Arresting someone for filming a law enforcement officer is a Constitutional violation, a federal judge in Massachusetts has ruled.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit issued the ruling on Friday in the case of Simon Glik, who was arrested on Oct. 1, 2007, after using his cell phone to record three police officers arresting a suspect on Boston Common. Glik was later charged with criminal violation of the Massachusetts wiretap act, aiding the escape of a prisoner and disturbing the peace.

The charges were dropped, and Glik later sued in federal court, claiming the officers violated his First Amendment right to record police activity in public. He also claimed the officers violated his Fourth Amendment rights by arresting him without probable cause to believe a crime had occurred.

Source: Citizen Media Law Project

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