An Edmonton man who was taken into custody after being told by police to stop recording an arrest now has his camera phone back.

"Now that I have my phone back and all charges are dropped, and this is a story people are going to read about - absolutely, I'm in a good mood right now." said Corey Maygard.

Maygard, 25,took out his phone last Friday because he thought police were using excessive force to arrest a man near the Salvation Army in downtown Edmonton.

Corey Maygard says the video he took on Friday night was still on his phone when he got it back, but thinks police accessed the device. (CBC News)

He says one of the officers approached and told him to stop recording. He refused.

Maygard was charged with obstruction of justice - police took his cellphone and he was held in jail overnight.

When the charges were withdrawn Monday, the court ordered that Maygard’s phone be returned to him.

However, when he tried to get it back, he was told it could not be found. Police said the information wasn't yet in their property and exhibit system.

Danny Lynn, Maygard’s defence lawyer, went to police headquarters to personally deliver the court order Friday afternoon.

"I'm just shocked that it's taking this long on a simple return of a cell phone … That's all," he said.

Hours later, Maygard’s phone was returned to him in a sealed evidence bag. The video was on the phone, but Maygard realized that he only began to record after he saw the arrest. The actions that caused him concern are not on the video.

While he locked the phone before giving it to police, Maygard suspects it was accessed, because some of the settings were changed.

He says despite the arrest, he’s still glad that he took the video that night.

"You’ve got to stand up for yourself, because if you don’t, no one else will."