One of the new paradigms Americans face in 2008 is the increased likelihood of being videotaped while dealing with any type of authority. It is likely that you are being recorded every time you travel an interstate, when you are pulled over for minor traffic violations, as you enter or leave government buildings and in a host of other situations where government is involved. This reality proves to be a double edged sword from my perspective. Now everybody gets to be on the jury. The police are not exempt from this new reality, nor should they be.
It is my opinion that civil servants should be recorded in the performance of their duties as a matter of course. I’m sure many would disagree. However, there are enough citizens with cameras that police abuse of power will be harder and harder to hide when it happens in public venues.
“If you’re getting in the way, or obstructing what I’m doing, that’s a different story,” said the officer in Downtown Brooklyn. “But if you’re not obstructing what I’m doing, you can put 10 videotapes on me.”
An officer in the Union Square subway station on Tuesday said that once when he intervened in a fight, he found he was being filmed by several people. “I asked people to help, but no one did,” said the officer. “I didn’t expect anyone to help, but at the time I really needed it. It was two against one.”
If you’re videotaping the police stay out of their way. If they try to take your camera, resist and flee. The police have no legal authority to stop you from recording them in the performance of their duties. This is an issue near and dear to my heart because I am a photographer. Since 2001, it has become increasingly risky to take photos of happenings in certain venues, particularly in large cities. Police have a greater tendency to interfere and officiously tell me that “photography isn’t allowed” in a given area. Bullshit.
In a free nation, photography is allowed wherever you happen to be. In a free nation, if the authorities are recording you, then you should also be recording them. There is nothing wrong with keeping each other honest.