Taping police lands animal rights activist in jail

The first of three parts.

Monday, January 17, 2000

Kane County Chronicle (IL)

By BRENDA SCHORY

GENEVA – Illinois is an "all party" state, and that does not mean everybody is having a good time.

In the absence of a court order or a warrant, the state's eavesdropping laws require all parties to a verbal consent to being tape-recorded, regardless of an expectation or intent of privacy.

Such was the case when animal rights activist Steve Hindi of Geneva tried to get the St. Charles Police to shut down the rodeo at the Kane County Fair last July.

According to various accounts, this is what happened: Hindi and police had words about his allegation of animal cruelty. Hindi took pictures of rodeo animals being zapped with electric prods, showed them to police and asked for the rodeo to be closed.

They talked. At on point, Hindi pulled a tape recorder from his pocket and was arrested for illegal eavesdropping, a class 4 felony punishable by one to three years in prison, or one year mandatory supervised release, and a fine not to exceed $10,000.

His lawyer, Rick Halprin, argued that police officers were public servants with no expectation of privacy in a carnival with 10,000 people. The judge agreed.

But two weeks later, the Kane County State's Attorney's Office successfully argued to reinstate the charges. Hindi's next court date is Thursday, Jan. 27.

Joseph McMahon, Chief of the Criminal Division for the Kane County State's Attorney's office, cited a small section of a much bigger law passed in 1994, an amendment to the Criminal Code of 1961, which defines a conversation.

The law states, "conversation means any oral communication between two or more persons regardless of whether one or more of the parties intended their communication to be of a private nature under circumstances justifying that expectation."

In other words, without a court order, any and all spoken conversations cannot legally be taped without the consent of all parties.

As for the questionable seriousness of Hindi taping police, St. Charles Police Chief Don Shaw said, "We don't decide the penalty. The legislature decides that."

Nevertheless, news that Hindi is being prosecuted hit some people the wrong way.

Consider this letter from Bruce Green of South Elgin, a member of the Fox Valley Libertarian Club. "The county charges that Hindi, in wanton disregard for human life, has jeopardized our property and deepest moral beliefs by tape recording public figures in a public place," Green wrote, tongue-in-cheek.

"Are our children safe from these terrible crimes?" he wrote. "Shall we all cower in fear when monster like this roam the streets with their recorders? Has the county allowed this despoiler of virtue out on bond and loose on our streets? Give me a break! Either drop this senseless travesty of justice or give the police brown shirts and boots."

Green adds in the same sarcastic tone, "The Kane County State's Attorney's Office is using the full power of the state, and my tax money, to persecute a man who was trying to force the police to uphold what he felt was the law. Wow! We don't want people like that running loose on our streets."

Kane County State's Attorney David Ackemann defended the county's pursuit of charges against Hindi.

"As we have often said, we have to enforce the law as it is, not as we wish it would be. One could make a good argument that his should not be in criminal code," Ackemann said. "But that is the legislative venue, through the separation of powers."

Ackemann added, "The grand jury felt it was their duty, upon hearing the facts, to charge the individual."

Hindi said he routinely tapes to document actions against animals.

That way, he said, the exchange is documented, and not "he-said-she-said."

"We want everything to be out in the public," Hindi said. "The only thing it would have done was make it (the exchange with police) accurate. I say, police ought to welcome being taped. There is no room for fudging on either side."

Hindi added that if the tape is played, it will show how the actual exchange differs from police report versions.

In a way, Hindi is fortunate that he taped the St. Charles Police last year. AS of Jan. 1, the legislature further expanded the eavesdropping law to make it a class 1 felony, punishable by four to 15 years in prison, two years mandatory supervised release and up to $10,000 in fines.

The new law forbids eavesdropping on oral or electronic communications "between any law enforcement office, state's attorney, the Attorney General, assistant attorney general, or a judge, while in the performance of his or her official duties, if not authorized" by law or court order.