Is it just me or does 8-10 feet seem like an optimal distance to film from anyway? Who’s shooting productive videos from two feet away?
Even the George Floyd videos were at least ten feet away and they seemed more than adequate.
Even the George Floyd videos were at least ten feet away and they seemed more than adequate.
"Productive" is not the relevant metric; "expedient" is. If I'm in a crowded subway car, I may not be able to move 10 feet away from the police officer who's harassing my fellow straphanger. Worse, if I were to move away, the commotion of the crowded car would likely drown out my cellphone's microphone.
Another example: during a protest, the police might decide to kettle[1] a group of protestors to control them. As a bystander, I can be caught in the kettle. I'm not the target of the police action, and yet this law suggests that my recording might be criminal.
Definitely not true here in King County Washington, but Arizona is probably very different.
and the vague "enforcing the law". The fear is that the bad actors will always claim they were enforcing the law.
====================== For the purposes of this section, "law enforcement activity" means any of the following:
1. Questioning a suspicious person.
2. Conducting an arrest, issuing a summons or enforcing the law.
3. Handling an emotionally disturbed or disorderly person who is exhibiting abnormal behavior.
EDIT: It sounds like recording any interaction you have with a police officer is now illegal, if they're within 8ft of you.
> > B. notwithstanding subsection A of this section, a person who is the subject of police contact may record the encounter if the person is not interfering with lawful police actions, including searching, handcuffing or administering a field sobriety test. The occupants of a vehicle that is the subject of a police stop may record the encounter if the occupants are not interfering with lawful police actions.
Just as a note, most people record with their phones out and pointed at the subject they're recording. From watching many of these videos, police routinely ask people recording to put their phones away, even though they aren't interfering. It seems likely that police will use the excuse that the mere act of recording in this way is interfering and can be used to stop recording or to arrest the person recording.
This is addressed:
> B. notwithstanding subsection A of this section, a person who is the subject of police contact may record the encounter if the person is not interfering with lawful police actions, including searching, handcuffing or administering a field sobriety test. The occupants of a vehicle that is the subject of a police stop may record the encounter if the occupants are not interfering with lawful police actions.