In abusing its authority, the Weare Police Department has inadvertently done every Granite Stater a favor.

In July of last year, a Weare officer executed a traffic stop on William Alleman of 140 Helen Dearborn Road, Weare. Alleman had just left a gathering in support of Palmer's Tavern owner George Hodgdon, whom Weare police had charged with hindering their investigation into a fight at Hodgdon's bar. (A judge found Hodgdon not guilty on all counts in March.) Alleman recorded the police stop by calling a voice mail system with his cell phone and letting it run during the encounter.

Seven months after the traffic stop, the Weare PD charged Alleman with wiretapping for recording the stop. He was never charged with any other violation. The police complained that Alleman didn't get the officer's permission before recording the encounter.

Citing an August First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling involving a similar case, Goffstown District Judge Edward Tenney ruled this week that Alleman had a First Amendment right to record a public official engaged in official public duties. And now it's official: citizens don't have to get permission to record the police. All New Hampshire police departments should incorporate this ruling into their training right away. Let's not have any more of this nonsense of charging citizens for trying to hold public servants accountable.