California Penal Code 148(g) PC states that photographing or recording law enforcement does not constitute resisting or obstructing a police officer as long as the officer is in a public place or the person with the camera has the right to be there. The police may not detain or arrest the person merely for taping them.
The full text of the statute reads as follows:
148g. The fact that a person takes a photograph or makes an audio or video recording of a public officer or peace officer, while the officer is in a public place or the person taking the photograph or making the recording is in a place he or she has the right to be, does not constitute, in and of itself, a violation of subdivision (a), nor does it constitute reasonable suspicion to detain the person or probable cause to arrest the person.
California Penal Code 148 g PC states that recording the police without their consent is not a crime in California as long as:
Police may express annoyance at being video-recorded. But unless the cameraperson is getting in the way of their job duties, simply photographing or recording the police does not constitute either:
PC 148g was codified in 2015 by California Governor Jerry Brown in Senate Bill 411, called the Right to Record Act. It makes allowances for the reality that everyone owns smartphones, and many people use them to record the police when they see an arrest or other heated incident involving law enforcement. 3
PC 148g permits people to videotape the police in public as long as they are not getting in their way.
