U.S. Court of Appeals Affirms: Connecticut Residents Have the Right to Record Police in Public

Hartford, Conn. – The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled today that the First Amendment protects the right to record law enforcement activity and buildings in public, siding with ACLU Foundation of Connecticut’s (ACLU-CT) client Keith Massimino in his lawsuit against Waterbury police employees Matthew Benoit and Frank Laone.

In 2018, Benoit and Laone arrested and charged Massimino after he filmed the exterior of the Waterbury Police Department from a public sidewalk and politely declined to identify himself. The charge was later dismissed.

"This is big," said Dan Barrett, Legal Director of the ACLU-CT. "It puts it in writing that the First Amendment protects our right to record the police in public. This decision is the difference between Connecticut residents being able to hold law enforcement accountable and the police deciding who gets to watch them work. It's a win for democratic oversight."

The court's decision adopted ACLU-CT's "plain-view parity" argument: the public has a First Amendment right to record and share whatever the government exposes to public view on a public sidewalk. Law enforcement can build a fence or close a door to protect its privacy, but it cannot ban speech about what's already visible. The decision also holds that recording a police station, standing alone, does not create reasonable suspicion to justify detaining someone.

"When I decided to record the outside of the Waterbury Police Department from a public sidewalk, I had no idea it would turn my life upside down for the next eight years," said Massimino. "The right to record the people whose job it is to serve, and whose facilities we pay for isn't a technicality; it's how we know what our government is doing. The Second Circuit made clear that these protections belong to every person, not just the credentialed press. I want to acknowledge the tenacious work of Attorney Joseph Sastre, Attorney Ioannis Kaloidis, Attorney Dan Barrett, and the ACLU. Their commitment to the constitution made this victory possible."

The court's ruling made clear that people in Connecticut, New York, and Vermont have the right to video-record police employees and police buildings in public. However, it also found that the officers who violated Mr. Massimino's rights could still rely on qualified immunity, often called a "get-out-of-jail-free card", to avoid accountability for that violation.

For more background on the case, visit the ACLU-CT case page.

Read the court's decision here and the concurring and dissenting opinion of a judge here.

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