The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals Rules the Public has a First Amendment Right to Film Police

From [HERE] The federal appeals court covering Colorado and five neighboring states on Monday for the first time affirmed that the public’s right to film police is protected under the First Amendment — a landmark ruling celebrated by press freedom organizations.

“Based on First Amendment principles and relevant precedents, we conclude there is a First Amendment right to film the police performing their duties in public,” Judge Scott M. Matheson Jr. wrote in a published opinion on behalf of a three-judge panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver.

The U.S. Supreme Court has not yet taken up the issue.

The ruling centers on the case of a YouTube journalist, Abade Irizarry. On May 26, 2019, Irizarry and three others took out their phones to film a DUI traffic stop in Lakewood, only for officers to intentionally obstruct their line of sight.

One officer, Ahmed Yehia, also shone a bright light into their cameras and then gunned his police cruiser directly at the journalists while blasting his air horn, according to the ruling.

Irizarry sued Yehia, claiming the officer violated his First Amendment rights. A district court judge threw out the lawsuit, saying Yehia was entitled to qualified immunity as a law enforcement officer.

But Monday’s ruling reversed the decision, with the 10th Circuit judges concluding Irizarry’s right to film police “falls squarely within the First Amendment’s core purposes to protect free and robust discussion of public affairs, hold government officials accountable and check abuse of power.”

In the opinion, Matheson cited previous rulings in six of the nation’s 12 circuit courts of appeal affirming the right to film police as a basis for the 10th Circuit’s decision.

Irizarry’s lawyer, Andrew Tutt, said the ruling will protect the right of every citizen under the court’s jurisdiction to record police carrying out their duties.

“Today’s decision also adds to the consensus of authority on this important issue, bringing us a step closer to the day when this right is recognized and protected everywhere in the United States,” he said.

Lakewood police could not be reached for comment.

Press freedom organizations applauded Monday’s ruling, calling the right to record police “extremely critical” for holding law enforcement agencies accountable.

“It’s a huge victory,” said Dan Shelley, president and CEO of the Radio Television Digital News Association and Foundation. “It’s one we hope is replicated by the remaining circuit courts of appeal that have not yet spoken on this issue.”

Colorado law states that “officers may not threaten or intimidate individuals who are recording police activities.” But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen.

In 2018, journalist Susan Greene was detained and put in handcuffs after refusing to stop recording an arrest on a public sidewalk. The Denver police officers took Greene’s phone, telling her to “act like a lady.” The Denver Police Department later disciplined the officers for violating policy.

“It’s absurd it needed a court case to get the point across that we have basic First Amendment rights in the 10th Circuit to watchdog police and other officials who work on the public’s dime,” Greene said Monday. “It’s a no-brainer.”

It’s not just reporters who need this ruling, Greene stressed. It’s every person with a phone.

“To a large extent, (reporters) really are only as good as people’s willingness to record something they see as questionable,” she said.

The U.S. Supreme Court declined last year to take a case on this issue, leaving it to the circuit courts of appeal to rule for themselves. Members of Congress also planned to introduce legislation last year that would enshrine the right into law, but the bill never made it to a vote.