Christina Vazquez
local10.com
Pamphlet details public photo rights...
A man has filed a lawsuit after he said Miami Beach police officers arrested him when he refused to turn over his cellphone after taking video of a traffic stop.
Robert Navarrete said he and a friend were hanging out on South Beach when they decided to record video of Miami Beach officers making a traffic stop on a cellphone.
"We saw the cops pull someone over. We starting watching them," Navarette said. “Two of the cops showed up, asked us for our cellphones. I told them no, that I wasn’t going to give it to them.”
He said the officer then arrested them for not giving up their cellphones, and they were charged with disorderly conduct.
He said the officer then arrested them for not giving up their cellphones, and they were charged with disorderly conduct.
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Pamphlet details public photo rights
In their recently filed lawsuit, attorney Greg Samms cites other cases of people accusing police of unlawfully snatching their cameras and footage.
One woman claimed she never even got her camera back.
“What I am trying to show the court is that this is not an isolated incident,” Samms said. “We want the public to know they have a right to film the police and police activities if they are not interfering with those police activities.”
Ivette Diaz, a spokeswoman for the city of Miami Beach, released the following statement:
"We cannot respond to pending litigation regarding incidents that allegedly occurred in 2008. However, on August 1, 2011, the Miami Beach Police Department implemented revised policies relating to 'seizure and search of portable video and photo recording devices.' As is customary, all department staff underwent training on this revised policy."
Baylor Johnson, a spokesman for the American Civil Liberties Union, said the issue Samms is dealing with is happening nationwide.
“There seems to be a growing pattern of law enforcement confiscating people’s cameras,” Johnson said. “The right to take video and photos of things plainly visible is a constitutional right.”
The ACLU of Florida has published a pamphlet letting people know what their rights are when it comes to recording video or taking pictures in public.
The pamphlets are being distributed to regional offices this week and will be handed out at public events.
ACLU spokesman Baylor Johnson said the pamphlet, "Photographers: Know Your Rights," is in response to a growing number of cases in which police officers are unlawfully arresting people for taking pictures of police officers in public or of police officers unlawfully seizing cameras, video or pictures from people taking those images in a public place.
The pamphlet explains that, "Unfortunately, there is a widespread, continuing pattern of law enforcement officers ordering people to stop taking photographs from public places, and harassing, detaining and arresting those who fail to comply, as well as seizing and deleting photographs and videos from individuals' cameras."
Johnson added that there is some unsettled case law when it comes to recording video.
Click here to hear more about the ACLU's special considerations when recording video.
The Miami Beach police chief said the department has created a new policy when it comes to when officers can search or seize footage taken in public. It says that in most cases, officers need the person's consent or a warrant. Click here to read the policy.
