Civilians seeking to video record their encounters with cops inside NYPD precincts should hit pause — the practice could land them in cuffs.
A day after a civilian posted video of himself launching into a vulgar tirade against a 28th Precinct sergeant inside the Upper Manhattan station house, the department issued new guidelines directing cops to arrest those who won’t stop recording.
Anyone videotaping inside these facilities will first be asked to stop recording, according to the memo, released on Wednesday and citing a recent update to the department’s patrol guide. If a person won’t stop recording, they will be asked to leave — and those who still refuse can be arrested, the document states.
However, recording police activity in public spots — streets, parks and private property — is a First Amendment right, the memo reminds officers.
The document also directs police to arrest those who act in a manner “so disruptive as to meaningfully interfere with police operations within a police facility” if they refuse to stop or leave when directed.
But the department cautioned cops that “conduct is not illegal merely because of the officer’s subjective feelings about the person’s statements, even if the statements consist of insults and ridicule.”
The memo was released only two days after a man berated and threatened to sexually assault officers inside Harlem’s 28th Precinct stationhouse.
“Sergeant Lopez, he can suck a big fat f–king d–k,” the man said, according to video taken Monday and posted to Instagram the following day. “Shut the f–k up, b—h,” he barked at the sergeant seconds later.
“I’m going to put it in your f–king a–,” the man added.
The sergeant and the man then got into an argument about whether he was allowed to record inside the precinct, with the belligerent man saying: “I can record; I can do what the f–k I want.”
The man walked out of the precinct and was not arrested, a police source said.