Judge orders NYPD to allow filming in police stations

A federal judge ordered the NYPD Thursday to stop enforcing a policy that prohibits people from recording inside of police precincts while a lawsuit challenging the rule is underway.

SeanPaul Reyes, a social media personality and constitutional activist from Long Island who films himself in police stations and other government buildings across the country to assert his right to do so, sued the NYPD earlier this year after police arrested him twice for filming in the 61st and 75th precincts in Brooklyn. Reyes argued that the ban on filming violates a city law that protects New Yorkers’ right to tape police, as well as the U.S. Constitution.

Nicholas Paolucci, a spokesperson for the law department, said in an email that the city is evaluating its legal options."NYPD is committed to protecting the privacy of victims and keeping New Yorkers safe, particularly inside the public areas in precincts," he said. "While we are disappointed with the court’s ruling, we are encouraged by the court’s indication that NYPD’s policy has a legitimate basis."

The NYPD has told Gothamist in the past that it implemented the recording ban in 2018 to protect the privacy of people who interact with the criminal justice system, such as victims, witnesses and confidential informants. According to court records, the department has also argued that filming in precinct lobbies could compromise the integrity of ongoing investigations and endanger officers.

U.S. District Judge Jessica Clarke wrote that Reyes is not likely to prove that the policy violates the First Amendment, because other courts have ruled that certain government spaces can limit free speech activity for specific reasons, such as to protect safety and privacy.

But she ruled that his lawsuit is still likely to succeed because of the Right to Record Act, which the City Council approved in 2020 as a rebuke to the NYPD’s ban on filming in precinct houses. The city law goes even further than the First Amendment, codifying the right to tape police as long as the person does not physically interfere with law enforcement or break the law.

Reyes, known as the Long Island Audit on social media, has hundreds of thousands of subscribers and followers on YouTube, Facebook and TikTok. He typically records videos on his cellphone in the lobbies of police precincts, the Department of Motor Vehicles and other government agencies, to test whether officials will allow him to record. Often, he is kicked out, and occasionally, he’s arrested.

In an interview earlier this year, Reyes said his goal was to increase transparency, especially when officials break the rules. A resident of Bellport, he has taken a special interest in the NYPD.

“My goal is to expose the bad officers and try to hold them accountable through my platform,” he said.

Clarke wrote that allowing the policy to remain in place would likely cause Reyes “irreparable harm,” because it prevents him from providing “a window of transparency into police officers exercising their duties.”

“Without an injunction, Plaintiff faces a choice between pursuing filming the police — something that New York law unequivocally permits him to do — or being arrested because of NYPD’s continued enforcement of this Procedure,” she said.

The injunction on the filming ban is temporary while Reyes’ case continues to advance through the courts. It also still allows police to stop someone from recording in a precinct if they violate the restrictions laid out in the Right to Record Act.

Reyes’ criminal charges of obstructing government administration and trespassing from his June arrest in the 75th precinct are still pending. He has pleaded not guilty.

This story has been updated to include a comment from the New York City law department.