St. Louis Man Files Suit After Being Arrested For Filming Police

ST. LOUIS, MO — A man who records police with his video camera is suing the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and seven of its officers after being arrested and having his camera confiscated, the Riverfront Times reports.

David Whitt, a 38-year-old activist, helped to start a local chapter of Copwatch in 2014. That organization seeks to hold police accountable by documenting incidents of abuse and misconduct on video, and Whitt said he has been an active member since a Ferguson police officer shot Michael Brown, a black teenager, four years ago.

For some idea of what Copwatch does, check out the trailer for their documentary below (language warning):

Whitt was in the north city documenting the arrest of a suspected car thief in August 2016 when he was arrested.

Filming police officers in public is legal, as long as you don't interfere with their official duties, and Whitt's attorneys maintain that he didn't. Based on video evidence, they say, Whitt was about 50 feet away from the scene when he was arrested.

Whitt was held for about 10 hours, and while he ultimately wasn't charged, police kept his camera as evidence. He didn't get it back for more than five months. When it was finally returned to him, he said it was damaged and the memory card had been tampered with.

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Read more from the Riverfront Times.

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