4
Street roots
Nov. 11, 2011
East Coast appeals court rules lo r citizen in police wiretapping case
BY CHALKEY HORENSTEIN
way interfered with the police. He should
never have been arrested for this.”
Boston, Mass. —
This court decision sprouted from the
n the Land of the Free filming the police
ACLU filing a lawsuit against the Boston
may not seem the most intuitive course of Police Department on behalf of Glik. Glik,
action when they are in the process of
while watching officers punching a citizen,
arresting a criminal but it is definitely legal, took out his phone and started recording the
according to a decision in the appellate
officers.
courts. The case of Simon Glik sets a new
“I was walking down the Boston Common
precedent for First
in order to meet my wife. Midway through, I
amendment rights.
noticed a commotion by one of the benches. I
Simon Glik was
turned around, and I saw a young man being
charged by Boston
arrested by three police officers,” Glik told
police for “illegal
the ACLU via its YouTube channel. “What
wiretapping” while
was happening was out of the ordinary.
recording police officers Without really giving it much thought, I took
aggressively arresting a
out my cell phone and started recording....
young man in Boston
I was asked if my cell phone recorded video,
Common. With the dust and when I answered yes, I was immediately
settling around the
arrested.”
First Circuit Court of
Boston police arrested Glik, charging him
Appeal’s Aug. 26 ruling, with a wiretapping statute that prohibits
advocate groups such as secretive recording. However, Glik explicitly
the American Civil
told them he was recording, and the police
Liberties Union and
even admitted that Glik was not being
Common Cause believe
secretive. When taken to court, Glik was
this will provide a
ultimately charged with illegal wiretapping,
strong precedent for
disturbing the peace and aiding the escape of
Simon Glik
those defending First
a prisoner. After the court dismissed all
Amendment rights.
charges against Glik in February of 2008, he
. o„ „ , a 1 In response to Glik’s* later approached the ACLU for their help in
new s
incident in 2007, the First Circuit Court of
filing the lawsuit,
Appeals ruled that citizens have the right to
The First Circuit Court of Appeals hearing
videotape police officers while they are on
took place on June 8 of his year, finally
duty, as long as the videotaping is not
reaching its decision this past August. The
secretive.
court ruled not only that the police violated
“This decision was an important win for
Glik’s First Amendment right to film public
the First Amendment right to openly record
officials, but that the police also violated his
police officers carrying out their duties m a
Fourth Amendment right by arresting him
public place,” said Christopher Ott,
without probable cause. In addition, the court
communications director of the American
stated that police should have known this all
Civil Liberties Union’s Massachusetts branch.
along, and that the right to film public
“Simon Glik did what we hope any engaged
officials Is not limited to the press.
told Spare Change News that, “since the
original incident all of our officers have been
trained on wiretap statute.”
Other advocacy groups, such as Common
Cause, are also rejoicing. “We’re very happy
about the ruling,” said Pam Wilmot executive
director of Common Caused Massachusetts
branch. “Technology has provided new
opportunity to citizens for holding
government officials accountable. And the
allegations from the police that it was a
STREET N E W S SERVICE
I
spare c h a n g e
,
would do j n t h i s situation, which
documenting what he thought looked like an
improper use of force, and his action in no
"This decision was an Important win lor the
First Amendment right to openly record *
police officers carrying out their duties In a
public place."
^ u r t : s . - d ^ c i s i p n - . ” s a ii1 ....
Elaine. Driscoll, director of communications at
the Boston Police Department Driscoll also
Eyes on the Street:
Three years of Street Roots photography
CHRISTOPHER OTT
A M E R IC A N C IV IL LIBERTIES U N IO N 'S M A S S A C H U S E T T S B R A N C H .
wiretapping were outrageous to begin with
and clearly a violation of our right to free
speech. The court affirmed that conclusion.”
Although Glik’s work remains a strong
driving force behind the ruling, he was not
alone in being arrested for filming police.
Other examples include Khaliah Fitchette,
from New Jersey, who filmed police
improperly handling a drunken man on the
bus. Fitchette also was cleared of all charges,
and she also filed a lawsuit with the help of
the ACLU.
“It is actually a sad testament to a certain
extent that the police would even try to stop
somebody from exercising their rights under
the Constitution, but obviously that happens,”
said Wilmot. “It’s good to see the court siding
so strongly with our rights.”
ChalkeyHoi^risteinisawrilerandeditora£^_^
‘^treeT^ootslisierpaper, Spare Change News,
Boston, Mass.
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