U.S. Marshals and Task Force Officers are prohibited by law from filming inside a private residence, so why was a video recently posted on YouTube showing them arresting an alleged fugitive in Brooklyn? That's what investigators want to know, because—oh, look, is that Representative Peter King, Long Island Republican, Chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, and sworn enemy of political correctness? Why yes it is! And as you can see from this video, he was just thrilled to be riding along with the "fugitive task force" for a video that featured the logo for the TV show "Manhunters" and one of the series' stars:
"There's a fugitive they're after; he's expected to be armed," King explains at the beginning of the video, after mentioning that he just saw marshals "take down" two people in the Bronx. "He's high risk. It's gonna be down on Nostrand Avenue in Brooklyn, just a few blocks from where I went to High School. Anyway, more now from Lenny DePaul and the other guys you may have seen on television in Manhunters."
Talking Points Memo noticed that King's office made a Tweet about the video on Tuesday, then King's office took it down after TPM made inquiries. They later posted a shorter, edited version of the video, but TPM made a copy of the longer one before it was made private. "A joke about how King 'got' a suspect and an officer describing to King how he kicked someone, perhaps the suspect, off a ladder were cut out," TPM reports.
"The policy restrictions which prohibit individuals who are not U.S. Marshals employees or Task Force Officers from filming inside a private residence are intended to be in place during all ride-alongs,” U.S. Marshals spokesman Jeff Carter said in a statement. “We are currently investigating this matter to determine exactly what happened in this instance." Criminal defense attorney Bruce Barket viewed the video, tells TPM it's "almost unheard of" for someone with King's profile to ride along with the fugitive task force: "Somebody accompanying them is rare. Somebody accompanying them with a video camera is very rare."
Barket also asked, "Why was he wearing a police coat and a badge? I’m just searching for a legitimate reason why he’d be wearing a badge and a coat like that. If you did it, you’d be arrested for impersonating a police officer." King's spokesman insists no rules had been broken, and tells the Wall Street Journal, "Congressman King was invited by the US Marshals to accompany them in a series of raids and everything was done in compliance with their procedures."
