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Photography is Not A Crime: Audio/Video Recording in AZ of LE

lysander6

Regular Member
Joined
Oct 14, 2009
Messages
74
Location
AZ
It seems imperative to me that in every police encounter the citizens should be able to record the event. We know the cops do for record purposes (unless they turn it off or step outside vehicle camera range).

Reason.com: “Courts are expanding rights but cops are cracking down. Find out how to keep your footage, and yourself, out of trouble. Last week the City of Boston agreed to pay Simon Glik $170,000 in damages and legal fees to settle a civil rights lawsuit stemming from his 2007 felony arrest for videotaping police roughing up a suspect. Prior to the settlement, the First Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously ruled that Glik had a “constitutionally protected right to videotape police carrying out their duties in public.” The Boston Police Department now explicitly instructs its officers not to arrest citizens openly recording them in public. Slowly but surely the courts are recognizing that recording on-duty police is a protected First Amendment activity. But in the meantime, police around the country continue to intimidate and arrest citizens for doing just that. So if you’re an aspiring cop watcher you must be uniquely prepared to deal with hostile cops”

Glik: http://aclum.org/sites/all/files/legal/glik_v_cunniffe/appeals_court_ruling.pdf

Wireless did this story on iPhones and cops in AZ: http://www.techdirt.com/blog/wirele...earch-arrestee-iphones-anti-police-apps.shtml

Flex Your Rights did this interesting timeline on how this is evolving: http://www.tiki-toki.com/timeline/e...oes-The-Fight-for-Our-Right-to-Record-Police/

Yet another reason to always keep your phone "clean" by erasing messages daily and before departing on a road trip.

My question is: is it legal (notice I did not say safe) for me to video/audio record cops in AZ? If anyone out there does this, can you provide some recommendations for equipment to carry on your person and in your car? I am also a consistent OCer in all my travels so that adds another wrinkle to any encounter.
 

lysander6

Regular Member
Joined
Oct 14, 2009
Messages
74
Location
AZ
MIB found the site and I found this:

Arizona
An individual must have the consent of at least one party to a conversation in order to legally intercept a wire or electronic communication, including wireless and cellular calls, in Arizona. Otherwise, this conduct is a felony. Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 13-3005. Utilizing a device to overhear a conversation while not present, without the consent of a party to that conversation, is also a felony.

Under the statute, consent is not required for the taping of a non-electronic communication uttered by a person who does not have a reasonable expectation of privacy for that communication. See definition of “oral communication,” Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 13-3001.

For example, a state appellate court has held that a criminal defendant’s contention that police officers violated this law by recording their interviews with him without his consent was meritless because the defendant had no reasonable expectation of privacy in a police interview room. Arizona v. Hauss, 688 P.2d 1051 (Ariz. Ct. App. 1984).

It is unlawful in Arizona for an individual to photograph or film a person without consent while the person is in a restroom, locker room, bathroom or bedroom or is undressed or involved in sexual activity, unless the surveillance is for security purposes and notice is posted. Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 13-3019.

AZ is a one party notification state.
 

hazek

Regular Member
Joined
Oct 22, 2011
Messages
88
Location
--
I'd be super surprised if they even knew you were filming them with this:

[video=youtube;sSg-8ktRq4U]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSg-8ktRq4U[/video]
 

usmcbess

Regular Member
Joined
Mar 19, 2010
Messages
195
Location
Labadie, Missouri, USA
From Missouri

I record police interaction with the public whenever I can. Whether OC related or not. I have recieved a good amount of criticism from a few people in the Missouri forum.
 

lysander6

Regular Member
Joined
Oct 14, 2009
Messages
74
Location
AZ
Imagine a state where every time a traffic stop is made, citizens stop their cars and start to video-record the stop from different vantage points. I think it would lead to less stops and the "thin black and blue line" would find their revenue streams starting to diminish under the pressure not to mention a reduced number of folks fined, kidnapped, caged, maimed and killed by the rulers' praetorians.

Like the cops are fond of telling the mundanes they stop, they have no worries if there is nothing to hide.
 

AZkopper

Regular Member
Joined
Jun 19, 2008
Messages
675
Location
Prescott, Arizona, USA
As stated above, AZ is a one party notification state. As long as you (or the other guy) knows your're being recorded, your good. It is only illegal to tape a conversation you are not party to, assuming there is a reasonable expectation of privacy (not on a public sidewalk, for example).

I'm videoed with some regularity. It's no real big deal. Smile and wave at the camera, tell them to get my good side. As long as they are not hindering my duties, who cares?
 

Viking

Regular Member
Joined
Apr 25, 2012
Messages
23
Location
Arizona
To AZKopper

Sir, thank you for abiding by our constitution and thank you for your service !!
 
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