“The First Amendment issue here is, as the parties frame it, fairly narrow: is there a constitutionally protected right to videotape police carrying out their duties in public? Basic First Amendment principles, along with case law from this and other circuits, answer that question unambiguously in the affirmative.”

Individual officers will sometimes insist it is not so despite the fact that it is so.

What they're counting on is a person's reluctance to take it to court and a possible appeal.

Originally, policing agencies were considered a standing army to do the biding of a foreign despot. Today's law enforcement is a despotic fulfillment of that fear. The office of Sheriff (being superior to all other State and Federal agencies in the de jure States united) was to be a servant of the individual sovereigns united, uniquely doing that which the individual sovereigns could do if they had the time and ability (nothing more, maybe less). Even under the false facade that police work for We The People, on occasion, the de facto court system alludes back to correct principles.

Police aren't real happy about anyone video taping them in public. Thank goodness that almost everyone has the ability to do so with cell phone cameras.

Anything the police do in public must and shall be public knowledge. Our home-grown gestapo here in Canada fought for years against having video recorders mandatory in their cruisers. Now and again they still malfunction, say during an arrest of aboriginals that are surreptitiously dropped off 20 miles out of town in - 40 F weather and freeze to death.

Just as the seeing eye and the hearing ear, of course. Many who are doctors, do not need to be ! Also many who are officers, do not need to be ! Just as the homeless man sleeping, was kicked by the firefighter, in Portland Or, while sleeping under an idol of firefighters. Arrogance has no place, in the service of others ! Serve and Protect is the credo. They should have got the man a blanket !!

Youtube is full of videos of cops arresting people who film them -- those that do not accept plea bargains ultimately prevail with all charges dropped, but it has taken years for some of these cases. Rarely (never) have the abusive cops who've destroyed cameras/phones and falsely arrested citizens been punished, although some civil suits have resulted in financial damages -- but that just punishes the tax payers. The cops, district attorneys, and judges are the real offenders and should be punished as severely as those they have violated.