Miami Teen has Three Run-ins With Authorities Over Video Recording

by Carlos Miller, pixiq.com
July 3rd 2012

Only two days after a 50 State security guard told Joel Franco he was not allowed to video record on the Miami-Dade Metrorail, a Florida State Trooper threatened to confiscate his camera because he was video recording a traffic fatality.

It was the third time in less than two weeks the Miami resident was ordered by an authority figure to stop video recording.

The first time was when a Hialeah police officer ordered him to turn his camera off while recording the arrest of another man during the street celebrations that ensued after the Miami Heat won the national championship in June.

That man was arrested after he picked up a police flare from the street and ran off with it.

Franco was then threatened with arrest for standing in the street, even though it was closed off and already filled with thousands of people.

See Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJOes_4TZUM

Franco is 16 years old. A high school student and aspiring journalist. His Facebook page, World Must Wake Up, has more than 5,000 likes and his Youtube channel more than 2 million views.

A quick look through his videos and you'll see he already has the fundamentals of journalism down.

But he was a little unsure about the law after the second incident, so he obliged with the cop's orders but then he asked his viewers in the video about whether or not he was allowed to record police officers from the street.

One commenter referred him to this blog, so now he is learning his rights.

On Monday night, he was walking to his local Taco Bell when he was noticed that police were investigating an incident in which a man was killed after he was struck by a car.

Franco ran up to the scene and started recording, standing behind the yellow police line.

But he was told to stop recording or have his camera confiscated as evidence. You can see that part at 6:45 in the video.

See Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcMFC3Q3_mo

He acted as if he was obeying, but he just moved to a hidden spot and continued recording while the mainstream media pulled up and were allowed to record.

Franco knew something wasn't right, so he asked his Facebook followers for advice on how to deal with cops who order him to stop recording.

Unfortunately, a couple of people gave him wrong information as you can see in the screenshot below.

So I'm going direct him to HONORYOUROATH's Youtube channel because nobody does it better than him when setting cops straight on the law. Jeff Gray is also a fellow Floridian.

Here are two videos from Gray's collection that Franco should watch.

I will also guide him to the U.S. Department of Justice's guidelines for police officers on how to deal with citizens who record them in public and hopefully he'll learn it so he can educate officers, even if he has to carry around a printout with him at all times.

And I will ask my readers to give him any advice they can because you know this isn't the last we hear of him.

Original Page: http://www.pixiq.com/article/miami-teen-has-three-run-ins-with-authorities

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Victor Cuvo, Attorney at Law

770.582.9904

(sent from new iPad)