Courts ruling that video recording police in public is legal

It is hard to believe, in this YouTube age, that taking video of people in public could be a crime. But the police are serious about not wanting to be recorded — and they have been making arrests to prove it.

via Adam Cohen: Is Videotaping Police a First Amendment Right? | TIME Ideas | TIME.com.

A U.S. Court of Appeals in Boston, a Court of Appeals in Chicago, and a filing by the U.S. Department of Justice are establishing that the people have a right to record police activity in public.

And I add that in a surveillance society where police agencies are video recording everyone, everywhere, all the time, it is essential that the people have a way to protect their own rights. In my city, a police officer was convicted of civil rights violations in the police department’s murder of an innocent man after suppressed security videos were made public. Ten officers up to the acting police of chief were implicated in a massive cover up and hiding of evidence. The suppressed security videos were critical pieces of evidence.

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