Are You Allowed To Film Police On The Job? (Updated)

Yes, in public. Here’s how to do it legally.

Did you know that you’re allowed to film police officers on the job in a public setting? Yes, you certainly are. And since some police cameras have a funny tendency to “dislodge” or otherwise malfunction during an arrest that results in the death of an unarmed (or legally armed) person of color, you might just do the whole police department a favor by filming their work with your very own camera.

As some folks pointed out upon first reading this essay, the act of documenting and reporting state-sanctioned brutality has led to the persecution and death of people of color throughout the history of these United States. I’m a white woman who walks around with an abundance of privilege, and my words are not meant to insist that you risk life and limb to document police brutality. For me to make such a sweeping generalization would be insensitive and, quite frankly, stupid as hell. It would also be dangerous.

However, I’ve got some information to share, so I’m going to go ahead and share it here. I’m aware that many of you know this stuff and that this is old news. But I didn’t know it was legal for somebody to film officers in public until I was 23 years old, when I worked as an AmeriCorps teacher in a school near the U.S.-Mexico border. I assisted a social studies teacher and community activist who had grown up in the area, and he taught his ninth grade students about their right to videotape (this was back before videophones, believe it or not) law enforcement in a public setting so long as they did not interfere. In fact, he taught them about an activist group along the Border that specifically worked to document instances of abuse in that area.

Now to say the very least, results may vary. In fact, results WILL vary. Protect yourself first where and when you can. But here’s an updated version of what my social studies mentor taught in 2004.

A lot of folks reading this will be people who are naturally inclined to be suspicious of the police. But some folks will find this essay and they’ll be naturally suspicious of anyone who is naturally suspicious of the police. So to those folks I address the next couple of paragraphs.

Let’s be clear in case you have any misconceptions: you do not have to be a cop hater to record officers at work. In fact, you may be someone who loves the police officers in your own family, faith community, or group of friends. You may be someone who respects the role of law enforcement so much that you hold its practitioners to the highest possible standards. You may be a polite person who doesn’t like to make trouble for anyone.

You can be a Republican and film the police in public. You can be a Democrat and film the police in public. You can be an elected official and film the police in public. You can be somebody with a history of past arrests and you can film the police in public. You can be somebody who has never met a police officer in your life and you can film the police in public.

My own granddad worked for the sheriff’s department for many years. I have or have had family and friends in law enforcement, corrections, and more. There are good police officers out there who work their butts off to protect individuals and the community as a whole.

You still get to film them, if you wish.

You still get to bear witness.

One way you can do that is to use the technology on your smartphone.

Here’s a 2015 post from The Atlantic — I strongly encourage you to read the entire article, as it goes into detail about how to respond when an officer challenges your right to document police work in public:

“As a basic principle, we can’t tell you to stop recording,” says Delroy Burton, chairman of D.C.’s metropolitan police union and a 21-year veteran on the 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,” he says. “Record from a distance, stay out of the scene, and the officer doesn’t have the right to come over and take your camera, confiscate it.”

You are legally permitted to photograph or film an officer on duty in public so long as you do not interfere with his or her police work. Please note that different officers will have different definitions of what constitutes “interfere.” Or what constitutes “work.” Or what’s legal. No one can guarantee that you will be treated fairly or safely during this process or that you will not be legally challenged afterwards. Sucks, right? I know. And I don’t blame you if you don’t want to do it. I’m just telling you that you can do it if you so choose, and that at least in theory, you have the right to do so. (And as a young woman pointed out, the police officers don’t have the right to confiscate your footage. Of course, in many cases they do exactly that.)

You can film at a distance using your own camera or camera app. You can also download the Mobile Justice app provided by the ACLU. The benefit is that this app shoots footage and uploads it directly to a bank accessible by your state chapter of the ACLU. It’s not stored on your phone. They provide options for several states and their website states that more options are on the way. As far as I can tell, there’s no single app to cover this because there’s no single federal law to cover this. Yes, many folks cite the First Amendment, but there’s nothing in the Constitution that says, “Yes, you may in fact use your cellular phone with its video camera to document potential cases of police brutality.” We all know that as long as there’s room for conjecture and for argument, some folks are gonna challenge what’s right and just.

Do not yell at the officer; harass the officer; distract the officer; or draw attention to yourself in any way.

And while it’s important to film arrests of people of color (assuming the suspect does not tell you to stop filming — please respect their wishes) it’s also important to show white privilege at work when somebody in the same situation accused of the same crime gets treated very differently.

A special note: trans folks of color are disproportionately affected by violence, including state-sponsored violence.

I cannot tell you if filming an arrest will be a safe choice for you, physically, emotionally, socially, or otherwise. Only you can make that call. My educated guess and gut instinct based on obvious common sense is that a white person filming an arrest will most likely be treated very differently than a person of color filming an arrest. This is perhaps a vital call to action for white allies.

But regardless, you should know that the option is available.

Police officers are tough by nature and tough by training. You don’t need to worry about offending them or hurting their feelings. They’re not babies. A good cop should be proud to do his or her job well.

A bad cop will probably try to confiscate your phone. Or worse. Lately it seems like worse is winning.