[Andrea]

Hundreds of civilians prevented from filming NYPD cops as officers knock cellphones away, threaten arrests: report

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nypd-cops-knock-phones-threaten-arrests-civilians-film-article-1.3283987?utm_content=bufferb84f7&utm_medium=socia l&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

NYPD officers have been accused of trying to prevent hundreds of civilians from videotaping them over the past three years by knocking cell phones from their hands, blocking them or threatening to arrest them, according to a report by the Civilian Complaint Review Board.

The CCRB received 257 complaints from 2014 to 2016, making 346 allegations that officers tried to interfere with civilian recordings of police activity, according to the report, released early Wednesday.

The watchdog agency substantiated 96 of those 346 allegations, or 28%.

The CCRB is recommending that the NYPD add a new Patrol Guide entry with guidelines on what to do if a civilian pulls out a camera phone and starts taping — including a section describing the public’s right to record police activity.

More than half of the complaints were made by people recording their own interactions with cops, and in 65 cases, the officers were accused of damaging the recording device or deleting the recording.