Texas Bill Would Make Recording Police Illegal - What are they afraid of?

Texas Bill Would Make Recording Police Illegal


A bill introduced in the Texas House of Representatives would make it illegal for private citizens to record police within 25 feet.

House Bill 2918, introduced by state Rep. Jason Villalba (R-Dallas) on Tuesday, would make the offense a misdemeanor. Citizens who are armed would not be permitted to record police activity within 100 feet of an officer, according to the Houston Chronicle.

Only representatives of radio or TV organizations that hold an FCC license, newspapers and magazines would have the right to record police.

The legislator disagreed with people on Twitter who said he’s seeking to make all filming of cops illegal.

“My bill ... just asks filmers to stand back a little so as not to interfere with law enforcement,” Villalba tweeted.



Yeah you cant have public servants being watched by the public they serve. Stand back a ways....like all the way out of zoom capabilities

Make it 5 feet, and that would be considered reasonable. 25 feet is crazy.


?

What is so unreasonable about 25 feet? That's only around two car lengths away and you can say to the cop you have a legal right to do it, in other states the cop will arrest you on trumped up charges.

it just seems arbitrary. I can see being within 5 feet as an issue, but 25 feet is across the street in some locations.


I get you but I think it is a good idea to have a law to back up the citizens.


Know Your Rights When Taking Photos and Making Video and Audio Recordings :: ACLU of Pennsylvania


  • Police officers may order citizens to cease activities that are truly interfering with legitimate law enforcement operations. In general, a court will trust an officer's judgment about what is "interfering" more than yours. So if an officer orders you to stand back, do so.
  • If the officer says he/she will arrest you if you continue to use your camera, in most circumstances it is better to put the camera away and call the ACLU for help, rather than risking arrest.




You have a right to capture images in public places, but you don't always have a right to record what people say. Pennsylvania's Wiretap Law makes it illegal to record private conversations - which can include conversations in public places - without the consent of all parties to the conversation.

An officer asking you to back up is one thing, however they have zero right to tell you to stop recording, and if they do, knuckling under only encourages them to be asshats about it in the future.

and i doubt the wiretap law applies to recording the action of a government actor in the process of executing their official duties.
 
Texas Bill Would Make Recording Police Illegal


A bill introduced in the Texas House of Representatives would make it illegal for private citizens to record police within 25 feet.

House Bill 2918, introduced by state Rep. Jason Villalba (R-Dallas) on Tuesday, would make the offense a misdemeanor. Citizens who are armed would not be permitted to record police activity within 100 feet of an officer, according to the Houston Chronicle.

Only representatives of radio or TV organizations that hold an FCC license, newspapers and magazines would have the right to record police.

The legislator disagreed with people on Twitter who said he’s seeking to make all filming of cops illegal.

“My bill ... just asks filmers to stand back a little so as not to interfere with law enforcement,” Villalba tweeted.



Yeah you cant have public servants being watched by the public they serve. Stand back a ways....like all the way out of zoom capabilities

Make it 5 feet, and that would be considered reasonable. 25 feet is crazy.


?

What is so unreasonable about 25 feet? That's only around two car lengths away and you can say to the cop you have a legal right to do it, in other states the cop will arrest you on trumped up charges.


Whats reasonable about 25 feet?

What are cops afraid you're going to record?


What kind of camera you have a Kodiak instamtic?


Sheesh.
 
At first I agreed with you.. but then I thought about it. What cops wants to get elbowed by some civilian when he is trying to arrest a criminal?

Elbows arent 25 feet long
while I agree 25 feet is a bit far, you never know what could happen.
What if a cop was wrestling some dumbfuck and some little limp wrist was recording it, got hit in the violence, and sued the fuck out of the city?

There is no excuse you can use to make recording public servants illegal that makes sense.
I could see if they made a requirement to post entire videos so pieces cannot be used to inflame hatred.


Yeah but then when they cut their body cams off....?
Those ones in California that killed that guy and tried to cover it up were caught by a camera that they were not aware of.
 
Texas Bill Would Make Recording Police Illegal


A bill introduced in the Texas House of Representatives would make it illegal for private citizens to record police within 25 feet.

House Bill 2918, introduced by state Rep. Jason Villalba (R-Dallas) on Tuesday, would make the offense a misdemeanor. Citizens who are armed would not be permitted to record police activity within 100 feet of an officer, according to the Houston Chronicle.

