said by FFH5:As non-police controlled proof for internal affairs that you may have been harassed by police on a traffic stop. Of course, like I pointed out, there is a risk involved in making a recording if you are observed doing so.
On the one hand, I have never been harassed during a police stop. On the other hand, if the officer is doing his job in a professional manner, a citizen recording the encounter should not be a problem.
"Character" is how you behave when nobody is looking. And from my observation of citizen behavior in downtown San Jose, California, the SJPD has a piss poor pool of citizens with sufficient character to take on the job of being a cop.