For the past several years, a skeptical public has been recording police officers, Sheriff deputies, state troopers and other types of law enforcement officers while those officers interact with the public in the course of doing their job. Controversial police shooting and police misconduct -- perceived or real -- has made the practice even more important.
There are perhaps hundreds of Youtube videos that depicts law enforcement officers in their everyday activities. Some of those videos definitely show officers doing their job in a professional manner. Some are plain embarrassing for the officers.
Is recording the police legal?
The short answer is yes, in almost all instances as long as you do it without interfering with their job. This is a first amendment issue that the courts have ruled on: the right of the public to discuss government business -- and critic it. Citizens journalists and activists have the same first amendment protection afforded to members of the media. Consequently, there are many audit videos on social media that aim to test authorities as to whether they would respect that first amendment. I have included below a couple of videos from social media.
A common practice is the use of public building by "first amendment auditors." For example, they would enter City Hall or the local Post Office and begin recording visibly annoyed employees. Naturally, the employees feel violated in their expectation of privacy and start engaging the auditors. Somewhere during the back and forth, you could hear a misleading phrase that I hate to hear so much from these auditors, "You work for me, I pay your salary." Contrary to popular believe, a government employee, including a police officer, doesn't work for a particular citizen, but that's another topic. Then the employee ends up calling the police. The auditor gladly wait for an officer to respond. Depending on the level of the officer's knowledge, that officer either finds that no laws were broken or gets educated on the law by the cameramen. Few instances show the auditor being arrested. The videos are fun to watch for me as I have spent a lot of time watching them.
Despite these hundreds of videos out there on the web filming officers and the lessons that can be learned from them, a lot of police officers in the country are still not familiar with the practice of recording public officials. In fact, this is not just about recording the police. Anyone can record the general public as well from a public space. You may record while walking on a sidewalk, for example. This is, however, different on private property where the owner of a business can legally restrict such activity.
Are there any limitations to recording in public?
Probably, yes. The legal website nolo.com says "the exceptions differ depending on where you are." As stated earlier, you cannot interfere with an officer in the performance of their duties. Interfering means things like staying too close to an officer in the area of activity. Some states wiretapping laws might protect authorities but I'm not too familiar with them to talk about them on here.
Generally speaking, as long as you are recording from a distance, you should be good to go.
As far as me, as a new deputy, I welcome being filmed and recorded. The new generation of officers is now equipped with body cameras that we must activate almost anytime we respond to calls. I think it's a useful tool for both sides (the officers and the skeptical public).
Obviously, this blog should definitely not be construed as legal advice. Consult with the laws of your state.
