(Host) A Brattleboro Police officer repeatedly picked up tapes from a Clark Street man who’s been videotaping his neighbors.
But Brattleboro police chief John Martin told an angry neighborhood gathering last night that Paul Canon acted on his own in making the tapes.
In fact Martin says he asked Canon to stop taping, after Clark Street residents complained that he was violating their privacy.
But Martin says Canon isn’t breaking any laws, as long as he tapes from his own property or a public space.
Members of the neighborhood association say Canon singles out people of color and innocent teens for his surveillance. They’ve accused the Brattleboro police of similar profiling.
Canon says he’s not a racist.
(Canon) “The issue is there’s drug trafficking on Clark Street and it’s constant every night. They get out of the vehicle, go upstairs, come back down and leave. What does that tell you? It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out something is going on.”
(Host) State representative Daryll Pillsbury represents the district.
He says he’s willing to look into legislation that could force Canon’s to stop.
(Pillsbury) “If any of my neighbors were doing this I’d be a little ticked off too. But I’ll tell you this – if any of my neighbors were dealing drugs and I couldn’t get the police to do something about it, I may do something on my own too.”
(Host) Pillsbury was one of several speakers who publicly asked Canon to stop taping.
Canon said afterward he’ll hold off for now during the day. But anything that wakes him up at night will be recorded.