Know Your Rights: Taking Video or Photos of Law Enforcement

Iphone taking photo

Taking photographs of things that are plainly visible from public spaces is a constitutional right – and that includes federal buildings, transportation facilities, and police and other government officials carrying out their duties. 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.

Your rights to photograph or take video

  • When you are lawfully present in a public space, the First Amendment generally protects your right to photograph or film anything in plain view, including federal buildings and law enforcement. But you should not interfere with the actions of the government officials you are recording.
  • On private property, the owner may set rules about photography or video recording. If asked to leave by the property owner, you may move to a public space nearby.
  • Law enforcement may not confiscate or demand to view your photographs or video without a warrant, nor may they delete data under any circumstances. However, they may order you to move a reasonable distance away from them to avoid obstructing their work. If you think a command is unlawful, it is safest to follow the order, document the interaction, and challenge it later.
  • You can ask for officers’ names and badge numbers, as well as who to call if there are follow-up questions. If possible, write these down, along with any other relevant observations.

Special considerations when videotaping

  • If you are videotaping, be aware that there is an important legal distinction between a visual photographic record (fully protected) and the audio portion of a videotape, which some states have tried to regulate under state wiretapping laws.
  • Such laws are generally intended to accomplish the important privacy-protecting goal of prohibiting audio "bugging" of private conversations. However, in nearly all cases audio recording the police is legal.
  • In states that allow recording with the consent of just one party to the conversation, you can tape your own interactions with officers without violating wiretap statutes (since you are one of the parties).
  • In situations where you are an observer but not a part of the conversation, or in states where all parties to a conversation must consent to taping, the legality of taping will depend on whether the state's prohibition on taping applies only when there is a reasonable expectation of privacy. But no state court has held that police officers performing their job in public have a reasonable expectation.
  • The ACLU believes that laws that ban the taping of public officials' public statements without their consent violate the First Amendment. 

What to do if you are stopped or detained for taking photographs

  • Always remain calm and never physically resist a police officer.
  • Police cannot detain you without reasonable suspicion that you have or are about to commit a crime or are in the process of doing so.
  • If you are stopped, ask the officer if you are free to leave. If the answer is yes, calmly walk away.
  • If you are detained, ask the officer what crime you are suspected of committing, and remind the officer that taking photographs is your right under the First Amendment and does not constitute reasonable suspicion of criminal activity.

What to do if you believe your rights have been violated

  • When you can, write down everything you remember, including the officers' badge and patrol car numbers and the agency they work for.
  • Get contact information for witnesses.
  • Take photographs of any injuries.
  • Once you have all of this information, you can file a written complaint with the agency's internal affairs division or civilian complaint board.