Only representatives of radio or TV organizations that hold an FCC license, newspapers and magazines would have the right to record police.

The legislator disagreed with people on Twitter who said he’s seeking to make all filming of cops illegal.

“My bill ... just asks filmers to stand back a little so as not to interfere with law enforcement,” Villalba tweeted.



Yeah you cant have public servants being watched by the public they serve. Stand back a ways....like all the way out of zoom capabilities

Make it 5 feet, and that would be considered reasonable. 25 feet is crazy.


?

What is so unreasonable about 25 feet? That's only around two car lengths away and you can say to the cop you have a legal right to do it, in other states the cop will arrest you on trumped up charges.

it just seems arbitrary. I can see being within 5 feet as an issue, but 25 feet is across the street in some locations.


I get you but I think it is a good idea to have a law to back up the citizens.


Know Your Rights When Taking Photos and Making Video and Audio Recordings :: ACLU of Pennsylvania


  • Police officers may order citizens to cease activities that are truly interfering with legitimate law enforcement operations. In general, a court will trust an officer's judgment about what is "interfering" more than yours. So if an officer orders you to stand back, do so.
  • If the officer says he/she will arrest you if you continue to use your camera, in most circumstances it is better to put the camera away and call the ACLU for help, rather than risking arrest.




You have a right to capture images in public places, but you don't always have a right to record what people say. Pennsylvania's Wiretap Law makes it illegal to record private conversations - which can include conversations in public places - without the consent of all parties to the conversation.

An officer asking you to back up is one thing, however they have zero right to tell you to stop recording, and if they do, knuckling under only encourages them to be asshats about it in the future.

and i doubt the wiretap law applies to recording the action of a government actor in the process of executing their official duties.


I may be old but I still remember what its like dealing with cops, it's better to do as they say then spending a night in jail and to fight it have to pay for a lawyer.
 
It's already against the law to interfere with police duties. I can see making someone who is armed stay back, because it would make it easier for the cop to identify who is the good guy, and who is the bad guy, but a camera is not a gun.
Of course it is unacceptable as well as unlawful to interfere with police. But observing a police-involved activity from a non-intrusive distance is neither socially unacceptable nor illegal -- and there is no good reason to forbid operating a camera while observing from a lawful distance. But while the 25' rule seems reasonable the problem is even if one is recording from 50', or 75', how does one disprove a cop's charge that it was less than 25'?

Unless one is using a camera which is equipped with range-finding capability one could be subject to conviction based on a cop's arbitrary estimate of distance.
 
Make it 5 feet, and that would be considered reasonable. 25 feet is crazy.


?

What is so unreasonable about 25 feet? That's only around two car lengths away and you can say to the cop you have a legal right to do it, in other states the cop will arrest you on trumped up charges.

it just seems arbitrary. I can see being within 5 feet as an issue, but 25 feet is across the street in some locations.


I get you but I think it is a good idea to have a law to back up the citizens.


Know Your Rights When Taking Photos and Making Video and Audio Recordings :: ACLU of Pennsylvania


  • Police officers may order citizens to cease activities that are truly interfering with legitimate law enforcement operations. In general, a court will trust an officer's judgment about what is "interfering" more than yours. So if an officer orders you to stand back, do so.
  • If the officer says he/she will arrest you if you continue to use your camera, in most circumstances it is better to put the camera away and call the ACLU for help, rather than risking arrest.




You have a right to capture images in public places, but you don't always have a right to record what people say. Pennsylvania's Wiretap Law makes it illegal to record private conversations - which can include conversations in public places - without the consent of all parties to the conversation.

An officer asking you to back up is one thing, however they have zero right to tell you to stop recording, and if they do, knuckling under only encourages them to be asshats about it in the future.

and i doubt the wiretap law applies to recording the action of a government actor in the process of executing their official duties.


I may be old but I still remember what its like dealing with cops, it's better to do as they say then spending a night in jail and to fight it have to pay for a lawyer.

That would be viable if they would get fired for doing unconstitutional arrests, but all they usually get is a slap on the wrist, and they go back to their jobs.
 
It should be illegal to have a camera on your cell phone.
 
Texas Bill Would Make Recording Police Illegal


A bill introduced in the Texas House of Representatives would make it illegal for private citizens to record police within 25 feet.

