4/6/2023 0 Comments Photo police officerSuch photography is a form of public oversight over the government and is important in a free society. When in public spaces where you are lawfully present you have the right to photograph anything that is in plain view. That includes pictures of federal buildings, transportation facilities, and police. Through litigation, public education, and other forms of advocacy, the ACLU has defended the rights of photographers and all camera-wielding individuals to document freely. No one should ever find an FBI agent on their doorstep just because they photographed public art. Relatedly, artistic expression should never be chilled out of fear of unwarranted police scrutiny. It is no accident that some of the most high-profile cases of police misconduct have involved video and audio records. It creates an independent record of what took place in a particular incident, one that is free from accusations of bias, lying, or faulty memory. ![]() The right of citizens to record the police is a critical check and balance. Other people have ended up in FBI databases for taking innocuous photographs of public places. Those who fail to comply have sometimes been harassed, detained, and arrested. Unfortunately, law enforcement officers have been known to ask people to stop taking photographs of public places. Taking photographs and video of things that are plainly visible in public spaces is a constitutional right-and that includes transportation facilities, the outside of federal buildings, and police and other government officials carrying out their duties.
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