Posted on 03/13/2015 4:29:19 PM PDT by Rusty0604
Texas State Representative Jason Villalba (R-Texas) has found himself at the center of controversy after filing a bill that would make it a crime for bloggers and independent journalists — as well as regular citizens — to film police officers. Despite the backlash from free speech advocates, Villalba is insisting that his bill “does not infringe on constitutional rights” or “limit liberty in any way.”
Villalba’s bill would also make it illegal for private citizens to record their own interactions with police officers. In fact, the language is so broad, in prohibiting “documenting” the police officer’s activities, that taking notes during a conversation with an officer, about what was being said, the officer’s badge number, etc., could be construed as a violation.
Villalba himself took to Twitter to defend the bill, with a tweet around 6 p.m. Central Time that insisted that his bill would not stop citizens from holding police accountable or prohibit filming.
Villalba then continued tweeting late through the night, until about 4 a.m., defiantly defending his bill and daring anyone who disagreed with him to “find me an opponent” and vote him out of office.
(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...
How does a camera “escalate things”? Does it play a Jedi mind trick on people somehow, and force them to do womthing they otherwise would not?
something
In my situation it took a bit before I decided I better film this guy this don’t seem right. You never know what might happen. Legally if a cop encounters a mouthy person he cannot arrest over that. The charge must be valid and there must be probable cause.
LEO can arrest an individual for littering or jaywalking but it must be witnessed. After that all bets are off.
A simple video recording will only escalate tensions in a situation, if those depicted in it have broken the law, or have betrayed the faith of those watching.
Film keeps everyone honest.
I know that lawyers do not know the constitution. Law scholls tesch case law notyhe Constitution as drafted.
How do you feel about police having dash cams and body cams? Is it OK for them to record the incident?
Have you thought it through or did you just post your initial thoughts/feelings on the matter?
Hmmm...Apparently you didn’t read my entire comment...
Well sjl is a special kind of stupid that would make Forrest Hump look like Einstein.
On a base level I find the use of cameras disquieting...I don’t know why. Something about it, on both sides of it, just rubs be the wrong way.
I think from the dash-cam perspective it makes the cops actions much more to the letter, where they might be inclined to let something slide with a warning, is now under review and he could be reprimanded for his discretion. In other cases, filming the cop only causes them to escalate because of the camera.
I miss the world we once knew, where there weren’t cameras everywhere, on everything, recording everything and that you could live in a certain anonymity.
I resnt the militarization of the police, they treat every neighborhood as though it were Fallujah and every citizen as a potential AL-Quaida operative. The police used to be “us”. THre is a certain detachment of the police from “protect and serve” the poeple, to “protect and serve” the state. And the cameras everywhere is part of the police state and at some point we need to roll this stuff back and it needs to start somewhere
Government recording citizens is part of the police state. Citizens recording government is a check on the police state.
Nut-job Conspiracy Theory Ping!
To get onto The Nut-job Conspiracy Theory Ping List you must threaten to report me to the Mods if I don't add you to the list...
they film us under the premise that we have no expectation of privacy while in public.
therefore, filming them should be legal under the same logic.
if they don’t want to be recorded in any way... then they should stop recording us
He’s daring constituents to find another candidate, pretty pompous and sure of his RINO self, isn’t he! FIND ONE!!
Yes!!! (I looked it up)
There will be instances where everything is not filmed. That should not have any bearing on whether filming a cop is legal. It needs to stay legal, or that’s yet ANOTHER step toward our freedoms thrown out the window. We don’t need any more of those steps!
I never said officers shouldn’t be filmed. However I have said that it can be misused. It is a double-edged sword.
Too many "citizens" only capture part of a confrontation.
“I think that filming police is a questionable practice, but necessary in some cases.”
Really???????????
So The State can film you any time and any way. The citizen is prohibited from a defense??????
What is wrong with you?
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