt (expletives)."
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~-->
Something is new at Yahoo! Groups. Check out the enhanced email design.
--------------------------------------------------------------------~->
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