House Bill 2918, introduced by state Rep. Jason Villalba (R-Dallas) on Tuesday, would make the offense a misdemeanor. Citizens who are armed would not be permitted to record police activity within 100 feet of an officer, according to the Houston Chronicle.

Only representatives of radio or TV organizations that hold an FCC license, newspapers and magazines would have the right to record police.

The legislator disagreed with people on Twitter who said he’s seeking to make all filming of cops illegal.

“My bill ... just asks filmers to stand back a little so as not to interfere with law enforcement,” Villalba tweeted.



Yeah you cant have public servants being watched by the public they serve. Stand back a ways....like all the way out of zoom capabilities

There are a lot of worthless fascists in the Texas house. Newsflash.
 
Texas Bill Would Make Recording Police Illegal


A bill introduced in the Texas House of Representatives would make it illegal for private citizens to record police within 25 feet.

House Bill 2918, introduced by state Rep. Jason Villalba (R-Dallas) on Tuesday, would make the offense a misdemeanor. Citizens who are armed would not be permitted to record police activity within 100 feet of an officer, according to the Houston Chronicle.

Only representatives of radio or TV organizations that hold an FCC license, newspapers and magazines would have the right to record police.

The legislator disagreed with people on Twitter who said he’s seeking to make all filming of cops illegal.

“My bill ... just asks filmers to stand back a little so as not to interfere with law enforcement,” Villalba tweeted.



Yeah you cant have public servants being watched by the public they serve. Stand back a ways....like all the way out of zoom capabilities

Wow, that's not about freedom and all of that. It's so regressive it's ridiculous.
 
At first I agreed with you.. but then I thought about it. What cops wants to get elbowed by some civilian when he is trying to arrest a criminal?

Elbows arent 25 feet long
while I agree 25 feet is a bit far, you never know what could happen.
What if a cop was wrestling some dumbfuck and some little limp wrist was recording it, got hit in the violence, and sued the fuck out of the city?

There is no excuse you can use to make recording public servants illegal that makes sense.
I could see if they made a requirement to post entire videos so pieces cannot be used to inflame hatred.


Yeah but then when they cut their body cams off....?
Don't get me wrong a person needs to be able to record government goings on. I have been recordless in too many situations where a recorder was needed and would have never been able to prove that certified court transcripts were totally alter and bogus if it had not been for a recorder.
 
Texas Bill Would Make Recording Police Illegal


A bill introduced in the Texas House of Representatives would make it illegal for private citizens to record police within 25 feet.

House Bill 2918, introduced by state Rep. Jason Villalba (R-Dallas) on Tuesday, would make the offense a misdemeanor. Citizens who are armed would not be permitted to record police activity within 100 feet of an officer, according to the Houston Chronicle.

Only representatives of radio or TV organizations that hold an FCC license, newspapers and magazines would have the right to record police.

The legislator disagreed with people on Twitter who said he’s seeking to make all filming of cops illegal.

“My bill ... just asks filmers to stand back a little so as not to interfere with law enforcement,” Villalba tweeted.



Yeah you cant have public servants being watched by the public they serve. Stand back a ways....like all the way out of zoom capabilities

There are a lot of worthless fascists in the Texas house. Newsflash.
Sounds like Oklahoma has its fair share too!
 
Texas Bill Would Make Recording Police Illegal


A bill introduced in the Texas House of Representatives would make it illegal for private citizens to record police within 25 feet.

House Bill 2918, introduced by state Rep. Jason Villalba (R-Dallas) on Tuesday, would make the offense a misdemeanor. Citizens who are armed would not be permitted to record police activity within 100 feet of an officer, according to the Houston Chronicle.

Only representatives of radio or TV organizations that hold an FCC license, newspapers and magazines would have the right to record police.

The legislator disagreed with people on Twitter who said he’s seeking to make all filming of cops illegal.

“My bill ... just asks filmers to stand back a little so as not to interfere with law enforcement,” Villalba tweeted.



Yeah you cant have public servants being watched by the public they serve. Stand back a ways....like all the way out of zoom capabilities

amazing....

I think it was the last shooting with the healthcare worker lying on his back with his hands in the air that precipitated this...

to be fair... .I haven't read the bill.... the sponsor says that it is a distance issue because getting within 100 feet of the police during their activities.

that said. they don't make anti-choice lynch mobs stay 100 feet away from abortion clinics.

Yeah, some lynch mob.

