Short answer: yes. You have a First Amendment right to observe and record police officers performing their duties in public. California law reinforces this right by statute. If you were arrested, detained, or had force used against you because you were filming police, that may itself be a constitutional violation with legal remedies.
The First Amendment protects recording police in public
Federal courts — including the Ninth Circuit, which covers California — have recognized that the public has a First Amendment right to photograph and record police officers carrying out their duties in public places. This right belongs to everyone, not just credentialed journalists. Bystanders, protesters, and passersby all hold it equally.
The right is not unlimited: recording must occur from a lawful vantage point and cannot physically interfere with police activity. But the act of recording, standing alone, is protected expression and newsgathering.
California law says recording is not "resisting or obstructing"
Officers sometimes cite Penal Code § 148(a) — resisting, delaying, or obstructing an officer — to justify arresting people who film them. The California Legislature closed that door. Penal Code § 148(g) states that taking a photograph or making an audio or video recording of an officer in a public place, or a place where the person has a right to be, does not constitute a violation of § 148(a) and is not, by itself, grounds for arrest or reasonable suspicion.
What police cannot do when you record
- Arrest or detain you simply because you are recording them in public
- Demand that you stop recording or delete your footage
- Confiscate or search your phone without a warrant or valid exception
- Use force against you in retaliation for recording
What to do if you were arrested or hurt for filming police
Preserve everything: the footage itself, photos of any injuries, names and contact information for witnesses, medical records, and any citation or paperwork you received. Back up your video in more than one place.
Then act quickly. Claims against California government entities — like a city or sheriff's department — generally require a government tort claim within six months of the incident. Federal civil rights claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 are generally subject to a two-year statute of limitations. First Amendment retaliation, false arrest, and excessive force claims may all be available depending on what happened.
Legal claims that may apply
- 42 U.S.C. § 1983 — federal claims for First and Fourth Amendment violations
- The Bane Act (Civil Code § 52.1) — California's civil rights statute for interference with legal rights by threat, intimidation, or coercion
- False arrest / false imprisonment — for arrests without probable cause