Cousins v. Orr [1]

Erie, Pennsylvania police officers allegedly threatened Jeremy Orr and/0r his brother with a federal wiretapping charge if he did not remove a video from YouTube.  The video, which was shot in a bar on Orr's cell phone, showed one of the officers, James Cousins, making fun of a recent homicide victim.

In April 2009, Erie Police Chief Steve Franklin  learned of the video. As a result, the department assigned James DeDionisio to determine if Cousins' behavior violated conduct standards. Franklin also asked YouTube to remove the video, because he worried [2] that "[p]eople [would] look at this and say, 'Geez, is that what the Erie cops are like?'" YouTube refused to do so without a request from an original poster.

DeDionisio and Cousins allegedly questioned Orr's brother on April 6 and threatened him with a federal wiretapping violation if he or his brother did not remove the video.  (Orr's brother did not disclose his name to the press out of fear for police reprisals.) DeDionisio and Cousin deny that they issued that threat.

District Attorney Brad Foulk stated [3] that he thought a wire tapping charge under the circumstances "is absolutely preposterous," adding that "I would never consider charging this person with a wiretap violation." The police allegely contacted Foulk's office to request a court order for the removal of the video. Foulk claims [3] that his lead detective told the police "we could not do it and would not do it." 

It appears that to date, no charges have been filed against Orr or his brother.