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Man Threatens To Sue Police Over Deleted Videos

BALTIMORE (AP) -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland is threatening to sue Baltimore police over their actions at last year's Preakness Stakes, where a man says officers took his cell phone and deleted his personal videos after he tried to videotape officers during their encounter with a female friend.

The ACLU says Christopher Sharp was detained after the arrest of his friend. A separate video of the arrest shows officers pinning the bleeding woman to the floor.

Sharp says officers demanded he give up his phone and then deleted all the videos from it, including many of his son.

The ACLU and Sharp's attorneys are asking Baltimore police to stop interfering with citizens' rights to record officers.

A Baltimore police spokesman says the department does not comment on threats of litigation.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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