Is Filming the Police a First Amendment Right?

            Feidin Santana captured a key piece of evidence against an officer, Michael Slager, of him

fatally shooting an unarmed citizen, Walter Scott in the back numerous times. A second officer was

telling Santana to stop recording the incident, but he did not obey these orders and captured it all on

his phone’s camera. This is not the first time an incident like this has been recorded on a cellphone

and is being used as evidence in a trial. According to an article, from this type of situation the

question arises “do citizens have a First Amendment right to record police doing their jobs in public

places, such as streets, sidewalks and parks?”

            The United States Supreme Court has yet to give a definite answer to this question. They have 

left it up to the court in charge of the case to determine whether or not citizens have this right to 

record such events. Recently, a judge in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania decided that the answer is no, 

people do not have the right to film the police. His reasoning behind his decision is as he says, 

“Pennsylvania does not recognize a First Amendment right to observe and record without some form 

of expressive conduct…photographing police is not, as a matter of law, expressive activity.” 

According to this same article as before, he continues on to reason “the person recording must do so 

with the specific intent of criticizing or challenging the police conduct being recorded”.

          Other courts nationwide are saying that “a limited First Amendment right to record police 

doing their jobs in public venues, regardless of the intent of the person recording”. Either way, in the 

end as of now it is up to the court itself to determine whether each ruling can be determined using a 

recording or not, depending on whether or not a First Amendment case can be argued in their opinion 

or if the film is allowed as evidence at all.