First Amendment – videos under fire

The camera phone is great for taking selfies and silliness or for turning any crime-conscious, concerned, or curious citizen into a news capturing machine and giving rise to a new term, “citizen journalist.”

On April 4, 2015 North Charleston Police Officer Michael Slager stopped Walter Scott for a supposed broken brake light. The officer made Scott exit his vehicle and pelt him with questions and threats of arrest. When Scott bolted and ran, Slager shot him multiple times in the back with his service revolver, reporting later that he shot Scott because Scott struggled to take his Taser and he "feared for his life." The incident would have ended there if not for a youth who captured the murder on camera phone.

I believe our police departments are making an effort to be more citizen-conscious. However, there are some police who are going to make mistakes under pressure and a much, and a fewer number who are outright rotten cops. But the camera phone is now pulling the veil off bogus “The suspect was resisting arrest” and “The suspect made an aggressive move toward me,” B.S.

It is legal, with some limitations, in all 50 states of the U.S. to video police activity and a Supreme Court ruling and the First Article of the Constitution fortifies that. Yet, there are still incidents of police baring citizen from videoing and even police threatening photographers with arrest.

Restrictions are increasing in some states. A strict right to privacy bill was passed in 2014 in Illinois preventing video or photograph police activity without prior consent of the person being arrested and the police officer. That bill was revised before it got to the Supreme Court.

There are currently bills in their infancy in some states, including my own of Texas, restricting video of police activity. Supporters of the bill reason for the safety of the camera operator and impeding police duties.

Here is a video of a U.S. Marshal going ape-shit berserk and smashing a woman's phone while she records an incident a few houses away. Fortunately, a neighbor across the street videoed the attack. Unfortunately, the California branch of the U.S. Marshal Department successfully kept the name of the attacker secret and did not report if anything became of their internal investigation.

Click here for much information from the American Civil Liberties Union about photography, covering protests, and what to do if you believe your rights have been violated. While you are there, donate to the work the ACLU does for us. I did, and I received a cool membership card I now carry with me.

If you want to share your thoughts, contact Christopher at amosnews@yahoo.com