Overview

When you witness law enforcement violating someone’s constitutional rights — an unlawful arrest, excessive force, an illegal search, or a violation of free speech or assembly rights — you have both the ability and the responsibility to act. This guide explains what you can do legally and effectively as a bystander or witness.

Audience: Any person who witnesses police misconduct or government rights violations Key Principle: Your documentation, testimony, and reporting can protect victims and create accountability

Emergency Reference

Part I: Your Right to Record

The Legal Foundation

Recording police and government officials performing their duties in public is a First Amendment-protected activity in all 50 states and US territories. Federal appellate courts across multiple circuits have affirmed this right, including:

• Glik v. Cunniffe (1st Cir. 2011) — right to record is clearly established
• Sharp v. Baltimore City Police (4th Cir. 2016)
• ACLU of Illinois v. Alvarez (7th Cir. 2012)
• Fordyce v. City of Seattle (9th Cir. 1995)
• Fields v. City of Philadelphia (3rd Cir. 2017)

You do not need consent from police officers to record them in public spaces. Most states’ wiretapping and eavesdropping laws include explicit exemptions for recording government officials performing public duties.

Where You Can Record

You can record:

• On public sidewalks, streets, parks, and plazas
• In public transit stations and on public transit
• In public areas of government buildings
• From your private property (including through a window into the street)
• At protests and demonstrations

You may face restrictions:

• Inside secure government facilities
• In areas subject to lawful police access restriction (crime scene perimeters, if you are lawfully excluded)
• On private property (subject to that property owner’s rules)

If an Officer Orders You to Stop Recording

• You are not required to stop recording in a public space
• Calmly assert: “I have a First Amendment right to record police in public.”
• Do not argue aggressively — continue recording
• If the officer physically tries to stop you or threatens arrest, you face a practical choice between asserting your rights and avoiding arrest. Consider your safety.
• Document the officer’s name, badge number, and exact words

If Officers Try to Take Your Phone or Camera

• Say clearly: “I do not consent to this seizure. You need a warrant to access my phone’s contents.”
• If they take it by force, do not physically resist — document what happened
• Under Riley v. California (2014), police need a warrant to search the contents of your phone
• Officers may seize the device as evidence of an arrest (their arrest of you), but must obtain a warrant to search it
• After seizure, contact a lawyer and do not provide your passcode

Part II: How to Record Effectively

Before You Start Recording

1. Stabilize your device — hold it with both hands or brace against something
2. Turn off auto-lock — prevent the screen from locking mid-recording
3. Say the date, time, and location out loud at the start of the recording to create a timestamp
4. Enable airplane mode is NOT recommended — you may need to send the video to cloud storage immediately

What to Capture

• Wide shots first — show the full scene, all officers involved, and the surrounding environment
• Officer identification — badge numbers, name tags, vehicle numbers, uniform markings
• Crowd and bystanders — who was present as potential witnesses
• The person being arrested or confronted — their body position, demeanor, any injuries
• Specific force used — type, duration, whether the person was resisting

Secure Your Recording Immediately

If you believe your device may be seized:

1. Enable live upload to cloud — Google Photos, iCloud, or Dropbox with “upload on capture” enabled
2. Use the ACLU’s “Mobile Justice” app — automatically uploads recording to ACLU servers when stopped
3. Text the video to a trusted person off-scene immediately after recording
4. Use CopWatch apps — many cities have local CopWatch apps that upload recordings in real time

Creating Metadata-Verified Evidence

For recordings that may be used in legal proceedings:

1. Do not edit, crop, or apply filters to the original file
2. Note the exact time you started and stopped recording
3. Preserve the original file with original metadata intact
4. Create a SHA-256 hash of the original file as a digital fingerprint (free tools: sha256sum on Linux/Mac, or Hashing Tool on Windows)
5. Store a copy in at least two separate locations

Part III: What to Document Beyond Video

Even if you cannot video record, your written testimony has significant legal value.

