AMY DOMINELLO
Copyright 2006 News & Record (Greensboro, NC)
All Rights Reserved
Do you ever get the feeling somebody’s watching you?
In Greensboro, you might be right.
If you’re at a large public gathering, you may well find yourself being recorded on police videotape.
Legal? Sure it is.
Controversial? You bet.
The practice grabbed attention again in Greensboro last week after a confrontation between a plainclothes police officer and anti-Bush protesters during a rally.
But that wasn’t the first time that police picture-taking or videotaping has led to tensions, and the use of the procedure is creating friction between law enforcement and civil liberties groups.
Capt. Gary Hastings, commanding officer of the police department’s Criminal Investigation Division, said videotaping can be a useful tool for police, who can use it to provide documentation if a law is broken. The work is done by the Special Intelligence Section, which monitors gangs as well as hate and fringe groups.
The unit has come under scrutiny recently amid the resignation of police Chief David Wray, who resigned in January amid controversy over Special Intelligence and allegations it targeted black officers for internal investigations. Interim police Chief Tim Bellamy moved the section back under the Criminal Investigation Division and no longer permits Special Intelligence to investigate officers.
Hastings said police monitor all types of events where there’s a possibility of conflict or where a large crowd is expected, such as protests, N.C. A&T’s homecoming and even the circus.
It’s also common procedure to videotape traffic stops, he said.
Just as it’s legal for a citizen to take pictures in public, it’s legal for police, too, Hastings said.
“Anyone can photograph anybody,” he said.
Some civil liberties advocates are raising questions about the activity, though.
Jennifer Rudinger, executive director for the ACLU of North Carolina, said that political events have become targets in the last five years.
“We certainly in recent years have seen an increase in this activity, and it’s disturbing,” she said.
But she agrees that police, or anyone, are allowed to take photos in public places.
“When you’re out in public there’s no law preventing anyone from taking your picture,” she said. “The question we ask when it’s the government is for what and why.”
Other police departments have varying approaches to the practice.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department does so when officers feel it’s appropriate and for groups that may have caused problems in other cities, said Keith Bridges, the public affairs manager for the department.
In High Point, the department uses cameras to document crime scenes, said Lt. Angela Tackett, a High Point police spokeswoman. To her knowledge, the department has not used videotaping or photographing during large events.
In Greensboro, Hastings said plainclothes officers generally do the videotaping.
In the recent incident in Greensboro, the detective was videotaping vehicle license plates in an area near where protesters had gathered on South Elm Street.
Protesters contend the detective did not identify himself as an officer when asked and initiated a confrontation. Police said he and other officers were assaulted by protesters, seven of whom were arrested. No one was seriously injured.
Tim Hopkins, an organizer of the protest, said he is concerned about why the police were videotaping license plates and what the information is being used for.
Incidents like the taping and subsequent scuffle are what brought people out that night, he said. The protest was sponsored by a local chapter of group called a group called the World Can’t Wait, which aims to “Drive Out the Bush Regime.” The national group also sponsored a march on Washington on Saturday.
“For the first time, some of these kids saw how this government works,” Hopkins said of the Tuesday night rally that coincided with President Bush’s State of the Union address. “I think the cops got a lot of explaining to do.”
Hastings said police began videotaping protesters “to document who was there and who was violating the law.”
The march was supposed to take place on the sidewalk but moved to the downtown streets, a violation of state law because the group did not have a parade permit, police say.
Hastings said the protesters knew the person videotaping them was a police officer . He said they recognized the detective, E.L. Cuthbertson, and called him “a pig.”
“I don’t think there was any question he was a police officer,” Hastings said.
Issues involving civil liberties aren’t the only questions surrounding the videotaping.
Michael Frierson, an associate professor of broadcasting and cinema at UNCG, was at the protest Tuesday and thought the police were helpful and showed restraint before arrests were made.
But he questioned the effectiveness of videotaping cars that could have belonged to anyone downtown Tuesday night, not just protesters.
“It doesn’t seem a very efficient way to gather information about people who create a problem,” he said.
Organizers are demanding all charges against the arrested demonstrators be dropped.
That may not happen.
The police department is still reviewing the incident, Hastings said.
“There could be more charges,” he said.
Contact Amy Dominello at 373-7091 or adominello @news-record.com
Contact Jason Hardin at 373-7021 or jhardin @news-record.com
They say the practice can help document illegal activity, but it leaves many civil liberties advocates uneasy.
February 5, 2006