10th Circ. Looks to Sister Courts in Ruling Police Officer Can Be Liable for Blocking Filming of Traffic Stop

"The First, Third, Fifth, Seventh, Ninth, and Eleventh Circuits have all concluded in published opinions that the First Amendment protects a right to film the police performing their duties in public," Judge Scott M. Matheson Jr. wrote on behalf of the Tenth Circuit panel.

July 18, 2022 at 06:09 PM

5 minute read

Communications and Media

Allison Dunn

What You Need to Know

A YouTube journalist/blogger sued a Lakewood, Colorado, police officer for allegedly blocking his camera view of a traffic stop and driving his police cruiser toward him.
A district court judge dismissed the complaint for the plaintiff's failure to state a claim and because the officer was entitled to qualified immunity.
The Tenth Circuit disagreed, relying on authority from six other circuits and its own caselaw that shows the officer did not have qualified immunity.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit joined six other circuits in considering whether a person has First Amendment rights to film a traffic stop in Colorado, ultimately reversing the lower court's holding that an officer who allegedly obstructed a YouTube journalist/blogger's camera view had qualified immunity protections.