Immediate Written Documentation (within 1 hour)

Write down everything you observed:

• Date, time, and exact location (intersection, address, GPS coordinates if known)
• Officer descriptions: agency, uniform, badge numbers, physical description, vehicle numbers
• What you heard: exact words used, commands given, statements made
• What you saw: sequence of events, actions taken, force used
• Injuries: visible injuries to any person, before and after the encounter
• Witnesses: names and contact information of other witnesses
• Your position: where you were standing, what your vantage point allowed you to see

Physical Evidence

• Photograph any injuries as soon as possible after the encounter
• Photograph or record the scene before it changes (positions of people, vehicles, objects)
• Note any shell casings, restraints, or physical evidence in the scene (do not touch)

Part IV: Legal Observer Programs

National Lawyers Guild Legal Observers (Green Hats)

NLG legal observers are trained volunteers who attend demonstrations and document police conduct. They:

• Wear distinctive bright green hats for identification
• Do not provide legal advice at the scene
• Document arrests, use of force, and police orders
• Write detailed reports that are used in legal proceedings
• Provide witness statements to attorneys representing arrested protesters

To become an NLG legal observer: nlg.org/legal-observer-trainings Most chapters offer training sessions before major demonstrations.

NLG National Hotline: 212-679-6018

Other Legal Observer Programs

• National Police Accountability Project (NPAP): affiliate of NLG, trains police accountability attorneys
• ACLU local affiliates: many run community-based documentation programs
• Witness: a human rights organization that trains people to document abuses (witness.org)
• CUAPB (Communities United Against Police Brutality): community-based monitoring organizations

Part V: Reporting Rights Violations

Documenting a violation is only half the work — reporting it creates the official record.

Reporting to Law Enforcement Oversight

Reporting to Civil Rights Organizations

Submitting Evidence to Attorneys

If the victim of the rights violation is seeking legal representation:

1. Contact the victim or their attorney before sharing evidence publicly
2. Provide unedited originals — never edited versions
3. Sign a declaration describing your observations and how you preserved the evidence
4. Provide your contact information for potential deposition or testimony

Part VI: When to Intervene Verbally vs. Stay Silent

When Verbal Intervention May Help

• Calmly stating the arrested person’s rights to them (“You have the right to remain silent”)
• Identifying yourself to the arrested person as a witness (“I am recording this for your protection”)
• Asking officers for their badge numbers calmly and non-confrontationally
• Informing the arrested person that you will call a lawyer for them

When to Stay Quiet and Just Document

• Active use of force situations — verbal intervention may escalate
• When officers are physically restraining someone
• When multiple officers are present and tensions are high
• When intervention could result in your own arrest and loss of the recording

Your recording and testimony have more value than a verbal argument with officers. Stay calm. Keep recording.

Never

• Physically interfere with a lawful or unlawful arrest (this exposes you to arrest)
• Touch or attempt to restrain officers
• Move closer than a safe distance (at least 10–15 feet) when force is being used
• Lie to officers

Part VII: Your Own Rights as a Witness

Officers sometimes attempt to intimidate bystanders who are recording. Know your rights:

• You cannot be ordered to stop recording in a public space
• You cannot be moved back from the scene unless the police establish a lawful security perimeter
• You cannot be arrested merely for recording (though some officers will attempt to charge you with “obstruction”)
• If you are arrested for recording, contact a lawyer immediately and document the retaliatory nature of the arrest
• You cannot be required to hand over your phone without a warrant (Riley v. California)

If you are arrested as a witness/bystander:

• Invoke your right to remain silent
• Invoke your right to a lawyer
• Document the arrest as thoroughly as possible afterward
• Contact NLG or the ACLU — bystander arrests for recording are a known violation

Related Learning Paths

• Role-Based: Civil Rights Activist Playbook | Journalist Playbook | Citizen Playbook
• Use-Case: Witnessing Constitutional Rights Violations | Organizing a Peaceful Protest | If You Are Arrested or Detained