Considering the recent unfortunate situations of Diane Bukowski, an unlawfully arrested reporter in Detroit, and one of our own's experience with police-harassment in fabulous Ewing NJ, I thought I'd post here some common stategies and techniques for recording police behavior when they don't really want you to.
So here's what I recommend, for anyone who's taping where cops may lose their respect for the law.
- Plan ahead
- Backup cameras
- Have other people taping with you
- Have couriers for recorded media
- Keep taping!
- Lawbreaking by the crowd
- If you get something really big
- Data recovery
- Recommended equipment
More below the fold...
1. Plan ahead
Know what you're going to do, what you want to capture in media, what you will do if harassed, and exactly how far you are willing to go to make your point.
Even if it's something spontaneous that just occurred in front of you right now, take a moment to think it out. Cases in point: the Rodney King beating was captured only because the videotaper had the presence of mind to get a good angle, stay out of sight, and tape as much of the whole event as possible. Ditto for the tape of the recent BART police shooting of an unarmed, handcuffed and unresisting man. There were lots of witnesses to the second - but without that footage, it would still be the word of an "angry crowd" versus "trained professional Police here to serve and protect".
2. Backup cameras
Always have a backup camera. At least one, of whatever type you're using - still or video. If one gets "accidentally" smashed, you can regroup and pull out the other.
Have backup batteries fully charged also.
3. Have other people taping with you
Ideally, have at least one other person with a video camera, standing a distance away from you with a clear shot of you. This way, if either one of you is hassled the other will get it on tape. It's much harder to hassle two people taping than one.
4. Have couriers for recorded media
This is a very simple and useful way to keep your media safe. Have someone go with you who has no camera. They shouldn't get at all involved with the protest or event itself, if they can possibly help it. Instead, their one entire job is to take your completed tapes and/or media, and move them to a safe location. Preferably off the site entirely, even if it's around the block inside a car.
This is probably a good idea to do once you've just taped a cop really breaking the law. Just make sure you don't miss anything important while you're switching media.
5. Keep taping!
If something looks like it might go down, keep that tape rolling. If cops hassle you directly, just point the camera downwards. If they really hassle you, put it in your pocket or back in it's bag. It's still recording audio.
Not only will you get great moments, but an unbroken and unedited tape is much, much harder to refute in court. This is the best argument for using video tape over other video media.
If you can't do this, consider leaving your cellphone recording a memo, if it can do that. Or, alternately, calling someone or an answering machine and leaving the phone on.
6. Lawbreaking by the crowd
The crowd is not always right. But you as an objective observer have your own call to make, as to whether or not your footage should be used to incriminate anyone, whether they're a crowd member or policeman.
So if any authority wants to see your footage for any reason, don't show them a second of footage until you've spoken with a good lawyer.
Also be aware that any footage turned over to the authorities will be scoured for information on all civilians present, whether they are breaking the law or not. So be careful about what you DO show.
And don't ever hand over raw footage - always keep it.
Update:As per polecat's wise observation in the comments, you can consider blurring out the faces of those not directly involved - but definitely consult with a lawyer before doing this.
7. If you get something really big
Immediately make two full-resolution copies. Then put the raw footage away in a secure place. And don't ever hand over this raw footage - always keep it. All future work with this footage should be done with one of the copies, with the other as the backup.
Getting a quick consultation with a lawyer, would probably be a great idea at this point.
When you choose to show the footage, call the newsdesks of network news stations. The sooner this is to the actual occurrence of the incident, the better. They are constantly looking for footage to report on. They will pay you. Get a fair rate. Donate it to charity if you like.
8. Data recovery
Probably the single best argument for the use of digital media, and especially SD cards, is that deleted media can usually be recovered. And sometimes very easily.
So if that cop grabbed your camera and deleted that picture of his buddy losing it on a non-resisting protestor, don't worry. If and when you get the camera back, take out the media, mark it and don't record anything else on it. Then google 'data recovery' on it later.
9. Equipment
Video cameras over still cameras. Still photography is a great art, but in terms of capturing a series of events including unlawful police action, video can't be beat.
I'd personally recommend a camera that doesn't shoot tapes, but shoots onto SD cards. SD cards are unbelievably tough and resilient - one card of mine went through a washer AND a dryer in my friend's pants-pocket and didn't lose a photo. It also means a camera with no moving parts besides the lens - which means it's relatively untroubled by dirt, grit, sand, and can actually take some damage and keep taping throughout.
I personally recommend the Canon HF100 - shoots HD onto SD cards. A 16 GB card means 2 hours of HD video. Also comes with a great stereo shotgun mic attachment, and the whole thing is smaller than a digital SLR. The only downside is, it's so light and shoots so detailed that it can really shake if you're not careful. So I put it on top of a Manfrotto monopod - which I also very highly recommend.
To sum up:
We do need to have police in our society. But we also need to have those police just as subject to the law as everyone else - if not more so. The sad reality of it is that when cops break the law, they are more likely to get away with it than anyone else. Civilian video and photo reportage is one of the best defenses against this.
So be careful, don't provoke, get the footage, and keep it secure. This is your best defense - both in the immediate presence, and in the future.
...So, those are my thoughts. Any of y'all have anything to add?