Americans have a right to film police in public.

View this email in your browser ([link removed])
[link removed]



** For Immediate Release: November 2, 2023
------------------------------------------------------------


** Police in Armored Vehicle Fire Tear Gas at Legal Observers Who Filmed Interaction Between Cops and Protesters
------------------------------------------------------------

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Rutherford Institute is calling on the U.S. Supreme Court to hold police accountable for firing tear gas from an armored vehicle at legal observers ([link removed]) who were standing in the yard of one of their homes after lawfully and peacefully filming interactions between police and protesters.

In an amicus brief ([link removed]) filed with the Supreme Court in Molina v. Book, Rutherford Institute attorneys note the importance of such legal observers and citizen-journalists to expose wrongdoing by police, and argue it is clearly established that the First Amendment protects citizens from retaliation for observing or recording police activity in public. The Rutherford Institute has also issued constitutional guidelines ([link removed]) to better educate the public about their rights when stopped by the police, how to behave during a police encounter, and what to do if you believe your rights have been violated by a law enforcement official. The Rutherford Institute’s “Constitutional Q&A: Rules of Engagement for Interacting with Police” ([link removed]) provides the public with a legal
framework to guide with various kinds of police encounters (traffic stops, roadside searches, blood draws, etc.).

“Americans should be able to record their interactions with police without fear of arrest, assault or being subjected to harassment or intimidation tactics,” said constitutional attorney John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute and author of Battlefield America: The War on the American People ([link removed]) . “Citizens who exercise their First Amendment right to film police in public serve as watchdog reminders to police that as public servants, they are accountable to ‘we the people.’”
MAKE THE GOVERNMENT PLAY BY THE RULES OF THE CONSTITUTION: SUPPORT THE FIGHT FOR FREEDOM ([link removed])

In August 2015, Sarah Molina and Christina Vogel attended a large protest in St. Louis, Missouri, as legal observers in order to protect the right to protest. Molina and Vogel wore bright green hats indicating that they were legal observers. During the protest, St. Louis police officers ordered the crowd to disperse. Some protesters responded by throwing rocks and bottles. Police then shot inert smoke canisters into the crowd. Vogel was recording these events. Police then started using tear gas, at which time Molina and Vogel left and reassembled with some others about 500 feet away off the thoroughfare and on a side street in Molina’s yard. Minutes later, an armored police vehicle known as the BEAR (short for “Ballistic Engineered Armored Response Counter Attack Truck”) drove by and fired tear gas canisters toward them while they sought shelter in a passageway between neighboring houses. Police later denied shooting chemicals from the BEAR, but an after-action report contradicted their
statements. The primary liaison between a police helicopter and the BEAR later acknowledged that he recognized the individuals wearing bright green hats were legal observers.

Molina and Vogel sued the police for retaliating against the exercise of their First Amendment rights to observe and record police conduct. However, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed their claims, finding that the police officers were covered by qualified immunity because the right to observe police-citizen interactions had not been clearly established at the time, even though, as dissenting judges pointed out, two earlier decisions by the Eighth Circuit indicated otherwise. In asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case, The Rutherford Institute is urging ([link removed]) the Court to affirm that the First Amendment protects the right to peacefully observe and record police activity in public.

The amicus brief ([link removed]) in Molina v. Book and The Rutherford Institute’s “Constitutional Q&A: Rules of Engagement for Interacting with Police” ([link removed]) are available at www.rutherford.org ([link removed]) .

The Rutherford Institute ([link removed]) , a nonprofit civil liberties organization, provides legal assistance at no charge to individuals whose constitutional rights have been threatened or violated and educates the public on a wide spectrum of issues affecting their freedoms.

Source: [link removed]
[link removed] Share ([link removed])
[link removed]: https%3A%2F%2Fmailchi.mp%2Frutherford%2Fpolice-fire-tear-gas-at-legal-observers-who-filmed-interaction-between-cops-and-protesters Tweet ([link removed]: https%3A%2F%2Fmailchi.mp%2Frutherford%2Fpolice-fire-tear-gas-at-legal-observers-who-filmed-interaction-between-cops-and-protesters)
[link removed] Forward ([link removed])
CLICK HERE TO MAKE A TAX-DEDUCTIBLE DONATION ([link removed])

To donate via PayPal, please click below:
[link removed]

============================================================
** Follow us on Facebook ([link removed])
** Follow us on Facebook ([link removed])
** Follow us on Twitter ([link removed])
** Follow us on Twitter ([link removed])
** YouTube ([link removed])
** YouTube ([link removed])
CONTACT INFORMATION
Nisha Whitehead
(434) 978-3888 ext. 604
** [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])

THE RUTHERFORD INSTITUTE
Post Office Box 7482
Charlottesville, VA 22906-7482
Phone: (434) 978-3888
** www.rutherford.org ([link removed])

Copyright © 2023 The Rutherford Institute, All rights reserved.

You are receiving this email because of your interest in the work of The Rutherford Institute. Founded in 1982 by constitutional attorney and author John W. Whitehead, The Rutherford Institute is a civil liberties organization that provides free legal services to people whose constitutional and human rights have been threatened or violated. To discontinue your membership electronically, or if you feel you are receiving this message in error, please follow the link below.

Under the regulations of the United States Internal Revenue Service, The Rutherford Institute is incorporated as a 501(c)(3) tax exempt nonprofit organization. Donations to support The Rutherford Institute’s legal and educational work help to safeguard the constitutional rights of all Americans. Donations are tax-deductible. In compliance with general industry standards of a nonprofit organization, the Institute is audited annually by an independent accounting firm.

** unsubscribe from this list ([link removed])

** update subscription preferences ([link removed])