Marijuana growers and users have more reason than most people to fear encounters with police. Many in the marijuana community wonder if filming police is a good way to protect themselves.
When a black man named Philando Castile was shot by police recently, his girlfriend live-streamed as her boyfriend died.
Nationwide, videos of police-citizen interactions have become increasingly prominent in creating dialogue about police misconduct and citizen safety.
Organizations such as Copwatch and Copblock routinely film police and stage protests and other civil disobedience designed to prevent and expose police misconduct.
What you’re probably wondering is how you can use your I-Phone, cell phone, tablet, or other handheld device to record any interaction you have with police.
Filming police, or at least audiotaping them, is a good way to protect yourself.
Using video to record police isn’t always just with handheld devices such as a smart phones— many marijuana dispensaries and grow ops have hardwired surveillance systems that document interior and exterior spaces.
The absolutely best tactic is to record all encounters with police, and immediately save them to the cloud, and/or livestream them to Facebook or other venues.
Saving to the cloud or immediately livestreaming defeats the police tactic of confiscating your cell phone, smart phone, or other device and deleting the recording you made of your interaction with the officer.
In this article we’re providing you links to websites and videos that talk about recording interactions with the police.
We’re also providing you with explicit information on how to “flex your rights” and otherwise protect yourself if you encounter police.
Study these links and videos.
You never know when police will come into your life. Be prepared!
For Information About Filming Police…
Videos From Copwatch, Copblock, and
Other Police Monitoring Organizations
The main thing to remember is police are unpredictable, armed, and have a lot of power.
In every encounter with police, remember that “anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.”
Whatever you do in the unfortunate circumstance of having a police interaction, stay calm, remain silent as much as possible, be confident in stating your constitutional rights, and document and remote transmit everything police do and say.