Yeah, as I understand it, the law in question in MA is targeted at any interaction, not specifically those that involve police. All else being equal, both parties deserve to know that recording is happening.
"This call may be recorded for quality assurance", right?
If you're trying to capture police misdeeds on camera, then asking for the approval of the police, or announcing loudly to them that they are being recorded seems to miss the point. If anything, the police should have less of an expectation of privacy (in their job) than a normal person. We've armed them and given them the discretion to kill if necessary, why shouldn't we be able to heavily audit them to make sure that they aren't abusing that power?
You surrender a lot of your rights when you join the military, why should the police force be any different? We arm and train them in practically the same manner.
I'm pretty sure the law in question also has clauses about reasonable expectation of privacy. If you're on the phone, that's one thing, if you're in a public place, that's another.
I'm not saying that the police have any more right to demand someone turns their phone off in a public place than anyone else.
But the laws that do exist actually create protection of civilians from police -- otherwise they could surveil you at will. Just a funny point we've reached, is all.
"This call may be recorded for quality assurance", right?