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If you see the cops, start recording

If you see the cops, start recording

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You have a right to record the police — and right now, a responsibility

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Police push an elderly man to the ground in Buffalo, NY on June 4th, 2020.
Police push an elderly man to the ground in Buffalo, NY
Mike Desmond / WBFO-FM Buffalo

Police violence against people peacefully assembling in the United States is being documented across the country thanks to the combined efforts of professional journalists and anybody with a smartphone. As protests grow in all 50 states, more and more videos are surfacing of police violently and lawlessly attacking people in public places who are protesting peacefully or not even protesting at all. And while video of police brutality has largely done nothing to stop it — and, in fact, may further traumatize the communities being brutalized by police — the current historical moment demands a complete record.

Justice is not guaranteed by taking video, but we are seeing some results as the volume of police violence increases. On June 4th, two Buffalo, New York police officers were filmed assaulting a 75-year-old man who appeared to simply be speaking to them. The officers pushed the man, who then stumbled backward and fell, hitting his head on the pavement. Blood could be seen spilling from the man’s ear as several officers could be seen walking past his body on the ground.

The video was captured by Mike Desmond of WBFO, Buffalo’s NPR affiliate station. (Warning: the video is graphic.) It quickly spread on Twitter, sparking outrage from onlookers. Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown subsequently announced an investigation into the incident and said that two officers had been suspended without pay.

“I was deeply disturbed by the video,” the mayor said in a statement.

But before action was taken by city leaders, Buffalo police lied about the incident. In an initial statement, the department said that a person was arrested “during a skirmish with other protesters,” and that “during that skirmish involving protesters, one person was injured when he tripped and fell.” The video clearly refutes the statement, showing that there was no skirmish around the elderly man, and that the officers pushed him to the ground for no justifiable reason.

Again: recording the police does not guarantee justice. And the swift action in this case could be explained by the fact that a white, elderly man both posed no conceivable threat to police and presented a more sympathetic case to the public. On the same day of the attack in Buffalo, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo denied that the NYPD was assaulting protesters with batons, calling the question about it from a reporter a “hyperpartisan attack,” and claiming that “[the police] don’t do that.” (The NYPD does do that, and they have been seen doing that across the city in the past week because of people recording the attacks from their cellphones.) But Cuomo swiftly responded to the video of the elderly man’s assault in Buffalo.

Black and brown people who are victims of police violence, even when it is captured on video, are rarely delivered justice. But without the evidence, police have the upper hand. Their lies can go unchallenged.

You have a right to record the police

Everyone in the United States — citizen or resident — has a constitutional right to record police who are performing their public duties. The police don’t have the right to stop you as long as you’re not disrupting their business, and they aren’t allowed to confiscate your phone or camera just because you were recording them. This is the consistent opinion of federal courts and the Supreme Court, which affirmed in 2014 (in a 9-0 decision) that cops need a warrant if they want to seize and search your cellphone.

Of course, the nationwide protests are about the police ignoring civil rights. Indeed, the videos we’ve seen in the past week show widespread police lawlessness, with officers arbitrarily violating the rights of peaceful demonstrators in lawful assemblies. So there’s no guarantee that the police will respect your right to record. This canyon — between the law as it is written and the law as it is realized — is one of the reasons Americans are protesting in all 50 states.

If you are worried about retaliation for posting your video, ask a friend who can do it safely, or contact a journalist who may be able to distribute it while protecting your identity.

Additionally, take precautions:

  • If you know you will be in public for a long period of time, bring a spare charger or get an external battery case for your phone.
  • If you have a spare phone or device, consider using it to record instead of your primary device. This can help ensure that the phone you use as a lifeline is not compromised.
  • Make sure your phone is locked so that it cannot be accessed if it is confiscated.

If you want to learn more, check out this helpful guide from the ACLU on your right to take videos and photographs.

White people have the greatest responsibility to record

Recording the police is an equal right for everyone, but it is not an equal responsibility. Marginalized people are more at risk for recording the police than whites; the man who filmed the killing of Eric Garner, for example, was persecuted by New York City Police who took revenge with targeted harassment and imprisonment.

If you feel safe recording the police, press the button. What you capture could make the difference between a cover-up and the truth.