“The new California law clearly states that a person who takes a photograph or makes an audio or video recording of a police officer (or any public officer), while the officer is in a public place, is not violating the law. Even if the officer is not strictly in a public place, the act of recording is still lawful if the person making the recording is in a place where he or she has the right to be.”
Q: Thank you for a previous article you wrote regarding police use of excessive force and the violation of civil rights back in February. I am paying close attention to the news these days and see videotaped encounters of police arresting civilians. Is it legal to videotape police officers while they are doing their jobs in a public place?
A: The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution has always allowed the photographing or filming of police officers in public places as long as this does not interfere with official police duties.
We live in an age when cell phones with cameras are everywhere. Bystanders who witness police officers making an arrest or detaining a suspect may record the incident on their cell phones. And, as in the case of some recent news, the detainees themselves have done the recording. In some of these instances, police officers have been caught on the recording ordering the person to stop the recording. So there is the unanswered question regarding ordinary persons out in public who witness these situations and record them – are these persons violating the law?
California’s lawmakers would like to leave no doubt in people’s minds that photographing or filming of police officers in public places is legal. They enacted the Right to Record Act last year to spell out clearly a person’s rights in the situation.
The new California law clearly states that a person who takes a photograph or makes an audio or video recording of a police officer (or any public officer), while the officer is in a public place, is not violating the law. Even if the officer is not strictly in a public place, the act of recording is still lawful if the person making the recording is in a place where he or she has the right to be.
The new law also clearly states that simply because a person takes a photo, audio or video recording of a police officer, while the officer is in a public place, is not a reason to detain or arrest that person.
For bystanders/civilians to avoid unknowingly breaking the law, the most important thing to remember about the Right to Record (and the First Amendment) is that the person taking the photo, audio, or video is not allowed to obstruct official police activities. This means civilians, while recording, should not interfere with the police while they’re doing their jobs. Note, however, that the new law clarifies that simply taking a photo, audio or video of a police officer in a public place is not an “obstruction” which can be cause for detention or arrest.
A photo, audio, or video is a factual record of an event, which can be used to protect the public from police misconduct, and conversely to protect police officers from being falsely accused of misconduct.
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The Law Offices of C. Joe Sayas, Jr. welcomes inquiries about this topic. All inquiries are confidential and at no-cost. You can contact the office at (818) 291-0088 or visit www.joesayaslaw.com.
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C. Joe Sayas, Jr., Esq. is an experienced trial attorney who has successfully obtained significant recoveries for thousands of employees and consumers. He is named Top Labor & Employment Attorney in California by the Daily Journal, consistently selected as Super Lawyer by the Los Angeles Magazine, and is a member of the Million Dollar-Advocates Forum.