1st Amendment

Dallas Police Speaks With Forked Tongue When it Comes to the Right to Record

In April 2014, the Dallas Police Department’s top-rank leadership made it clear they support the concept of the right to photograph and record in public.
But the department’s Internal Affairs Division, the Dallas Police Association (DPA), and a small but troublesome and aggressive minority of officers on the street have adopted a completely different and opposing position whereby they do all they can to protect officers who interfere with photographers, no matter how damning the evidence.

Florida Superintendent Unilaterally Suspends Constitution, Declares Jeff Gray Illegal for School Bus Reports (UPDATED)

UPDATE: A St. Johns County school bus caught fire on the road according to local news reports. It was carrying 25 students.
*****************
PINAC Reporter Jeff Gray conducted a weeklong school bus safety investigation in his hometown of St. Augustine, Florida.
His public records research revealed school bus drivers lying about mandatory pre-trip safety inspections, which he recorded them skipping.

Nebraska Cop Arrests Cop Block Activist in Video for Saying “Fuck the Police” on Public Sidewalk

Nebraska police arrested the founder of Omaha Cop Block for doing nothing more than “using four letter words” on a public sidewalk.
The Omaha police officer Lucpdo felt mocked, so he used his badge and gun to get street justice, punishing Floyd Wallace with a trip to jail for contempt of cop.
The YouTube effect doesn’t happen for police quite the same as it does for activists, since the officer’s video hasn’t yet surfaced.

Stupid Shit Cops Say to Keep You From Recording

As I dive deeper and deeper into the legal complexities of the right to photograph and record in public (I can quote Glik v Cuniffe so fast I will make your head spin), I have noticed a disturbing trend:
The reasons and excuses offered by police officers, firefighters, security officers, even teachers and principals, to keep you from taking a photograph are just plain pathetic.

Texas Cops and Paramedics Misapplying HIPAA Laws, Threatening Photographers With Arrest for Photographing Accident Victims

In life, there are questions which – no matter how many times you ask – simply cannot be answered. Who shot JFK?? Did men really walk on the moon?? Is there a God??
But when the question involves your civil liberties and possibly being arrested for taking photographs, there should be a clear-cut answer.
Our question for today is direct: