DO NOT USE! How legal is it to film the NYPD? An activist tests the system online and in court

Bystander videos have exposed countless cases of police violence in the last few decades, from the 1991 beating of Rodney King to the more recent killings of George Floyd and Eric Garner. 

Now, a group of social media personalities is testing the limits of what’s legal — and what’s acceptable — when it comes to filming officers. 

SeanPaul Reyes, 32, also known on social media as the Long Island Audit, films in police precincts, town halls, libraries and other government buildings in the New York area — or wherever else in the country his followers tell him to go. 

He’s part of a growing movement of so-called constitutional activists, also known as first amendment auditors, who film in government buildings to test whether officials will allow them to exercise their first amendment rights. Many times, those officials are members of law enforcement who try to stop them from recording.

Read the full story at Gothamist.com.