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Bratton: There's An "Epidemic" Of People Filming Police
By
Scott Heins
Published May 26, 2016
Modified May 26, 2016
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By
Scott Heins
Published May 26, 2016
Modified May 26, 2016
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The NYPD watches you. They scan you with secret x-ray vans, listen to your phone calls with fake cellphone towers, and drive you around in fake cabs. If you're Muslim, the NYPD will keep secret files on your business, stake out your mosques, and faux-convert to your faith so they can hang around your college campus and spy on students. Now, Commissioner Bratton has claimed that there's an ongoing "epidemic" of civilians filming the police and yeah, our heads are hurting too.
“There is a phenomenon in this country that we need to examine and it’s just not in New York,” Bratton said while speaking before a conference of police chiefs and officials at a Manhattan hotel Wednesday. "This has become very serious. I would almost describe it as an epidemic in this country."
According to the Daily News, Bratton's criticism of police-filming came as he addressed Risel Martinez, an NYPD officer who was caught on video pointing a gun at innocent bystanders while making an arrest. Martinez also punched the 19-year-old who shot the cellphone video.
Martinez was stripped of his badge and gun after the video footage was made public, but that didn't stop Bratton from shifting the blame onto innocent bystanders. "When you interfere with a police officer making a lawful arrest, you with your cameras attempt to really get into it — I’m not talking about standing back 10, 15 feet — or incite by yelling and screaming, raising the tension level, then you are creating circumstances that are dangerous for the public and dangerous for the police officers," Bratton said, according to the Post.
“Why did he pull his weapon?" Bratton mused. "What was going through his mind that resulted in him pulling his weapon. The punching of one of the people who was evidently filming the incident as the officer exited — we want to understand that also.’’
The Justice Committee, a New York City-based nonprofit that promotes "copwatch" style video oversight of police conduct, described Bratton's remarks as deeply troubling. "In light of decades of police abuse of low-income communities of color and a systemic lack of police accountability, Cop Watching is an important act New Yorkers can and should engage in to help protect one another," Loyda Colon, the Committee's co-director, said. "Bratton’s mischaracterization of this practice raises serious questions about why he wants to avoid public scrutiny and demonstrates his lack of commitment to ensuring safety and respect for all New Yorkers."
The Commissioner may have been encouraged by FBI Director James Comey, who recently blamed video of police encounters with the public as responsible for spiking crime rates across the U.S.
Bratton's defense of Martinez is inconsistent with his stark condemnation of four undercover NYPD officers that were caught on video harassing and arresting Crown Heights postal worker Glen Grays without cause.
"You do not have a right to resist arrest and in so many of those videos, people are resisting violently and being encouraged by the crowd,” Bratton said Wednesday. Two years ago, Eric Garner was arrested and put in a chokehold by plainclothes NYPD officer Daniel Pantaleo on Staten Island. Garner was killed in the incident, and his death was ruled a homicide. (A Staten Island grand jury declined to indict Pantaleo.) His deadly arrest was filmed by Ramsey Orta, and the footage ignited heated nationwide debate about police brutality, racist policing patterns, and the potential benefits of placing mandatory body cameras on law enforcement officers.
Filming police with your cellphone is completely legal, but plenty of NYPD cops will still arrest you for it.
Tagged
Bill Bratton
Copwatch
film the police
nypd
police
Scott Heins
Scott Heins is a freelance photo and video journalist based in New York City, and a frequent contributor to Gothamist + WNYC. His work often centers around labor rights, housing, and policing. In 2018-2019 he traveled to four states while covering a wave of public school teachers strikes, with work featured in The New York Times, The Intercept, Getty Images, Splinter, and Bloomberg Photos. Scott is a dues-paying member of the National Writers Union's Freelance Solidarity Project.
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