BPD apologizes to man videoing police up to whose face a sergeant put a toy gun

It's freaking 2015. This has been fought and decided upon over and over and over again. It is not illegal to video tape police doing their job in a public space. I can't honestly believe that the officers don't know this -- are they just coasting on residual intimidation factor or something?

It was creepy how the officer asked the dude if he wanted to "jump inside the cruiser and ride with us" and how he repeatedly stated that he did not consent to being filmed. It's almost if ... he was ... intentionally trying to muddle the situation or outright lie about some nonexistent consent-in-public law. Again a clear tactic that draws upon the (slowly shrinking) automatic respect and deference that is usually applied to officers by citizens.

And all this happened before the toy gun was found.

I'm less than totally convinced that the toy gun was used to threaten or intimidate. I think the officers were just happy that they had found something and wanted to do their "this is why we are out here" thing for the camera.

Staines is expected to meet with Lawrence, Boston NAACP President Michael Curry, and Superintendent-in-Chief William Gross on Friday, and a reminder has gone out to all officers that citizens can legally videotape them, Evans said.

from the globe

is this a black white thing? seems to me its a cranky assed cop giving an unseen individual a hard time about videotaping him, which the guy has the legal right to do. where does the NAACP get involved here?

This is a good learning moment for youth playing with fake guns on the street. Parents should teach kids about the foolishness of doing this. Getting shot by a policeman who mistakes a fake gun for a real one is tragic.

and confronted the agitator recording the episode. The officer failed to appreciate the ignorance of the agitator. The agitator's failure to understand the consequences this young man's actions of carrying a realistic firearm in a section of the city with a history of firearm homicides. The officer needs to understand that the agitator could care less if that kid was shot dead by another kid just as long as he wasn't shot by police.

Now available! Boston City Clerks Records Retention Schedule, a public document... request by email at http://www.cityofboston.gov/contact/?id=36

Might any of you kind folks post the City Clerks Records Retention Schedule public document online?...

After paying out a major fine for civil rights violation for arresting a civilian photographer, the Boston Police have reportedly have had specific training about the public's right to film police activity taking place in a public face.

The Sergeant, a person who is supposed to have experience and knowledge, above a patrolman, specifically ignores the departments policy as he steps away from the work at hand to cross the street to address a civilian exercising his constitutional rights.

In a wise ass tone, clearly designed for intimidation, he suggests that the videographer might like to go for rid in "the back of a cruiser". He instructs the videographer that he "does not give his permission" as if it was his to give. Clearly the whole interaction between the police sergeant and the videographer is inappropriate in tone, intent and demonstrates a lack of knowledge about interacting with the public and that public's constitutional right.

The Sergeant has demonstrated that he should not be in a supervisory position and should receive a formal reprimand.

Not only did he have every right to record the arrest, he also had every right to record the officer-- he did not need the officer's permission. The officer pulled that out of his ass.

I don't understand the people who say the officer was not behaving aggressively. Does anyone really not think his behavior is antagonistic, his tone of voice & manner of speaking angry, even if he didn't totally lose control?

If the cops didn't think the toy gun looked real, then they wouldn't have that guy sitting on the curb there. So the officer holds a very real looking toy gun up a few inches from the filmer's face. Watching this, my feeling was that if that had been a real gun, that was close enough to shoot the filmer's feet.

I'm glad the cop held on to his temper, but he clearly wanted to intimidate the guy filming.

I watched this video several times and while I agree the officer was disrespectful and a bit of a jerk, what I see is:
1) when the man asked if there was anything wrong with what he was doing (video recording), the officer said no.
2) the officer never waved the toy gun in his face or did anything that could be interpreted as any kind of a threat with the gun
3) the officer never asserted that what the man was doing was illegal or threated to arrest him
4) the man was allowed to continue recording and was never physically touched or assaulted in any way

It seems the officer was under the mistaken impression that he could order the man not to record him while he was talking to him. But it seems clear to me that the officer knew he had no authority to order the man to stop recording the event. If he wanted the man to stop recording he would have said "Stop recording or I will put you in the back of the police car."

Instead, what we have is the attitude, annoyance, and an attempt to manipulate. It's unprofessional. But what is it not is a police officer threatening a man with a gun unless he stops his video recording.

I agree with PeterGriffith's assessment above--I'm not defending the officer's behavior; just criticizing the characterization of the incident to inflame it into a celebrity YouTube moment.

I would echo much of what people have said here about this particular Sergeant's tone and mannerisms. They just weren't appropriate. That said, some perspective is in order.

1. It's great that we can have a civilized conversation about this.

2. The BPD got a call that two kids were playing with a gun in a part of the City where gun violence is more frequently a problem than in other parts. By every account that I read, the BPD showed up quickly and in numbers that show that they took the call very seriously. I'm very confident that many people in many American cities would love to be able to say that about their local police department and can't.

3. Try watching the video without sound. I did and was struck by just how non-confrontational it appears. I think this is significant because body language can often be the difference in encounters like this (e.g., it can really make things spiral out of control quickly). I thought that it was notable, also, that it is really only the Sergeant who seems to care that they photographer is there. I do not think that it takes much imagination to envision a situation (in fact, I think it would be likely in lots of other places) where the photographer was quickly surrounded by 3 or 4 cops as an intimidation measure.

4. We are justifiably able to condemn the actions of the Sergeant here in large part because we (as the citizenry) and the BPD (as the police department charged with protecting that citizenry) are doing a better job than lots of other citizens and police departments in ensuring that the police understand and appreciate what their role in our society is. For at least this reason, we implicitly (perhaps explicitly in some cases) hold cops to a higher standard than we hold others to. By way of example, and I will speak only for myself, if someone starting filming me doing my job in a manner so as to clearly convey a "I'm watching every move you make waiting for you to screw up because others in your profession, elsewhere, have done so" message (and be honest, that's what's going on here - just look at the message from the website at the beginning of the video), I think that I would have reacted in a manner far worse than the Sergeant did (and I don't even have a job that is dangerous). As I said, I speak only for myself, but I think that people are for the most part lying to themselves and the rest of us if they say, "no, I'd be fine with that."

5. The condemnation from the "brass" was swift. You have to hand it to the Commissioner - he has clearly realized that acting quickly goes a long way toward diffusing a situation that can quickly get out of control. Every citizen, property owner and visitor in Boston should be thankful for and happy about that.

I am under no illusion that the things (both the stimuli and responses) that have happened in Ferguson and Baltimore (and all of the places before that, including things in Boston) cannot happen here (or happen here again). That said, I really do believe that we are simply doing a better job on the whole, which makes those things less likely.

"Take care of the small stuff, and the big stuff takes care of itself."

What do you bet that departments that take a strong position about not tolerating low-level misconduct -- misconduct that isn't necessarily illegal but that is simply belligerent, wise-ass disrespect displayed to the public -- also end up with a stronger and more professional police culture, and, therefore, fewer examples of really bad misconduct?