What to Know
- The Civilian Complaint Review Board says civilian recordings help increase transparency when examining cases of alleged police misconduct
- The First Amendment protects civilian recording
- However, officers can legally stop people who are endangering themselves or someone else while recording, or interfering with NYPD
New York City's independent police review board says civilians are increasingly using video evidence in complaints against New York Police Department officers.
According to The Wall Street Journal, 794 of the 4,426 complaints closed by the Civilian Complaint Review Board in 2016 included some form of video evidence.
In 2012, there were just 43 closed complaints with video evidence out a total of 4,268.
The review board says recordings help increase transparency when examining cases of alleged police misconduct.
The First Amendment protects civilian recording. However, officers can legally stop people who are endangering themselves or someone else while recording, or interfering with police activity.
The board is recommending training for officers on the subject.
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The NYPD declined to comment on the study.
