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The problem with that is that they get 12 cops to body-block any cameras 8ft away or more... sometimes you have to be close to get a good angle.
by tormock 5y ago
The problem with that is that they get 12 cops to body-block any cameras 8ft away or more... sometimes you have to be close to get a good angle.
- mymythisisthis 5y agoI think you're right. Usually a dozen cops respond to most major calls. Now anybody trying to record, within a block of the action, will be arrested and have their camera seized.
- everfree 5y agoWhile these people may be arrested and their cameras may be seized, they could easily sue for unlawful arrest if they were more than 8 feet away at the time. Exactly the same as if their cameras were seized before the 8-foot law were in effect.
- jyounker 5y agoI forsee many seized cameras being "accidentally damaged" in Arizona's near future.
- everfree 5y agoIf police unlawfully seize and destroy your recorded evidence, then it doesn't matter whether there was a law like this in effect. The officer could make up any story to justify their action under any law. Mandatory body cam laws would be a lot more relevant in that case, not 8-foot citizen recording laws.
- jyounker 5y agoIt gives them legal cover for seizing cameras. Right now there is no legal justification for doing so.
- tormock 5y agoThey can also just block the view so that the camera is useless...
- everfree 5y agoYour comment, like many others in this thread, seems to be of the form "what if the police do this other, unrelated, illegal thing?" The solution is to make sure there are repercussions for cops doing illegal things, not to prevent laws from being passed because cops might try to twist the intention of the law to try to justify illegal acts. Courts have a lot of discretion in deciding cases, and many cases come down to a question of intent. If 12 cops intentionally body-block someone who is recording, that's something that a judge isn't likely to look at too fondly.
- iamevn 5y agoI have seen Seattle police slam a person's head into the ground, surround them, and appear to purposely cut off any viewing angles. As far as I know, no charges were raised and this person ended up in hospital after immediate medical assistance was blocked. This is what happens. It's not hypothetical.
- tormock 5y ago> Your comment, like many others in this thread, seems to be of the form "what if the police do this other, unrelated, illegal thing?" It is not ( yet ) illegal to stand in front of a camera, to block something behind you.
- alphabettsy 5y ago> If 12 cops intentionally body-block someone who is recording, that's something that a judge isn't likely to look at too fondly. That’s all fine and well, but when they can just take your device then you no longer have a video of whatever you were attempting to record. Things used in a “crime” are subject to seizure.
- scarface74 5y agoSo who is going to stop cops from doing illegal things - other cops? The judicial system that is also on the side of the cops?
- everfree 5y agoI can't design a new society in the comments section. The question of how to reform the policing system to make cops more accountable for unlawful actions isn't really in the scope of this article.