Cops Snatch Phone One Day After Ban on Snatching Phones

The day after Washington, D.C., police recognized the right of the public to record their activities, police confiscated a cell phone being used to film officers and returned it without its memory card

On the day after Washington D.C. police implemented a new general order stating they must respect the rights of citizens who record them in public, an undercover cop snatched a cell phone from a man who was recording an investigation in public. When they finally returned the phone back to Earl Staley later that day, he said his memory card was missing.

Now the ACLU, which assisted in drafting the policy, says that perhaps the officer did not know of the guidelines.