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Robinson Meyer writes in The Atlantic that first of all, police shouldn't ask. "As a basic principle, we can't tell you to stop recording," says Delroy Burton, a 21-year veteran of DC's police force. "If you're standing across the street videotaping, and I'm in a public place, carrying out my public functions, [then] I'm subject to recording, and there's nothing legally the police officer can do to stop you from recording." What you don't have a right to do is interfere with an officer's work. ""Police officers may legitimately order citizens to cease activities that are truly interfering with legitimate law enforcement operations," according to Jay Stanley who wrote the ACLU's "Know Your Rights" guide for photographers, which lays out in plain language the legal protections that are assured people filming in public. Police officers may not confiscate or demand to view your digital photographs or video without a warrant and police may not delete your photographs or video under any circumstances.
What if an officer says you are interfering with legitimate law enforcement operations and you disagree with the officer? "If it were me, and an officer came up and said, 'You need to turn that camera off, sir,' I would strive to calmly and politely yet firmly remind the officer of my rights while continuing to record the interaction, and not turn the camera off," says Stanley. The ACLU guide also supplies the one question those stopped for taking photos or video may ask an officer: "The right question to ask is, 'am I free to go?' If the officer says no, then you are being detained, something that under the law an officer cannot do without reasonable suspicion that you have or are about to commit a crime or are in the process of doing so. Until you ask to leave, your being stopped is considered voluntary under the law and is legal."
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Thexalon on Thursday May 07 2015, @01:24PM
... unless you're a black or Hispanic guy. Then you'll likely be shadowed by cops until you can be arrested on unrelated and possibly trumped-up charges like the guy who filmed Eric Garner's death. Or maybe they'll kill you and claim you were reaching for their gun, then destroy your recording (which was of course destroyed in the scuffle that supposedly happened).
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by TK-421 on Thursday May 07 2015, @01:45PM
...or unless you are a white guy living in a predominately white county (95%) and getting pulled over by an all white police department in a hard core "red" state.
The tactics you describe are not reserved for minorities. My job takes me to the data center at all hours of the night. When I come home at 0300-0500 I never take main roads any more. I am tired of getting pulled over for suspected DUI. It's crap and they know it's crap. I believe I have heard every excuse but then again they do have powerful imaginations. Left of center, weaving, you looked drowsy, you were doing 56 MPH in a 55 MPH zone, it looked like you didn't have your seat belt on, your car is old, etc.
Again I don't think the problem you describe is limited to minorities. Personally I think a personal camera is the best solution.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 07 2015, @02:50PM
I think people driving between 3:00 and 5:00 at night also are a minority.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by The Archon V2.0 on Thursday May 07 2015, @02:59PM
You're out after curfew, citizen. All law-abiding people are asleep right now.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 07 2015, @04:59PM
I live in the rust belt with plenty of shift workers. Cops only pull people over between 2:00am and 2:30am, just after the bars close.
(Score: 5, Informative) by Marand on Thursday May 07 2015, @08:54PM
Yep. Had to deal with that once in western NY because I was out with a relative after 10pm (no joke) and the state police decided that was suspicious. Tried making all sorts of ludicrous claims, starting with lack of seatbelts but getting increasingly desperate. They went for the "weaving" argument, claimed a suspicion of drugs in vehicle, stated there was a search out on a similar-looking vehicle, kept asking for permission to search vehicle, got asked stupid questions about where we were from and where we were going, etc. I wasn't even the driver, but they kept demanding my ID (basically "papers, please") and claiming they saw me trying to put my belt on during the pull-over. (Complete bullshit, we'd been on the road two hours and I had the belt on the entire time)
They got pretty pissed when I refused search without warrant and asked why we were still being detained if the license plate didn't match the vehicle they were supposedly looking for, but didn't do anything other than get a bad attitude.
You don't have to be black to get harassed by cops, you just have to stand out for some reason.
(Score: 4, Funny) by Tork on Thursday May 07 2015, @05:56PM
My job takes me to the data center at all hours of the night. When I come home at 0300-0500 I never take main roads any more. I am tired of getting pulled over for suspected DUI.
Have you ever been pulled over on the way to work? I'm just curious if your boss has ever said: "TK-421, why aren't you at your post?"
🏳️🌈 Proud Ally 🏳️🌈
(Score: 2) by TK-421 on Thursday May 07 2015, @09:04PM
Outstanding, citizen! Even, I, didn't see that coming.
(Score: 2) by iwoloschin on Thursday May 07 2015, @03:15PM
In that case, call 911 and confirm with the dispatcher that the call is being recorded. Ask to remain on the line until you have arrived in a "safe" place, which in this case is probably an area that has enough people to provide witness to any further events. Do everything in your power to ensure that your actions are recorded, either by phone, by camera, or by eye witness (bonus points if they have a camera!). Also, be reasonable, don't just reach into your pocket in front of an officer, tell them what you're about to do, and do everything slowly and calmly. I suppose even more this is an excellent use case for Siri/Google Now, particularly if it's always listening, no need to even physically hold your phone!
"Ok Google, call 911!" and the phone calls 911 on speakerphone?
"Ok Google, record everything!" turns on the camera and starts recording? Even better, lock the phone and start uploading the recording to a "safe" place online.
Remember, the dispatcher is generally your friend. Over the phone they have no way to tell if you're white or black, guy or gal, gay or straight, or any other minority class. Sure, speech patterns and voice pitch may give clues, but not confirmation. And if you tell a dispatcher that you are "afraid for your life" then they will not bullshit around, they're going to ask for your location and dispatch more officers. Granted, more officers might not be good for you specifically, but the more people involved the harder it would be to hide something and keep everyone's stories straight.
(Score: 2) by frojack on Friday May 08 2015, @12:01AM
If you don't have an actual emergency, 911 is not required to keep you on the line.
Maybe you could request an ambulance for the beating you are about to get?
They will just hang up on you. Especially if this were to become a frequently used ploy.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.