Man charged for YouTube traffic stop video

BALTIMORE, May 9 (UPI) -- A Maryland motorcyclist stopped for speeding is facing criminal charges after posting video of the incident on the Internet, authorities said.

John Graber of Hartford County, Md., was wearing a helmet-mounted video camera March 5 when an officer in an unmarked car pulled him over for alleged speeding and reckless driving, The Baltimore Sun reported Saturday.

When authorities saw the 23-second clip on YouTube 10 days later, they obtained a warrant to search the home of the 24-year-old Graber's parents, seized his video equipment, and charged him with violating Maryland's wiretapping law.

It's illegal in the state to capture audio without the other person's consent, and the trooper who stopped Graber said he was unaware he was being recorded, the Sun said.

Graber's supporters accuse police of trying to punish someone who embarrassed them by publicizing an allegedly overly-aggressive traffic stop.

Police have denied that.

"This is not some capricious retribution," said police spokesman Gregory Shipley, calling Graber the kind of reckless motorcyclist troopers "are peeling … off the backs of tractor-trailers and off the curbs."

The audio recording of the traffic stop, Shipley said, "is a violation of the law. Period. That's what our job is. We're not going to apologize for doing our job."