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NY Mayor Eric Adams says only citizens with upgraded iPhones to film at a distance should document police

Courts have argued documenting police action is protected by the First Amendment.

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New York Cityโ€™s Mayor Eric Adams said filming the police from a close distance โ€œis not acceptable, and wonโ€™t be tolerated.โ€

At an event at the New York City Police Academy, where he announced the reintroduction of the anti-gun unit, Adams was asked about his stance on civilians who want to โ€œdocument whatโ€™s going on.โ€

The topic has been the subject of many First Amendment lawsuits in various states, the argument being that documenting police is a constitutional right that the police canโ€™t suppress. This argument has been supported by multiple courts.

The mayor responded: โ€œThat is one thing that we are going to do: We are going to teach the public how to properly documentโ€ฆIf an officer is trying to prevent a dispute from taking place and de-escalate that dispute, they should [not] have someone standing over their shoulders with a camera in their face, yelling and screaming at them, without even realizing what the encounter is all about. Thereโ€™s a proper way to police, and thereโ€™s a proper way to document.โ€

He added: โ€œIf your iPhone canโ€™t catch that picture with you being at a safe distance, then you need to upgrade your iPhone.โ€

Adams did somewhat acknowledge that people have the right to film the police, saying โ€œYou can safely document an incident, and we can use that footage to analyze what happened.โ€