In the light of the heated discussions about a certain bill signed in Indiana, here is a more refreshing news about a proposed bill in Colorado. The state of Colorado is considering a bill that outlines punishments for police officers who interfere with photographers. House Bill 15-1290 is titled "Concerning Prohibiting A Peace Officer From Interfering With A Person Lawfully Recording A Peace Officer-Involved Incident".
The bill states that if a person is lawfully documenting a police officer and then has their imagery seized or destroyed without a warrant, they are entitled to $15,000 for actual damages plus attorney fees and costs. The bill also would be applied when a police officer intentionally interferes with a person's ability to capture images.
It seems the bill came up as a result of the number of news reports about police officers telling people "Give me your camera", or taking the data away.
The story is covered further in The Denver channel and PetaPixel.
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Tuesday April 07 2015, @07:07PM
Any cop who intentionally seizes/destroys my personal property in order to cover up their misdeeds, should indeed face personal liability.
Well now you are talking about intent, conspiracy and the ciminal justice system. Those are very different things with different punishments and evidenciary requirements.
The bill in question does not require a finding of intent, is a civil infraction and has a much lower standard of evidence. The intent part is important because you don't have to prove anything about the Officer's motives.
They newbie cop who is simply mistaken due to too much CSI will also be sanctioned for confiscating your phone.
(Score: 3, Touché) by chromas on Tuesday April 07 2015, @09:48PM
Nothin' wrong with that. He should be familiar with laws before he goes around enforcing them.