Back when I was registering folks to vote, it was a lonely task.  Oh, sure, there were two or three of us meeting up with folks, convincing them it was a valuable thing for them to register to vote.  But, we were outsiders.

And, not only were we outsiders, the “powers that be” considered us interlopers, or, worse yet, criminals.  When they could get away with it, they’d chase after us with guns or baseball bats.

We had to scramble to stay safe.  There were no wireless phones or cameras to document what these sheriffs and local authorities were doing.

Decades later, when I attempted to use my cell phone to document what a bunch of cops were doing, I was threatened.  Claiming it was illegal for me to do so.  Turns out that is absolute BS.  We have the right to film police, whether they like it or not. If we are on public property- or private property with the permission of the owner- we are well within our rights to record the events. We can’t cross police tape (that yellow stuff they wrap around the scene) or interfere with the actions of the police, but we can film the event using the zoom function on our phones.

The other thing- don’t be cute. Make it obvious that you are filming the event.

But, things changed last year, when Darnella Frazier kept her distance and recorded the full event of Derek Chauvin murdering George Floyd.  It was her ability to record that event, posting it on Facebook, that made the world recognize that things have to change.

And, now, recently, the computer specialist (Geoffrey Fowler) at the Washington Post provided us a bunch of advice as to how we, too, can safely record events.   He didn’t do this in a vacuum- he spoke with lawyers, police, photojournalists, technologists, and activists to come up with his recommendations.

I have distilled his information and am sharing it will y’all so we can safely and effectively protect our rights and the rights of others.

First (and this is something I am NOT good at)- make sure the story you are telling is the victim’s.  Don’t interject, don’t add your own comments. It’s our job to bear witness, not to participate.  It’s our job to be the tripod- and that means using the horizontal version of our phone, not the vertical one, which does a better job of recording the event.

When you are done with the video,  lock your phone.  (Not with a four digit code- something more elaborate is needed to protect your effort.  And, turn off eye scan or fingerprint scan to ensure the cop(s) can’t force you to open your phone.)  It also helps if you set your phone to automatically back up your video to the cloud, so even if the police break the law and try to erase your recording, there’s another version of it that they can’t get their hands on.  Obviously, if you are using live broadcast (see the two apps below), there will be other records of your filming.

An important fact to consider- if you are recording another person’s interaction with the cops- think if what you are filming can create problems for THAT person.  Or, if you are violating their privacy rights.  Maybe you should contact the family of the victim before you post your video.

Then, add an app or two to your phone.  One good one is “Just Us”.  This app was developed to let those of us stopped by cops to begin live-streaming what is going on, as we inform our trusted contacts where we are and what is going on.  (Now that we’ve notified our loved ones, we can hopefully remain calm during this encounter.)

The ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) has an app called “Mobile Justice”.  Besides state guidance, it lets us share our recordings with the ACLU lawyers.

Thanks, Geoffrey for such great advice.