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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsIndianapolis Cops Must Allow Themselves To Be Filmed In Public After $200,000 Settlement
By Arturo Garcia
Thursday, February 27, 2014 18:43 EST
Police in Indianapolis will now be required to allow members of the public to film them while they are performing their duties, as part of a settlement in a federal civil rights lawsuit against them, the Indiana Lawyer reported on Thursday.
The settlement also awards $200,000 to Willie King, who accused police of false arrest and malicious prosecution after forcefully arresting him during a February 2011 encounter. At the time, King was filming police with his phone from a neighbors front porch after spotting them handcuffing another man.
An officer then ordered King to hand the phone over. When King refused, the officer tackled him to the ground and confiscated his phone. King was arrested and charged with resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and public intoxication.
Willie King was wronged when the officers stopped his videotaping and took away his cellphone, Kings attorney, Richard Waples, was quoted as saying. We want to make sure that in the future police officers understand that people have the right to video record their actions.
King was subsequently found not guilty in a bench trial, at which point he filed a civil rights case against the police department and the City of Indianapolis, accusing them of violating his First, Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights. His case was scheduled to go to trial on March 10, but charges against him were dropped as part of the settlement.
more...
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/02/27/indianapolis-cops-must-allow-themselves-to-be-filmed-in-public-after-200000-settlement/
pipoman
(16,038 posts)Too bad it didn't go to trial. .settlements don't make case law.
smokey775
(228 posts)Who gets to determine what a safe and reasonable distance is? The cops? The courts?
I see some rogue cops interpreting this as meaning that it's a safe distance as long as the public can't identify who the cop is.
WillyT
(72,631 posts)progressoid
(49,978 posts)NPPA attorney Mickey Osterreicher explains the laws that protect news photographers from police interference. He also offers tips on how to avoid confrontations with police, how to protect yourself legally, and what to do if you get arrested.