Yes You Can Videotape the Police, But Take Precaution
By now many of you have probably seen the video of the Uber driver/lawyer who was pulled over by police and told he could not record the officer. The police officer told the lawyer to turn it off or he'd take him to jail. The police officer also told the lawyer that it was a new law that was recently passed. None of these statements made by the police officer, however, were true. The lesson here is that the police can lie to you at a traffic stop. It is important for you to know your rights and remain calm and respectful to prevent unnecessary charges, an arrest, or something worse. In Florida, you can videotape the police, if they are on duty, in public, and you are not interfering with their ability to do their job. The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that people have a First Amendment right to record police in public unless they infringe on an investigation. There is one gray area, however, and that is with audio. State law require...