City Passes Ominous Ordinance that Could Land People in Jail for Filming the Police
Frequent readers of the Free Thought Project know that filming the cops is not a crime. Despite this being a widely known provision — held up with multiple court precedents — cops continue to violate the First Amendment protected right of citizens to film the police. Now, an entire city is going after people who wish to film police and it is nothing short of tyrannical.
A report from Tuscon.com claims a new ordinance was passed to deter “cop-haters” but in reality tramples the First Amendment. According to the new legislation, ORDINANCE NO. _11746:
A. Police officers or Community Service Officers conducting enforcement activity, investigations, and other police-related activities may restrict
2 individuals from physically entering crime scenes or areas immediately surrounding where such enforcement activity, investigations, and other police-related activities are taking place. Police Officers or Community Service Officers may establish the boundaries of a restricted area by using physical barriers, placing visual markers like caution tape, or expressly communicating that an area is temporarily restricted for police activity.
B. If a Police Officer or Community Service Officer has established a restricted area, it shall be unlawful for any person to enter the restricted area without a Police Officer’s or Community Service Officer’s express permission to enter; or to refuse to comply with a Police Officer’s or Community Service Officer’s request or direction to leave the restricted area.
While section A sounds reasonable: not allowing people to film inside crime scenes, that is already the case, which is why crime scene tape exists. However, it is section B that sounds particularly worrisome. A police officer merely needs to “establish a restricted area” in order to claim a person has violated it before charging them with a crime. Violations of this ordinance are considered a Class 2 misdemeanor punishable by a maximum $750 fine and arrest.
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