Why citizens MUST retain the right to film police

In Oakland they are already trying out having their officers wear "body-cams."

Second Amendment advocates should be 100% against this ban because there is a direct line that can be drawn between their opposition to a tyrannical government and the citizens' rights to monitor the executive branch.

Here in Miami Beach, there was an incident a few weeks ago in which 15 police officers opened fire on a man in a car after he stopped and it was caught on video. My friend said that a few days later a police officer random;y stopped him and threatened him saying "Are you sure you want to mess with me after what happened a few days ago?"

Many of these guys are control-freak types who are obsessed with having power over others. They deserve to be filmed. They have us on camera from their squad cars - so why shouldn't we be able to record them as well?

Question: Who polices the police?

Answer: We do.

If a member of the public wants to film a paid-by-the-public police officer in a public place, how could the public citizen *NOT* have that right?

I'm still trying to figure out how there's even a QUESTION about this.

Awesome post

I can understand only one legit reason why a cop wouldn't want to be taped while in the line of duty. There could come a time when his split second decision might mean the difference between life and death and he wouldn't want to be forever judged on it if he makes the wrong decision. I think most cops never have to make this decision and good cops will always try and save the life ...it's only the bad cops who will argue about filming their on duty actions. ...as they tell us....if your not breaking the law...what's the worry!

A neighbor of mine is a police officer who is about to retire. When he walks his dog he will often stop and talk. I asked him this question because a local woman, who was in her night gown was arrested on her front lawn for recording a traffic stop that happend outside her home. He told me that the job of the police is to generate revinue. They don't want to be recorded by video because they have to do everything they can, (legal or not) to make an arrest. By recording their actions the "perp" can go free in which case it will Cost the city money instead of generating money for the city.

This is coming from Fox News!

I find this ironic when government wants to tape us 24/7 they get upset for us turning the tables on these bastards. They don't like it they should get another job

Google: Society of Professional Journalist & apply for journalist credentials.
I did. Pay your fees and become licensed journalists. I have valid journalist passes from and 4 credible media outlets.

Police officials cannot stop journalist from recording or filming. I show them my credentials, tell them I will stay out of their way then I DO MY THING.

Let's go people. There's work to be done out there.

It should be a matter of policy nation wide that police should be filmed at all times to ensure they are keeping the peace and not taking a peace...of other people's pies.

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? Keep filming.

The FOP says we should trust the untrustworthy. Why? Why should we trust them? They have proven themselves to be liars time & time & time again. Tazing old men and women because they didn't move quickly enough for these jackbooted assholes. Busting down their doors in the middle of the night with no knock warrants to the wrong house then shooting them all the same because they think they can.
And they get all shocked and shaken we the people say: Fuck the POlice. Fuck you man, I still waiting for you to do something for me. Bitches.

Where I live the Police Chief is kin to the gang members. I don't trust any of them.

I think that it should be mandatory that all cars have equipment to record the police when pulled over. Also, since the police "protect and serve" and we pay their salaries, we CAN film the assholes any time we want. If they dont like it, let them do something stupid. It ill be on film.

Besides, this sort of screws up thier chances to lie under oath, which they do on a regular basis.

If they can monitor us from street poles and squad cars we can film them. They are public servants!

The fact is that police shootings of unarmed motorists and cyclists is becoming more and more rampant. They used to carry guns to plant on people they shot wrongly to claim it was a valid use of deadly force. Now they just claim that they were being attacked by the citizen using the car as a "deadly weapon" when they shoot someone unjustifiably. It is most likely to happen to minorities now, but nobody is safe when we allow police to use "their safety" as a bogus justification to silence public speech, prevent citizen-reporting, destroy evidence of police misconduct, arrest any who object to police crimes, and even execute the innocent and/or petty criminals in the street with impunity. JUSTICE FOR DANROY HENRY!! JUSTICE FOR OSCAR GRANT!! JUSTICE!!

If the citizen has no right to expect privacy in public, the police have no right to expect privacy in public.

If the citizen is not allowed to film police actions in public, the police are admitting they are breaking laws, violating rights, and suppressing evidence.

I up this motion!