Filming SWAT

[WWIIIDefender]

There is a lot of videos out there, that depict police harrasing people trying to video tape them. Is it legal to video police on public property?
YouTube - POLICE STATE: NJ SWAT Harasses Man For Filming Them While They Train In Public

 

[level.eleven]

Do those guys really come across "camera guns" and "cell phone" guns like they say in the video? Its interesting that they can jsut change your classification to "suspicious person" and the situation completely changes. Also, the guy in the video was way to willing to talk. As soon as he says, thats my car, the enforcers immediatley find something wrong with it. Instant crime.

 

[jsgolfman]

Sad, just sad.

 

[mrjarrell]

Is it legal to video police on public property?

Yes, it is. The courts have stated so, many, many times. There is no expectation of privacy in a public setting. That guy was fully within his rights to film them and they were wrong. Unfortunately, the likelihood of them ever being disciplined for their harassment of him is nil.

 

[E5RANGER375]

i would have just ignored them and kept filming. wonder if they would harass a news crew? nope because they would know there butts would be in hot water.

 

[steve666]

i would have just ignored them and kept filming. wonder if they would harass a news crew? nope because they would know there butts would be in hot water.

Can you say "Rodney King"???

 

[groovatron]

I was in New Orleans recently and had a chance to film a police encounter outside of my hotel. The whole incident lasted about 10 minutes. I kept my distance but the officers were well aware that I was filming. They did nothing to stop me, but after the incident had concluded, one of the officers felt the need to come up to me while I still had the camera on him and claim that I had "no life" and "nothing better to do." I chuckled a bit and stated that exercising my constiutional rights is the furthest thing from having no life and nothing to do. He never tried to stop me or question me, so at least he must have been aware of my right to record in public. That in itself was good enough for me. I wasn't trying to get involved, I just happened to be in the middle of the action so I figured, hey, might as well get this one on tape.

Got me thinkin'.......hmmmm....a new Cops show from the civilian prospective......could be a million dollar idea.........patent pending

 

[jjlaughner]

I have this printed and carry it in my camera bag...

Bert P. Krages Attorney at Law Photographer's Rights Page

 

[level.eleven]

i would have just ignored them and kept filming. wonder if they would harass a news crew? nope because they would know there butts would be in hot water.

I don't know, you see a story every couple months about local cameramen getting arrested trying to cover an event.

We seem to be at an interesting crossroads. Camera technology has advanced so quickly that hand held video recorders are accesible by pretty much everyone. $100 or less will get you a digital camera. Throw in the fact that every cell phone can record video as well. There are instant streaming services available that will upload your video as you are shooting it. A response to cameras beign stolen by police and deleted, qik.com.

At the same time, we are seeing more and more common sense civil liberties being usurped daily. Citizen activism with cameras is increasing. Every Tea Party was being heavily recorded by participants. Police are going to have a growing number of cameras pointed at them. It would seem that these departments are going to have to introduce some training on what is law regarding filming in public, which is a lot to ask. As many know, Indiana police can't get gun laws straight and its a crap shoot who you get and what they know.

I also think the question of "Who is the press?" is one that needs to be thought about as well. Is a blogger the press?

 

[irishfan]

I was in New Orleans recently and had a chance to film a police encounter outside of my hotel. The whole incident lasted about 10 minutes. I kept my distance but the officers were well aware that I was filming. They did nothing to stop me, but after the incident had concluded, one of the officers felt the need to come up to me while I still had the camera on him and claim that I had "no life" and "nothing better to do." I chuckled a bit and stated that exercising my constiutional rights is the furthest thing from having no life and nothing to do. He never tried to stop me or question me, so at least he must have been aware of my right to record in public. That in itself was good enough for me. I wasn't trying to get involved, I just happened to be in the middle of the action so I figured, hey, might as well get this one on tape.

This stuff has always made me laugh because if they are doing nothing wrong then why worry about the camera? This is the same train of thought that the cops use when people say they tense up around police cars. Good job filming.

 

[femurphy77]

I can see the cops point that filming them during training could be considered suspicious. How many times has a person of suspicion included videotaping a potential target?

Overall I'd say they overreacted and should at least be retrained on the laws that cover this issue so as to avoid a similar situation in the future. As for how would I decide between suspicious videotaping and harmless videotaping I would use profiling for one of the paramters and I know how much everyone on this site is against profiling!

 

[mphurt]

What a joke. These officers need to take a training class in common sense. Right after they finish their traing class on how to deal with the public.

 

[jsgolfman]

What if the individual had merely watched the training without filming? Would he still be harassed?

 

[Joe Williams]

I loved video, especially after Rodney King, when it seemed that every time we busted someone that wasn't white they hollered brutality. I had one yo-yo start yelling that one day. I immediately called my Flt Sgt and reported that my suspect had accused me of a crime. He immediately called OSI to launch an investigation. Of course, the whole thing was on tape, and showed that not only were my actions precisely by the book, I actually hadn't used any force other than voice commands and handcuffs. Our hero and his commander then got to take part in a discussion about why the Air Force shouldn't charge him with making a false report. No such charges were pursued, the initial charge was very minor, and we felt we'd made our point. Word did get around.

 

[groovatron]

This stuff has always made me laugh because if they are doing nothing wrong then why worry about the camera? This is the same train of thought that the cops use when people say they tense up around police cars. Good job filming.

yeah, and I wasn't filming the cops, I was filming the incident. If the person being detained acted out inappropriately, my video may serve as a valuable tool to help the officers. I wasn't trying to "catch" the cops doing something wrong. I am in absolutely no way anti-cop. If anything, I figured it could be an entertaining video to post on youtube. Turns out that it wasn't all that internet worthy, so I moved on. But all too many times have I wished I had a camera rolling. With technology these days, there is no excuse not to hit the record button.

oh yeah, the girl being detained was also pretty upset with me filming. She got flustered when they were searching her purse and yelled at me and flicked me off. I suppose both sides wanted things to be off the record

 

[Kirk Freeman]

Don't we have threads on INGO where police say they don't mind being filmed?

They all mind being filmed that why the Indiana Supreme Court is requiring it under IRE 617 and why so many videos go "missing".

Video is a game changer and thanks to smaller and cheaper cameras the police and prosecutors realize that they are not the only ones with cameras now. And it drives them nuts.

 

[smoking357]

Everything the cops do is a matter of public record.

Yea, filming.

The stories of cops committing crimes against those who observe them is endless.

See this site:

Photography Is Not A Crime