In Cleveland it's official: Citizens allowed to video tape cops until their hearts content!

Cleveland Police just got new orders when it comes to people videotaping them in action.

Their orders: Leave you alone!

It seems almost everybody now has a cell phone camera and the city doesn't want the kind of trouble we've seen in other places.

Police in Rochester made national headlines. They had words with a woman recording a traffic stop outside her house, even arrested her.

"Citizens do have a right to videotape the actions of cleveland police," said Safety Director Martin Flask.

The Safety Director says he had the chief come up with a policy hoping to avoid what's happened in places like Rochester.

"Just a reminder to our officers that absent any other criminal activity prohibited by law. Any effort by our officers to confiscate or seize video is inappropriate," said Safety Director Martin Flask.

www.woio.com...

I am so, so sorry to bust up the glamorous doom, but it appears we might have a bit of good news.

In Cleveland, you can video tape the cops. And they've been told to leave you alone if you are taping them. Hurray?

This needs to go global.

Not as in the news, but as in the policy.

Great start.

reply to post by TrueAmerican


no dis-respect to the O.P.

but now instead of just Dumb cops, the cities hire,,

now it will be a contest to hire the ""best looking police force"""???

most photogenic ???

can you imagine?

reply to post by darrman


O noes good looking guys with badges
we will never get laid again.
At least when we get pulled over by a female officer
we will have something to look at this way.

reply to post by Common Good


i feel the same way, but i have never until now heard you could get in trouble for video taping a cop doing his job. :/ it's the most rediculous thing ever.

Well the title bit misleading. It's officially ok in everywhere except in Illinois. That's the only state that is still holding to the mob protection act a.k.a. 2-party consent wiretapping law. Police dont have to come out and say "it's ok to do this" for it to be officially ok. Courts have thrown out all cases of filming police and that is official enough.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/6138d57c7ab1.jpg[/atsimg]

Sweet, i don't even live in Illinois.

I thought it had always been legal to film in public spaces, hence CCTV....travel documentaries etc

I know some police will pull you to one side sometimes and threaten you....ie: You cant film as your interfering with the duty of a police officer....but as long as you are not its well within your rights to film ANYTHING or anyone in public.

en.wikipedia.org...

I thought it was legal too, but i guess it never was. Of course cops always have a way of getting you in trouble due to the fact that they "enforce the law" which in my opinion is rediculous.

Eeh... it is legal. Just because cops say that it isn't and even sometimes go as far as arresting you. This applies in US everywhere except in Illinois and that is being fought at the moment.

Originally posted by thedebater
I thought it was legal too, but i guess it never was. Of course cops always have a way of getting you in trouble due to the fact that they "enforce the law" which in my opinion is rediculous.

haha indeed, a cops job nowadays is to collect revenue through tickets....i think they should just change their name to something more fitting to be honest "revenue thugs" or "Government Mafia" lol

Ive seen loads of videos where the police say its illegal...even here in the UK where most people know you have the right to film them as long as you dont get in the way.

They are an authority figure and as such people give them things they are not entitled too, like you name for example when you have done nothing wrong.

I wonder what they would say if you called them "revenue thugs"? But yes you are correct. Lol.

reply to post by PsykoOps


Sorry, that is completely untrue. Just because Illinois is the only State that has a LAW making filming police illegal, doesn't mean that people aren't constantly being arrested in all states because the cop gave them a "lawful command" to stop filming them. Cops can tell you to do whatever the hell they want to "protect your safety". If you don't comply, it's disorderly conduct and failure to obey a lawful command and they WILL arrest you and confiscate your recording of them.
This change in policy needs to be made into law across the nation or we will continue to see a rise in abuse of power by the police.

Actually you are wrong. If you are not disturbing an officer by filming him, he can not say anything. Now if you were to be on the side of the street a few feet away with your video camera then yes they have the right to say for you to either step back or put your camera away. But the new law says you are allowed to film a cop doing his job for whatever reason you feel is necessary, as long as you are not up the cops ass.

Originally posted by thedebater
Sweet, i don't even live in Illinois.

That's great because Cleveland is in "Ohio"!

Cleveland ROCKS! watch:

I didn't say anything about "Ohio" he said Illinois was undergoing the law that allows you to videotape cops. I was simply saying that's cool, but i don't live in Illinois.