Philadelphia Police Receive Guidelines On Dealing With Citizens Who Record Them

October 10, 2011 @ 2:17PM

Philadelphia Police Receive Guidelines On Dealing With Citizens Who Record Them

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The Philadelphia Police Department, which has long been considered one of the most corrupt in the nation, is the latest police department to issue guidelines to its officers on dealing with citizens who record them in public.

And for those officers who did not get the memo, they are being treated to a refresher course on the First Amendment via dispatchers.

The two-page memo was issued last month, according to the Philadelphia Daily News.

The memo said that officers "should reasonably anticipate and expect to be photographed, videotaped and/or be audibly recorded by members of the general public."Additionally, "officers have no authority to confiscate the recording devices" and should never intentionally damage or destroy them or delete images, the memo said. However, if an officer believes that the device contains evidence of a crime and fears that it may be destroyed, the officer can confiscate it without a warrant.

The Daily News did not provide the actual memo, but it sounds a lot like the one issued by the Miami Beach Police Department two months ago.

Like Miami Beach police, Philadelphia’s memo comes at the heel of a string of controversial incidents where police arrested people who recorded them.

The Rochester and Suffolk County police departments have also issued guidelines stemming from unlawful arrests over the summer.

Even the Cleveland Police Department, which hasn’t experienced any high-profile incidents, issued guidelines over the summer.

Comments

Phred

7 months ago

"If an officer believes that the device contains evidence of a crime and fears that it may be destroyed, the officer can confiscate it without a warrant."

That's a loophole big enough to drive a truck through. I'll bet dollars against doughnuts that many devices will be confiscated because they contain "evidence" of a crime and the recordings will disappear mysteriously before the devices are returned. The only solutions to this issue are easy-to-use and affordable devices that quickly and automatically upload video and still images to the "cloud" or some other place out of the immediate reach of the thugs-with-badges.

Freedom_Fighter

7 months ago

Oh, I thought there was evidence on there that could be destroyed, so I confiscated it. Looked through it and deleted the video of me bashing in the brains of innocent people. I guess I was wrong, there was no evidence. I didn't need a warrant though because I thought there was evidence on there.

I call bullshit on this. The Constitution was made to keep the government in check with laws that say they can't take our stuff without a warrant. It was we the people who decided the government won't have that authority. So why are people accepting the government making the assertion that they can take stuff without a warrant.

Stacky512a

7 months ago

The erosion of our rights continues, and we keep electing the same people over and over.

Elliott

7 months ago

"If an officer believes that the device contains evidence of a crime and fears that it may be destroyed, the officer can confiscate it without a warrant."

Guidelines don't equal law. Just because their guidelines say it, doesn't make it legal..

And you have no legal obligation to provide evidence in any crime, unless the camera has evidence of a crime YOU committed.