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Comment by x86x87 | Hacker News Reader

So if you're filming from 20 ft away and a cop walks towards to and yells at you to stop you can film until he's precisely 8 ft away, right?

What if you have a line of cops holding hands and forming a 10ft radius around you? Can you film? What if they start rotating and stepping in and out?

The law is dumb and redundant (you can get in trouble for interfering just fine with the laws on the books today). This is plain and simple intimidation.

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The law is dumb and redundant (you can get in trouble for interfering just fine with the laws on the books today). This is plain and simple intimidation.

I was ready to comment something like "meh, you shouldn't be getting that close to them anyway." But you're right, it's already a law to not interfere. Whether you're recording or not shouldn't matter. Unless maybe they needed specific numbers because it is limiting a first amendment right.

Yes you could film in both of those situations. The law specifically lists law enforcement activities as making an arrest, questioning suspects, and dealing with emotional situations (edit: specifically emotional or disturbed person exhibiting abnormal activity).

Also, if you are part of the law enforcement activity, you are allowed to film. So yes, if a cop walks up to you yelling and you are at least 8ft from the law enforcement activity, you are legally allowed to film.

> So yes, if a cop walks up to you yelling and you are at least 8ft from the law enforcement activity, you are legally allowed to film.

Yeah, good luck arguing with a cop.

In what ridiculous scenario are cops forming a prayer circle around you? I’d assume in that made up world you’d become party to the police interaction and able to continue to film.

It’s not too different from “kettling” tactics.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kettling

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