Jury clears western Pa. officer of recording others

EBENSBURG, Pa. (AP) — A suspended western Pennsylvania police officer has been cleared of charges that she illegally recorded a conversation between two officers using equipment in a patrol car.

The Tribune-Democrat of Johnstown reports that a Cambria County jury returned the not guilty verdict late Tuesday night against 38-year-old Nanty Glo police Officer Jody Nelson.

Nelson had claimed she accidentally activated the recording device while reaching for cigarettes in the vehicle, though prosecutors say she had told a superior she recorded the conversation on purpose in August 2009 because she was upset with one of the officers.

State law makes it illegal to record a conversation without someone’s permission, or to disclose it to others.

Defense attorney Thomas Dickey says Nelson is glad the “nightmare is over.”

It wasn’t immediately clear if the verdict affected Nelson’s employment status.