8b8c932ff7cf9da94587cf97b876012c.jpg




Murders. In the United States, violence directed towards abortion providers has killed at least eleven people, including four doctors, two clinic employees, a security guard, a police officer, two people (unclear of their connection), and a clinic escort; [I 1] [I 2] Seven murders occurred in the 1990s.
Anti-abortion violence - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Anti - Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaabortion_violence

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/11/29/us/30abortion-clinic-violence.html?_r=0

Anti-Abortion Violence: America's Forgotten Terrorism

Since 2000, Violent Attacks on Abortion Clinics Average Less Than Two Per Year, Some Years None

dumbass
 
Texas Bill Would Make Recording Police Illegal


A bill introduced in the Texas House of Representatives would make it illegal for private citizens to record police within 25 feet.

House Bill 2918, introduced by state Rep. Jason Villalba (R-Dallas) on Tuesday, would make the offense a misdemeanor. Citizens who are armed would not be permitted to record police activity within 100 feet of an officer, according to the Houston Chronicle.

Only representatives of radio or TV organizations that hold an FCC license, newspapers and magazines would have the right to record police.

The legislator disagreed with people on Twitter who said he’s seeking to make all filming of cops illegal.

“My bill ... just asks filmers to stand back a little so as not to interfere with law enforcement,” Villalba tweeted.



Yeah you cant have public servants being watched by the public they serve. Stand back a ways....like all the way out of zoom capabilities

Make it 5 feet, and that would be considered reasonable. 25 feet is crazy.


?

What is so unreasonable about 25 feet? That's only around two car lengths away and you can say to the cop you have a legal right to do it, in other states the cop will arrest you on trumped up charges.

it just seems arbitrary. I can see being within 5 feet as an issue, but 25 feet is across the street in some locations.


I get you but I think it is a good idea to have a law to back up the citizens.


Know Your Rights When Taking Photos and Making Video and Audio Recordings :: ACLU of Pennsylvania


  • Police officers may order citizens to cease activities that are truly interfering with legitimate law enforcement operations. In general, a court will trust an officer's judgment about what is "interfering" more than yours. So if an officer orders you to stand back, do so.
  • If the officer says he/she will arrest you if you continue to use your camera, in most circumstances it is better to put the camera away and call the ACLU for help, rather than risking arrest.




You have a right to capture images in public places, but you don't always have a right to record what people say. Pennsylvania's Wiretap Law makes it illegal to record private conversations - which can include conversations in public places - without the consent of all parties to the conversation.

An officer asking you to back up is one thing, however they have zero right to tell you to stop recording, and if they do, knuckling under only encourages them to be asshats about it in the future.

and i doubt the wiretap law applies to recording the action of a government actor in the process of executing their official duties.
Even if those laws did apply, they were invalidated by the Supreme Court. That's what's pissing me off about this is that the Court has ruled on this and that is final. Pushing the envelope is inching us toward civil war.
 
Texas Bill Would Make Recording Police Illegal


A bill introduced in the Texas House of Representatives would make it illegal for private citizens to record police within 25 feet.

House Bill 2918, introduced by state Rep. Jason Villalba (R-Dallas) on Tuesday, would make the offense a misdemeanor. Citizens who are armed would not be permitted to record police activity within 100 feet of an officer, according to the Houston Chronicle.

Only representatives of radio or TV organizations that hold an FCC license, newspapers and magazines would have the right to record police.

The legislator disagreed with people on Twitter who said he’s seeking to make all filming of cops illegal.

“My bill ... just asks filmers to stand back a little so as not to interfere with law enforcement,” Villalba tweeted.



Yeah you cant have public servants being watched by the public they serve. Stand back a ways....like all the way out of zoom capabilities

amazing....

I think it was the last shooting with the healthcare worker lying on his back with his hands in the air that precipitated this...

to be fair... .I haven't read the bill.... the sponsor says that it is a distance issue because getting within 100 feet of the police during their activities.

that said. they don't make anti-choice lynch mobs stay 100 feet away from abortion clinics.

Yeah, some lynch mob.

