Baltimore police have issued new rules governing how officers deal with a public increasingly armed with cameras and video records, saying that in most instances, cops cannot stop people from filming crime scenes. The general orders, issued in November and made public Friday, come days ahead of a federal court hearing in a civil suit brought by a man who says an officer confiscated his cell phone camera and deleted images of an arrest at the Preakness Stakes in 2010. The rule state, in part: "No member of the Baltimore Police Department may prevent or prohibit any peson's ability to observe, photograph and/or make a video recording ... of police activity that occurs in the public domain."Read the full general order here.
There are several caveats, such as allowing police to seize a camera if evidence of a crime is captured. That could include taping a license plate number on a get-away car from a hit-and-run accident. The issue has come up several times in Maryland. A judge in Harford County threw out charges filed by the Maryland State Police against a man who videotaped his own traffic stop, and posted the video to YouTube.
Good. It's about time. It keeps both cops and citizens more honest. Seen at Insty's.
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