A Pennsylvania man was arrested for recording video while trespassing inside a police department lobby.
Guy Mills, 48, arrived at the Pennsylvania State Police Meadville lobby in Crawford County on Feb. 1 over frustrations with a local judge. He recorded his complaints while inside the station where he was arrested after being warned about trespassing.
Why is it a crime to record the police. They are government employees and we all know the govt records us all the time https://t.co/Lx97TvL85Q
— The Peon Report (@SolidRedPeon) February 11, 2023
The report
“He was told to stop recording or that he would be arrested, the PSP report said. The report noted PSP policy and precedent that bans recording in police lobbies,” according to a local report.
“The man refused and was taken into custody,” the report added, not that Mills was then taken to Crawford County jail.
Boise Police body camera footage shows man being arrested for filming police https://t.co/WbLID2MugQ
— KTVB.COM (@KTVB) February 10, 2023
Not alone
It’s not the only time a person has been arrested for filming police. A Boise man was also arrested this month for filming police in a parking garage.
“I was leaving a parking garage after work and saw officers,” 29-year-old Ty Justin Werenka said. “I left the garage and came back to film what was going on. As I was leaving, police stopped me and said I was interfering.”
Werenka says he is known to the Boise Police Department because of his association to Boise Mutual Aid and he said he films police officers anytime he sees them interacting with the public, according to KTVB-TV.
He was previously arrested at a protest in the Capitol and ticketed at another arrest.
Werenka is not filing a tort claim against the city over the arrest.
Apparently, filming the police gets you arrested in Vegas. 😡 https://t.co/4Qg9UXN4Lt
— Cz Nutx (@CzNutx) February 12, 2023
Controversial issue
In yet another case, a man in Las Vegas was arrested for filming the police. It is unclear what other issues may have been involved in the particular situation, with a video posted with no other explanation concerning the event.
The issue of citizens filming police officers has become a controversial one in recent months. In the case of the Pennsylvania man, he was arrested for trespassing, but other situations have involved much more concerning incidents that have become grounds for First Amendment freedom cases across the nation.