Transcript Details
Education served! #firstamendmentaudit #accountability #fyp
Summary
The First Amendment auditor asserts a constitutional right to film inside the police lobby and to demand that officers articulate reasonable suspicion before demanding ID, after the creator entered the building to perform a FOIA request. A chief and sergeant repeatedly order him out of the city-hall parking lot and then the lobby, citing private property and a refusal to stop recording. The creator refuses to show ID and threatens civil litigation for what he describes as a violation of constitutionally protected activity. The incident ends with the creator asking how to file a complaint if he cannot re-enter.
Why it may matter: This exchange captures a classic boundary-testing scenario central to the desk’s theme: a creator explicitly citing constitutional protections (press, record, no-ID demands) while being ejected from a government lobby for refusing to stop recording. The creator attributes the officers' actions to legal ignorance, accusing the department of failing to educate its employees on lawful detention and ID-request standards, which is a recurring complaint among auditors.
Full Transcript
sergeant. And sir, who are you? Who are you, sir? >> He's one of my employees. >> Okay, one of your employees. I feel like all three of you are trying to bully me and trying to exert authority over me that you don't have. Demanding ID. Your sergeant doesn't understand that he cannot demand ID lawfully >> Okay, why are you in my parking lot? >> unless he has reasonable articulable suspicion I've committed a crime. >> my parking lot? >> That's a failure That's a failure on your part, sir. You're supposed to educate your employees, correct? >> Why are you in my parking lot? >> They should know I'm working I like I told your sergeant, I'm not just not answering questions. I I cannot answer questions, but I'm answering. I'm an independent journalist. I'm gathering content for a story on the city. I was inside doing a FOIA request. >> the city hall? >> Yes, I was. Who says I'm recording anybody's Plus, it's public information. You guys run tags all day. People People drive around all day in the city with tags on. It's not like any private information. Do I have a database where I can look up people? Come on. You got to You got to think logically here. I don't have a database where I can just type in somebody's you know, license plate and figure out who they are. Let's be real. >> you to leave. >> Are Is it Are you ordering me to leave under threat of arrest, sir? >> Uh yeah, I'm ordering you This is the third time I've told you to leave my parking lot. >> I'm going to go on a public sidewalk and I'm going to continue to record I'm going to continue to record your parking lot and I'm going to hit you up with civil litigation over this, just so you know. Because you're you're violating a constitutionally protected activity. And in this small town here, you might think that you're going to get away with it, but you're not. I'm telling you right now, chief. And I don't know your name, but >> I don't know your name, either. >> You are the public servant here, sir. You are the public servant here. You're making You're You're All you're doing is you're allowing your city You're You're portraying your city in a negative light >> Okay. >> for the world to see. Remember that. Remember I told you that, chief. >> Yes, sir. You can't record while you're in here. >> Why can't I record while I'm in here? I have a constitutional right to film the police in the course of their duty, sir. Is this department so uneducated and so inept at their job that you It must be from the top down, cuz your sergeant doesn't know when he can legally identify somebody, and you're telling me I can't film in a police lobby. >> Mhm. >> Yes, I sure can. I can film in a police lobby. It's my constitutional right. I'm I'm I have freedom of press in this country, sir. >> Are you with the press? >> Yes, I am one with the press. >> Let me see your ID. >> No, I'm not showing you my ID. >> I'm not showing you anything, sir. >> You're required to show Get out of the building. Get out of the building. >> Thank you, sir. Have a good one. >> Yeah. No problem. How do I file a complaint if I can't get in the building?