Deputy Handcuffs Woman for Legally Filming Traffic Stop (Video)Deputy Handcuffs Woman for Legally Filming Traffic Stop (Video)
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A woman named "Bethany" recently filmed two Orange County Sheriff's deputies performing a traffic stop at a gas station in Orlando, Fla., where she was pumping gas into her car.
When a deputy saw her filming (video below), he told her that filming law enforcement violated a "Florida statute." He also tried to confiscate her phone as “evidence,” but when she refused to hand it over he handcuffed her, noted PhotographyIsNotaCrime.com.
The deputy told her that she was trespassing even though she had bought gas at the station.
“I told him, ‘Don’t take my phone’, and then he took my phone and put me in handcuffs in front of my daughter and little sister,” Bethany, who feared giving her last name, told WFTV (video below).
Bethany claims the deputies noticed her kids in her car so they only gave her a trespassing warning.
Oddly, WFTV claimed to be unsure about whether or not it is legal to film law enforcement, even though the U.S. Supreme Court ruled back in June that citizens can film officers and deputies, who cannot seize their digital content, noted the U.S. Supreme Court Blog.
“She was in a public place pumping gas and in the right, as long as she did not interfere with their investigation to record what was going on,” lawyer Belvin Perry told WFTV. “Record it, but don’t get in an argument with a law enforcement officer on the street about doing that.”
The Orange County Sheriff's Office refused to comment even though their deputy clearly states on the video that people are not allowed to film deputies and brags about knowing the law.
Original Video
Sources: PhotographyIsNotaCrime.com, WFTV, U.S. Supreme Court Blog
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