Should it be illegal for citizens to film the police? If a Texas lawmaker has his way, you could soon find yourself behind bars for documenting police as they arrest, apprehend, or even beat someone into submission.
From the Rodney King beating in Los Angeles, to the Eric Garner strangling in New York, to the recent Walter Scott shooting in South Carolina, each of these horrific moments of police brutality were captured on camera. However, Republican Rep. Jason Villalba wants all that to change.
Villalba is introducing the “no filming” law in Texas, with the hopes it could catch on nationwide. “It came about because my brothers/sisters in blue asked for my help to protect them. I did what I could to help,” Villalba said.
The bill, which was filed last week in the Texas House, wants to make it a class-B misdemeanor to use a mobile phone, professional camera or anything similar to record law enforcement activity from within 25 feet of a police officer. The actual language of the bill says that “filming, recording, photographing or documenting” within 25 feet of a cop that’s “performing a duty or exercising authority imposed or granted by law” would be considered a class-b offense, and any person attempting to film the police while carrying a licensed firearm in accordance with Texas state law would be required to maintain a distance of at least 100 feet or risk facing arrest.
Critics say passage of the bill would prevent greater transparency within law enforcement. They also point out the 2011 decision of Glik v. Cunniffe, in which the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit unanimously ruled that citizens have a right to film police. Still, Rep. Villalba believes the bill will make it safer for police officers to perform their job. However, the question is: safer for whom?
Current Events
Taped recordings of police brutality have frequently provided proof behind events that may have otherwise been falsely reported or even ignored. No one may have ever known Rodney King was brutally beaten by police on the streets of Los Angeles unless someone was there to film it. Eric Garner may have simply been another dead black man on the streets of Staten Island if an average citizen didn’t film him repeatedly pleading “I Can’t Breathe,” as members of the NYPD suffocated him to death. Surely no one believes the cop who murdered Walter Scott in South Carolina last week would be in jail now without the quick thinking of an ordinary citizen with his cell phone cam.
Granted, not all cops are bad cops. However, for those who misuse their authority, the squad car dash cam, the police body cam and the ability for any citizen to record police activity at any time has always been a means to deter brutality. Still, there are those police officers who prefer to “do their duty” in private and without anyone watching. Is invisible policing truly a good idea?
Should police be allowed to do whatever they want without a camera recording their every move? Should recording a cop be outlawed as illegal and punishable for anyone who dares to film a police officer? Or should it remain legal for citizens to “police the police” by utilizing their right to record events of police brutality?
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