Know Your Rights
Filming the Police
In New Jersey you have a First Amendment right to record police officers doing their jobs in public, as long as you don’t interfere.
The Law
Your Right to Record
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, which covers New Jersey, held in Fields v. City of Philadelphia (2017) that the First Amendment protects recording police officers performing their duties in public.
That right has limits: you may not physically interfere with officers, and you may be told to move back. Recording openly and calmly, from a reasonable distance, is the safest way to use it.
In Practice
Do and Don’t
Do
Stay back a safe distance. Keep your hands visible. Say calmly that you are recording and will not interfere. Follow an order to move back. Back the video up to the cloud as soon as you can.
Don’t
Don’t touch an officer or step into the scene. Don’t lie about who you are. Don’t resist, even if you believe an order is unlawful - challenge it later, with a lawyer.
If Police Take Your Phone
Your Phone and Your Video
Police generally need a warrant to search the contents of your phone (Riley v. California, 2014). You do not have to consent to a search or unlock your phone.
Officers should not delete your video. If they do, tell your lawyer right away - deleted files can sometimes be recovered, and deleting evidence can itself be misconduct.
If you were arrested, hurt or had your phone taken because you were recording, you may have a civil rights claim. See false arrest and excessive force.