New York City police officers who were writing a disabled man a parking citation ordered him to stop recording for officer safety.
Well, they did tell him he could record all he wants as long as he is able to do it with the phone in his pocket.
“In the time it takes the officer to write her ticket, you can’t have your phone out,” one cop says as a female officer is writing the man a ticket.
“You can record all you want, but for our safety, you have to put your phone away.”
The man then tries to hand his phone to bystanders to they can keep recording but the cop was not having it.
“Put your phone in your pocket, we’re not going to tell you again.”
The incident too place Friday in the Jefferson Housing Projects, according to captions on the video, which is in Harlem.
At least three cops were surrounding him and the man’s cane is leaning against his car.
The man in the video was saying that police were accusing him of reckless driving. He wasn’t even arguing the ticket.
But he was trying to record the interaction, which he had every right to do. There is no “safety” issue by recording a cop while they are citing you.
The NYPD has issued several memos to officers reminding them of this fact, including the one posted below from 2014 that says that unless citizens are interfering with officers, they have the right to record.
The video was posted on a YouTube channel that uses the Photography is Not a Crime logo, but has no affiliation with us.
On that same channel is another video of NYPD officers aggressively arresting a 15-year-old girl with an officer forcing her backwards on a railing in what could have easily resulted in a serious injury.
