Filmmakers Challenge Restrictions on Recording Police in London

After being subject to a stop and frisk in the tube

Cameras are everywhere: in our pockets and on our streets. But what happens when we turn those cameras on members of law enforcement?

In 2009, filmmakers Fred Grace and Gemma Atkinson were returning from a meeting in London. As they exited a subway ('Tube') station, Fred was stopped by officers from London's Metropolitan Police and searched for drugs–a procedure called 'stop and search' that's become common in the city. Grace had no drugs in his possession.

Atkinson, Grace's partner, filmed the encounter on her smartphone.

What happened next led Atkinson and Grace to challenge the way British law was being interpreted, and–now–an animated film about their experience.