Artist and writer Rod MacIver is probably wishing his artwork was half as popular as the saga of his traffic stop in Shelburne.

The cruiser-cam video that led MacIver, 56, to challenge the bogus ticket he received last December for running a red light just topped 200,000 hits on YouTube. 

MacIver’s story — first reported by Seven Days‘ Charles Eichacker on July 25 — has spread, too. Earlier this week, CNN’s Jeanne Moos — famous for her quirky, first-person pieces on news oddities — did one on MacIver’s legal showdown with the Shelburne PD.

The story also got some ink, er, pixels, from the Huffington Post. 

On Wednesday, MacIver was interviewed via Skype for Japan’s Fuji TV’s “Tokudane,” a morning news program similar to “The Today Show” or “Good Morning America.” The show, which airs daily across Japan from 8 to 10 a.m., is consistently the highest rated show at that time, with an estimated 8-10 million viewers.

Shelburne Officer Jason Lawton won’t likely be visiting Tokyo anytime soon.  

 

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Staff Writer Ken Picard is a senior staff writer at Seven Days. A Long Island, N.Y., native who moved to Vermont from Missoula, Mont., he was hired in 2002 as Seven Days’ first staff writer, to help create a news department. Ken has since won numerous...

4 replies on “Shelburne Cop-Stop Controversy Goes Global With Coverage by CNN, HuffPo and Japan’s Fuji TV”

  1. What’s up with Shelburne? They can’t just admit the officer made a mistake and that the camera’s also protect the innocent? No, instead they take the guy to court and try to ram this thing through. Very disappointing.

  2. Wait until all the police departments really get the hang of using those number plate readers, then we will all be in trouble. Always thought that when I was in my car no one really knew where I was. Not anymore! Sad day in Vermont.

  3. The guy did not make a “mistake”, he began by instituting a bogus stop in violation of our protected rights, then made up a false allegation of “crossing the white line” and finally lied in court, under oath, about the entire incident in spite of clear evidence demonstrating his dishonesty. Pretty far from a “mistake”

  4. I admit I was being diplomatic, but the town of Shelburne can’t even come that far. I guess they consider it beneath their dignity to talk with the press or show up in court or offer any explanation at all.

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