We have the right to observe & tape the police

The police have the right to record the actions of members of the public. The public should have the right to observe and audio-video record the actions of police acting in the line of duty, as long as the taping does not interfere with that duty.

Ever since the beating of Rodney King, which was captured on tape, it has become clear that affordable technology can enable ordinary citizens to hold police officers accountable.  

Some local police, to this day, insist that it is illegal to tape their activities, despite the fact that local political precedence shows otherwise. Illinois Representative Chapin Rose of Mahomet has introduced legislation (HB 1139) to make clear the public's right to tape police - that legislation sits in committee with little sign of movement.

The Story of the Citizens Watch Documentary

In 2004, two local African-American men initiated a local documentary project to demonstrate the disparate treatment by officers during traffic stops. They wanted to show local black leadership why its young people had become weary and negligent with their schooling. After mentoring black teenagers, they found that the problems for youth were not just relegated to the classroom.  The constant police harassment they faced gave them little hope in their future. 

Patrick Thompson and Martell Miller started their documentary, formed Visionaries Educating Youth and Adults (VEYA), and worked on a local youth mentoring program. Thompson & Miller notified the police and local governments in writing, that they would be exercising what they thought were their first amendment rights to freely videotape, record and broadcast their public servants.

The reactions from uniformed police officers to the presence of a video camera aimed at them were mixed. Some officers supported the public’s right to know about their job duties; other officers were defensive.

A few officers reported the problem to the State’s Attorney’s office and on August 7th, 2004 Champaign police officers seized Martell Miller's video camcorder without a warrant. They were later charged with Eavesdropping - a Class 1 felony carrying a penalty of 4-15 years.

The documentary, which was scheduled to air on Urbana Public TV, was yanked from the schedule and used as evidence to charge the two videographers.

Thus commenced a lengthy public debate and a grassroots movement. The Illinois ACLU got involved with the case, law enforcement agencies disagreed on the charges, and the issue became a centerpiece in a hotly contested State's Attorney race. In the end, the former State's Attorney was unseated by Julia Reitz, who made this a campaign issue. When she entered office, the Eavesdropping charges were dropped, and the Citizens Watch tape was finally aired on television.

Police Harassment Continues to this Day

Courtwatch has been approached with two stories from 2006 where Urbana police officers threatened felony charges to those recording them. In one case, the recording was confiscated and cleared by police. We are currently investigating these claims.

 

Archive of the Citizen Watch Story: