A video of a MESA College police officer unholstering his gun and pointing it directly at a videographer is extremely confusing when trying to figure out who was right and who was wrong during the situation.
The videographer was filming with a GoPro mounted onto a handheld stabilizer. The officer asked the videographer a few times what he was filming and in another breath asked him to put the camera down because he “[doesn’t] know what that is.” The tone quickly changed when a gun came out of it’s holster.
“Don’t you unholster your weapon,” the videographer demanded while the officer kept his hand near his weapon and continued to ask the videographer to put his camera down.
After watching the video, who is at fault here?
For those that support the videographer in this situation, they say there was no clear and present danger that would justify the officer pulling out his gun and pointing it at the videographer.
In defense of the officer, police walk into a lot of potentially dangerous situations and have to be ready if things do happen to take a turn for the worst. With this in mind, officers understandably feel vulnerable on duty. This can lead to bad decisions in the heat of the moment.
We hope this investigation will come to a just ruling.
What do you think?
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Citizens have the legal right to document police officers, whether that be through photography or videography, as a means to keep the police in line through the system of checks and balances. Whether or not the officer wrongly violated the videographer’s rights is up to the Justice and Internal Affairs department, but from the looks of the video, it seems he did and that can’t be accepted.
The media is in full force to make the photographer a bad guy by pointing out that the cop hadn’t been able to identify the guy or what/why he was filming to begin with, as if either of those are actually valid or matter at all.. Here is the link to the news story on Youtube
I believe when he said stop filming he was referring to the other camera in the other hand. Not the one he thought was a gun. I dont particularly like the C shaped ones because at a angle it looks like u r holding a weapon. I didn’t mind him unholstering but should never of pointed it.
The officer legally violated the videographer’s rights. In California, Penal Code Section 1489(g) clearly states:
“The fact that a person takes a photograph or makes an audio or video recording of a public officer or peace officer, while the officer is in a public place or the person taking the picture or making the recording is in a place he or she has the right to be, does not constitute, in and of itself, a violation of subdivision (a), nor does it constitute reasonable suspicion to detain the person or probable cause to arrest the person.”