What to Do When Police Tell You to Stop Taking Photos, Video

[Ian David]

What to Do When Police Tell You to Stop Taking Photos, Video
Posted by Al Tompkins at 12:01 AM on Jun. 23, 2010

A recent Gizmodo story, "Are Cameras the New Guns?," created quite a stir in journalism circles recently. Gizmodo found that there appears to be an increase in the number of citizens arrested for filming abuse by police, or just police in action:

"In response to a flood of Facebook and YouTube videos that depict police abuse, a new trend in law enforcement is gaining popularity. In at least three states, it is now illegal to record any on-duty police officer.

"Even if the encounter involves you and may be necessary to your defense, and even if the recording is on a public street where no expectation of privacy exists.

"The legal justification for arresting the 'shooter' rests on existing wiretapping or eavesdropping laws, with statutes against obstructing law enforcement sometimes cited. Illinois, Massachusetts, and Maryland are among the 12 states in which all parties must consent for a recording to be legal unless, as with TV news crews, it is obvious to all that recording is underway. Since the police do not consent, the camera-wielder can be arrested. Most all-party-consent states also include an exception for recording in public places where 'no expectation of privacy exists' (Illinois does not) but in practice this exception is not being recognized."

<snip>

Would your advice be any different for a person who is not working for a news department, but might be acting as a sort of citizen journalist?

More:
http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=2&aid=184955

Hat-tip to: http://twitter.com/PriscilaNeri/status/16879480439

[MarkInSavannah]

1. Great article with good advice

Bottom line is this: The law in many states does not differentiate between established news gathering sources and the 'citizen journalist'. The guidance offered in this piece should apply to both categories of news gatherers. Citizens wishing to video-graph individual police encounters with law breakers or other individuals need to keep constantly aware of their surroundings and not allow their positions to encroach on the safe areas established by the police officers. Where people get in trouble is when they become overly aggressive and feel the need to record the activities from 'close up' angles when today's technology now allows these same close ups to be recorded from standoff distances. Keeping your distance from law enforcement also gives you a better opportunity to record possible misconduct since your position away from the activities may not even be discovered until after the fact.

[Romulox]

2. I question the worth of an article that breezily surveys the law in 50 states...

I encourage everyone to specifically examine the law in their own state if they are interested or concerned; as a general proposition of common law, one may be photographed if one is in public.

[AsahinaKimi]

3. What about the case of

Mehserle, the Bay Area Rapid Transit police officer that was accused of shooting 22-year-old Oscar Grant on an Oakland train platform on January 1, 2009? That was video taped on a cell phone.

If that person who videoed that event had been arrested, and the video blanked, could that officer had gotten off scott free because there was "no evidence"?


I believe, they did use that video in court, as evidence. But.. what if the images had been erased?

[SunnySong]

4. Well I wouldn't expect anything less from those freedom hating Republican Southern fundie states...

Oh wait...

[safeinOhio]

5. This will back-fire on them some day

A citizens' video that would exonerate a cop will be tossed and the cop convicted without it. Can't wait.