Daytona Cops Try to Detain Man for Videotaping Cars as He Walks Away
Jeff Gray entered Daytona City Hall/Police Department to submit a public records request, which despite what the Florida Sunshine Law states, have proven extremely difficult for government officials to abide by throughout the entire state.
But this time, it was surprisingly easy with a clerk allowing him to video record the daily visitor log, which is allowable by state law, and probably the easiest public record to obtain considering it is sitting right there in the front lobby.
Unfortunately, Daytona police had to go and ruin this positive experience when they detained him outside for video recording cop cars for b-footage.
Cops are funny like that. They think it’s suspicious for a man to openly record the cars leaving the parking lot, not realizing anybody could just walk in and make a public records of the surveillance video that is no doubt recording the cops coming and going through the gate.
Under Florida law, that person wouldn’t even have to provide a name or identification.
But the two plainclothes cops that confronted Gray in front of the police station weren’t too keen on the law considering they were under the impression that Florida’s wiretapping law pertains to areas where they would not have an expectation of privacy.
So maybe they should check out Gray’s other video where he spoke to an assistant state attorney who had written article two years ago, confirming that citizens are allowed to record cops on duty with or without their consent.
Although he was asked several times, Gray never provided identification nor his name, keeping in full control of the conversation, eventually walking away to his car and driving off, with them no doubt writing down his plate number so they can run his name through the crime database, which is not exactly legal either.
