RTFA: http://www.wndu.com/home/headlines/10210306.html

The St. Joseph Prosecutor’s Office will present evidence to a Grand Jury forinvestigation regarding all parties involved in the physical incident from the Roseland council meeting on September 14, 2007.

The incident in question was the altercation between David Snyder and Marshal Jack Tiller.
The Grand Jury will convene on December 17th and evidence will be presented starting the next day.
WNDU has been informed that a subpoena will be issued for the footage aired on NewsCenter16 and WNDU.com.

That darn footage keeps coming up… Fortunately, we have a fair use version of the attack linked right here:

RTFA: http://youtube.com/watch?v=UClIdjK6WB4

Graphic violence: video of David Snyder, attacked by a police officer

It has been confirmed by a representative from WNDU-TV that the above video qualifies as “fair use.” This is really great news. The biggest problem with fair use is that it’s not consistently enforced. Even the copyright office bitches out of accountability.

So, since the United States crawls along at the inexorably slow snail’s pace of precedent, I present for your litigious inspection the opinion of Scott Hums, Web Directory at WDNU:

…I have no problem with people uploading parts of the video. Completely ignoring the legal argument, it’s the best for both parties. The information is spread and the topic is discussed without “giving away” the power of the full version of the video. Using 20 or 30 seconds is perfectly fine and I wished everyone did that.

The problem comes from people thinking they have a right to just show the whole or nearly whole video. That’s what we are fighting. There’s no reason anyone has to upload the whole thing when we are offering it for free to anyone who follows a link. All they are doing is encouraging us to never put this material on the internet in the first place, which is something that is obviously not good for everyone involved.

“Fair use” is about having access to material to make further commentary without damaging the marketability of the copyright holder. That’s a concept that most YouTube users fail to understand from my recent experience with this video.

Does that move things forward at all? A little…

RTFA: http://youtube.com/watch?v=108oxzLvl80&mode=relate…

On Sept 14, 2007, David Snyder was beaten by a police officer at a town meeting

This youtube video has a strange story behind it. For some reason, it was taken down along with other videos related to the Roseland, Indiana Police attack against David Snyder. It’s not clear what the problem is with the video - copyright? Does it have something to do with the terms of service?

It could be something completely legitimate motivating YouTube’s actions, but the fact that the video and account simply disappeared is shady.

Meanwhile, the “fair use” version of the Roseland Police attack remains online. Not only that, but WDNU has actually confirmed the fair use claims in the attack video!

So what is going on? Is some griefer other than WNDU-TV picking on these videos? Is it possible that the take-down was not copyright-related?

RTFA: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/7/27/16343/2947

Roseland, Indiana is a small town in north central Indiana that has been usurped by two married town counsel members: Dorothy and David Snyder. Why this hasn’t hit the MSM I’ll never know, but it’s an amazing example of political power gone awry.
The two forced elections for town counsel president in July and ousted the current president in a 2-1 vote and the wife, Dorothy Snyder, took control of the town. Since then, residents have been arrested for protesting at the city hall and have been ticketed for signs that display messages demanding new elections to oust the Snyders. An unequivocal dictatorship has been established in Roseland. More below

The story of small-town Roseland, Indiana is truly remarkable. For years, it appears locals have seethed with anger at the very mention of the name “Snyder.” David Snyder appears to have earned the animosity expressed by the town.

Although we’ve posted excerpts of the September 14th attack to RTFA, the full and uncut video is available here. In it, you can distinctly hear the extent to which the townsfolk dislike the Snyders. Seriously - this video is an amazing window into the town of Roseland.

In the WNDU comment forum, if you can get your opinion past the moderators, you will be among dozens of local Roselanders who are perfectly happy with how things happened. Watching the extended video from WNDU, this is obvious. One woman taunts Mr. Snyder and takes pictures of his broken forehead. Another man asks if Mr. Snyder tripped and fell. The town is happy with its justice, but it seems there are people elsewhere on the planet who are adding their opinions.

All the while, WNDU’s copyright takedown notices have prevented this story from being discussed on YouTube, almost as if the small town wanted to keep its business private — as if the rest of the world should stay out of Roseland. Of course, it was WNDU itself that put several versions of the video online, for global consumption. It’s a compelling story that goes back at least to 2005, when Roseland first started publishing its woes of the Snyders, and their successful conquering of the town council.

For better or worse, this story will unfold in a very public manner, in such a way that its public nature has become part of the story itself.

RTFA: http://youtube.com/watch?v=UClIdjK6WB4

Roseland, Indiana, USA

On September 14, 2007, David Snyder was thrown out of the Roseland, Indiana town hall meeting for speaking while he didn’t hold the floor. As the police escorted David from the meeting, violence erupted. The video evidence speaks for itself.

This video has been online through WNDU-TV for more than a week. However, attempts to comment on the event using YouTube have been thwarted by repeated copyright takedown notices. Finally, fair use versions of the event are beginning to surface through YouTube and otherwise.

The story now has two elements: what will come of the Roseland Police, and will YouTube keep this video online?