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General Order B -85 Page 1 of 3 Recording of Police Activity TEMPLE TERRACE POLICE DEPARTMENT GENERAL ORDER EFFECTIVE DATE 11-19-2018 FILE INDEX NO. B-85 SUBJECT: RECORDING OF POLICE ACTIVITY INDEX AS: SAME AS ABOVE RECINDS: REVISES: DATE REVISED: 10/21/2021 DISTRIBUTION : ALL MEMBERS I. PURPOSE: To provide officers with guidance when dealing with situations in which they are being recorded, to include photographing, videotaping, audiotaping, or both, by members of the public or the press. The ov erarching purpose of this general order is to provide for the unfettered exercise of rights guaranteed to members of the public , while ensuring the safety of the recording party, victims, witnesses, suspects and the officers. II. SCOPE: All Members III. DISCUSSION : The Temple Terrace Police Department preserves and protects the rig hts guaranteed to all citizens by the Federal and State Constitutions. Our citizenry has a First Amendment right to video and audio record officers while they are conducting their official duties, so long as the recording does not create a legitimate and articulable concern for officer safety, or a hindrance to successful and timely resolution of the police m atter being handled. This order provides guidance to department members on how to preserve the rights of our citizenry who are recording police activi ties and, when necessary, informs officers and supervisors how to successfully deal with an arrest and/or seizure of a recording device. Members of the public , including media representatives, have an unambiguous First Amendment right to record officers in public places, as long as their actions do not interfere with the officer’s duties or the safety of officers or others. Officers should assume they are being recorded at all times when on duty in a public space. IV. DEFINITIONS: A. Recording - Capturing of images, audio, or both utilizing a camera, cell phone, audio recorder or other device. B. Media - The storage source for visual or audio recordings, whether by film, analog , or digital means. General Order B -85 Page 2 of 3 Recording of Police Activity V. PROCEDURE : A. Persons who are lawfully in public spaces or locations where they h ave a legal right to be present such as their home, place of business, or the common areas of public and p rivate facilities and buildings have a First Amendment right to record things in plain sight or hearing, to include police activity. Police may not threaten, intimidate, or otherwise discourage or interfere with the recordin g of police activities. However, the right to record is not absolute and is subject to legitimate and reasonable legal restrictions, as follows: 1. Officers may offer a reasonable distance that must be maintained from the scene(s) where enforcement or related police duties are being recorded. This distance is assigned by the officer on scene wh o will consider the totality of the circumstances regarding the particular police activity when establishing this distance . 2. Persons engaged in recording activities may not obstruct police actions. The fact that recording and or overt verbal criticism, insults, or n ame-calling may be annoying does no t in itself justify an officer taking corrective or enforcement action or ordering t hat recording be stopped. Examples of actions that obstruct police activities include, but are not limited to: a) Interference through direct physical intervention or breaching the reasonable distance established by the officer thereby dividing his or her attention to the matter at hand; b) Persistent use of recording equipment that interferes with of ficer interviews with witnesses; c) Repeated attempts to engage an officer with questions or interruptions that divide the officers attention; d) Impeding the movement of emergency equipment and personnel or the flow of vehicular or pedestrian traffic; and e) Any action by the recording party that jeopardizes t he safety of o fficers, victims, witnesses, or third parties . 3. Recording parties are not entitled to enter certain l ocations they are prohibited from entering simply to record police activities. Examples of locations recording parties are prohibited from entering or remaining upon include, but are not limited to: a) Any private property upon which the recording party would be trespassing; b) Entry into an established crime scene; and c) Entry into an area or building not accessible to the general public. B. Arrest 1. The arrest of any person who is engaged in recording police activity for violating the reasonable restrictions placed upon their Constitutional rights will be based upon an objective, reasonable and articulable violation of the law ( Resisting, Obstructing or Opposing an Officer , Trespassing, etc.) a) If it is reasonable and appropriate, any person who is violating the aforementioned restrictions should be informed they are engaging in a prohibited activity and given an opportunity to locate an acceptable and legal alternative prior to being arrested. C. Seizure Of Recording Devices 1. Officers may not order or coerce a recording party to show them recordings that have been made of official department action. Officers should consider that unless there is probable cause to believe evidence of a serious crime is contained in a recording, seizure may not be necessary. 2. Officers may se ize recording devices and media: a) If the recording device is in the possession of a person arrested and charged with a crime. 1) Officers should protect evidence from