The invention of
smartphones and portable video recording devices have changed our lives. More
than ever, information can now be easily shared online, either recorded on
devices or streamed using devices. This has been proven helpful in recent cases
where police acted overly harsh or when they were unexpectedly brutal. The
question is, is it legal to film the police when they are making an arrest or
performing their duty?
To Film or Not to Film
There have been cases when
police threaten to seize the phones of people filming them such as in the case
of the Toronto police who tasered a man near Ryerson University. In that case,
a letter carrier was walking with his wife and saw the police arresting a man.
He promptly started recording when he saw a police officer kicking the man
while the man was being restrained. The police then told the letter carrier
that they will seize his phone as evidence. Note that the police cannot
lawfully do that as videotaping without interfering is not prohibited by any
law. The person videotaping the incident did nothing wrong.
In fact, videotaping the
police in the performance of their duty can be a huge help in documenting the
circumstances of an arrest or a pursuit. Some police have started wearing body
cameras for their own protection too so that suspects cannot claim events that
did not transpire.
The Real Deal
To be clear, you may
videotape a police interaction provided that you do not interfere with the
police while they are performing their duty. It is best to keep a safe distance
away and to comply with officers’ reasonable requests.
If you got in trouble for
videotaping police officers, then be sure contact a defence
lawyer as soon as possible. Save any recordings and have a criminal defence lawyer like Calvin Barry look into your case to build your best defence. Calvin Barry Law can help, but you need to act fast and act smart too.
