A Chicago jury quickly acquitted a woman who had secretly taped two police internal affairs investigators were trying to talk her into dropping her sexual harassment complaint against a patrol officer, reports the Chicago Tribune. The woman, Tiawanda Moore, was charged with violating an obscure state eavesdropping law that makes audio recording of police officers without their consent a felony offense.
The case offered a rare glimpse into the behind-the-scenes work of the police’s internal affairs division, which investigates complaints by the public of wrongdoing by rank-and-file officers. It turned out to be an unflattering look. “The two cops came across as intimidating and insensitive,” said juror Ray Adams, 57, a pharmacist. “Everybody thought it was just a waste of time and that (Moore) never should have been charged.” Illinois is one of only a handful of states that make it illegal to record audio of public conversations without the permission of everyone involved. “This law is wrong,” said Joshua Kutnick, a lawyer who represents an artist awaiting trial on similar eavesdropping charges. “It’s antiquated, and it has no place in our society, where everybody has a recording device.”