EDITORIAL: Recording police

Police have the power to seal off crime scenes or areas that require investigation, but they can’t stop people from filming them in public places where no one — not even officers — has any expectation of privacy.

Of course, we have to mention this because some people in law enforcement, and some legislators who want to appease them, repeatedly argue that the public should not be able to carry out their court-affirmed First Amendment right to film. In fact, police across the country continue to arrest people for filming officers — and continue to pay out big settlements to end lawsuits resulting from those improper arrests.

Texas state Rep. Jason Villala, R-Dallas, doesn’t get it. Last week he introduced a bill that would make it a misdemeanor for private citizens to record police within 25 feet. Citizens who are armed would have to move back an additional 75 feet. The only exemption would go to representatives of radio or TV organizations that hold a FCC license, as well as newspaper and magazine journalists.

The proposed exemption for the press, a cynical attempt to win media support, is a joke. Yes, the press enjoy constitutional protections, but not at the expense of the rights of everyone else. During this Sunshine Week, it’s important to remember that Americans need more access to government, not less, and that the media are not the only segment of our society entitled to access. That includes observing, photographing or filming government functions.

The bill would go against precedent set in 2011 by an appeals court, which found that citizens are allowed to record police, regardless of the distance or whether they’re armed or not.

The bill is likely doomed to fail, but legislators are notorious copycats, and fewer things pass more quickly through their ranks than bad ideas. It’s only a matter of time before another state senate suggests a similarly bad bill.

No, instead of fewer cameras, the public would benefit from more. As reported by this newspaper last week, more communities in Nevada and elsewhere are moving toward the use of body cameras on police as an accountability and transparency measure. Let the sunshine in.