D.C. police told to respect citizen photographers
The Washington Post reports that the District of Columbia police chief has directed officers not to interfere with people who take pictures or video of officers performing their duties in public.
The six-page order resembles one issued by Baltimore police last year, the Post says, quoting it as saying that “a bystander has the right under the First Amendment to observe and record members in the public discharge of their duties.”
In the 2012 State of the First Amendment survey released this month, 85% of respondents said people should be allowed to record or photograph police activities in public as long as they don’t interfere with what the police are doing.
Related:
Public has a right to keep an eye on police
Photography & the First Amendment
Tags: photography, police, police officer
2 Responses to “D.C. police told to respect citizen photographers”
The First Amendment Center is an educational organization and cannot provide legal advice.
Ken Paulson is president and chief executive officer of the First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University and in Washington, D.C. Previously, Paulson served as the editor and senior vice president/news of USA Today.
Gene Policinski, senior vice president and executive director of the First Amendment Center and president and chief operating officer of the Diversity Institute, is a veteran journalist whose career has included work in newspapers, radio, television and online.
John Seigenthaler founded the First Amendment Center in 1991 with the mission of creating national discussion, dialogue and debate about First Amendment rights and values.
Dr. Charles C. Haynes is director of the Religious Freedom Education Project at the Newseum. He writes and speaks extensively on religious liberty and religion in American public life.
David L. Hudson Jr. is an expert in First Amendment issues who writes for firstamendmentcenter.org and for other publications. Hudson teaches law and was a scholar at the First Amendment Center.
Tiffany Villager is director/First Amendment studies at the First Amendment Center, which she joined in 1993. She also served as the center’s research manager and research coordinator, and developed the center’s library.
Why use the term “citizen” photographers? Are you suggesting that people who are paid to be journalists and photojournalists somehow forfeit their citizenship rights? Why not just say that police “told to respect photographers”?
Journalists are citizens, so citizen photographer makes sense. Why analyze every little thing?