8b8c932ff7cf9da94587cf97b876012c.jpg




Murders. In the United States, violence directed towards abortion providers has killed at least eleven people, including four doctors, two clinic employees, a security guard, a police officer, two people (unclear of their connection), and a clinic escort; [I 1] [I 2] Seven murders occurred in the 1990s.
Anti-abortion violence - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Anti - Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaabortion_violence

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/11/29/us/30abortion-clinic-violence.html?_r=0

Anti-Abortion Violence: America's Forgotten Terrorism

Since 2000, Violent Attacks on Abortion Clinics Average Less Than Two Per Year, Some Years None

dumbass

So those nuns are murderers?

Typical progressive tactic. Take an actual crime or dangerous situation, and exploit it to remove something entirely different, i.e. the real threat of violent anti-abortion extremists is used to cull the rights of peaceful protesters.
 
An officer asking you to back up is one thing, however they have zero right to tell you to stop recording, and if they do, knuckling under only encourages them to be asshats about it in the future.

and i doubt the wiretap law applies to recording the action of a government actor in the process of executing their official duties.
You're right. The Wiretap Law applies to surreptitious activity and there is nothing surreptitious about conspicuously recording a public event.

The attempt by some California cop to apply the Wiretap Law to his arrest of a citizen who was filming his activity is a textbook example of donut-shop jurisprudence.
 
I don't see a big issue. Even the shittiest cell phone cams made today can clearly pick up video from 25 feet away.

Also The Huffingtonpost's spin on it sucks.

Only representatives of radio or TV organizations that hold an FCC license, newspapers and magazines would have the right to record police.

No. Everybody can still record the police.
 
I can understand the 25' rule, although it is about 5' more than necessary, but the 100' rule if one is armed is baffling to me. It's okay to record from a 25' distance but not if one is carrying a weapon, in which case the rule is 100'. ???

Someone help me out.

Extra guns in the area make it hard for the cops to tell good guys from bad guys.
 
It's already against the law to interfere with police duties. I can see making someone who is armed stay back, because it would make it easier for the cop to identify who is the good guy, and who is the bad guy, but a camera is not a gun.
Of course it is unacceptable as well as unlawful to interfere with police. But observing a police-involved activity from a non-intrusive distance is neither socially unacceptable nor illegal -- and there is no good reason to forbid operating a camera while observing from a lawful distance. But while the 25' rule seems reasonable the problem is even if one is recording from 50', or 75', how does one disprove a cop's charge that it was less than 25'?

Unless one is using a camera which is equipped with range-finding capability one could be subject to conviction based on a cop's arbitrary estimate of distance.


True, but my point was that if a person is too close or far enough away has nothing to do with whether he has a camera in his hand. There are already laws concerning that. Why make another one for cameras?
 
It's already against the law to interfere with police duties. I can see making someone who is armed stay back, because it would make it easier for the cop to identify who is the good guy, and who is the bad guy, but a camera is not a gun.
Of course it is unacceptable as well as unlawful to interfere with police. But observing a police-involved activity from a non-intrusive distance is neither socially unacceptable nor illegal -- and there is no good reason to forbid operating a camera while observing from a lawful distance. But while the 25' rule seems reasonable the problem is even if one is recording from 50', or 75', how does one disprove a cop's charge that it was less than 25'?

Unless one is using a camera which is equipped with range-finding capability one could be subject to conviction based on a cop's arbitrary estimate of distance.


True, but my point was that if a person is too close or far enough away has nothing to do with whether he has a camera in his hand. There are already laws concerning that. Why make another one for cameras?


Cops that don't want to follow the law and make up stuff as they go along
 
Texas Bill Would Make Recording Police Illegal


A bill introduced in the Texas House of Representatives would make it illegal for private citizens to record police within 25 feet.

House Bill 2918, introduced by state Rep. Jason Villalba (R-Dallas) on Tuesday, would make the offense a misdemeanor. Citizens who are armed would not be permitted to record police activity within 100 feet of an officer, according to the Houston Chronicle.

Only representatives of radio or TV organizations that hold an FCC license, newspapers and magazines would have the right to record police.

The legislator disagreed with people on Twitter who said he’s seeking to make all filming of cops illegal.

“My bill ... just asks filmers to stand back a little so as not to interfere with law enforcement,” Villalba tweeted.



Yeah you cant have public servants being watched by the public they serve. Stand back a ways....like all the way out of zoom capabilities

Make it 5 feet, and that would be considered reasonable. 25 feet is crazy.
Split the difference and make it 15 feet. I find the whole thing a bit silly as I don't know of any up to date phone that does not have a zoom option when in video mode.
 

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