24 SHARES Facebook Twitter Google Reddit Tumblr Digg Linkedin Stumbleupon Mail Print

Last month, I interviewed William Kilgore and Tommy Frain, the founding members of the newly formed Citizens Coalition for Police Accountability. On January 15th, Kilgore and Frain were filming a traffic stop and search conducted by a Tarpon Springs, FL police officer. At some point during the incident, an officer approached Kilgore, informed him that “what you just videotaped was this officer receiving consent to search that person,”[ref name=”source1”]

As a tangent, I would advise against ever giving police consent for to search your vehicle. Per the Fourth Amendment, police cannot legally search motor vehicles under most circumstances unless they have a search warrant for the vehicle. Under the exclusionary rule, evidence found during illegal searches generally cannot be used against a person in court. If police ask to search your car, clearly state “I do not consent to any searches.” You are not obligated to give a reason as to why you do not want your vehicle searched and your refusal to grant the police permission for a search cannot be used as evidence against you.

Do not give your consent even if you honestly believe that you have nothing to hide. There are too many laws on the book to keep track of, so it’s always possible you’re breaking the law without even realizing it. It’s also possible that someone you allowed to ride in or borrow your vehicle left something illegal behind without your knowledge. Even if you could be 100% sure that a search of your vehicle couldn’t possibly turn up anything incriminating, the police will probably damage your property if you allow them to search it. Cop Block bloggers Ademo and Pete have had their RV trashed multiple times during police searches; see here and here for video of the aftermath of these searches. If police destroy your property during searches, you will probably never receive compensation for the damages. The bottom line is that you have nothing to gain and a whole lot to lose by giving police consent to search your property.

For more detailed information about the right to refuse searches, the right to remain silent, and other advice on how to handle encounters with police, check out the films BUSTED: The Citizen’s Guide to Surviving Police Encounters and 10 Rules for Dealing with Police by Flex Your Rights as well as this lecture titled “In Praise of the Fifth Amendment Right to Not Be a Witness Against Yourself.”

[/ref] and then demanded that Kilgore surrender his video camera or go to jail. The officer falsely told Kilgore that he was obligated to relinquish his property because it was “evidence.” [ref name=”source1″]

Attorney Bert Krages advises that “Law enforcement officers may have the authority to seize film when making an arrest but otherwise must obtain a court order.”

[/ref] When Kilgore chose not to provide the officer with the camera, the officer placed him under arrest for “obstruction.” Frain then attempted to film Kilgore’s arrest with his cell phone, but the officer stole the phone as well.

Unfortunately, when I published the interview, no video of the incident was available as the two had chosen to withhold it for legal reasons. The video has since been released and can be viewed below. Cut to the 5:15 mark to see the arrest.

According to CCPA’s video description:

The first five minutes detail a traffic stop which occurred earlier in the evening on S. Walton Ave. in Tarpon Springs, FL, at which time Kilgore was threatened with arrest on felony wire-tapping charges. Then the video cuts to the traffic stop/arrest that was occurring on E. Tarpon Ave., at which time an individual who identifies himself as an Officer Switala informs Kilgore that he must either hand over the camera as evidence or be taken to jail. Toward the end of this exchange, Kilgore’s camera runs out of battery power, at which time Thomas Frain pulls out his cell phone camera and continues to record. The last segment is the video from Frain’s camera, which shows Kilgore being put into cuffs, and an officer saying “We’re going to need that camera as well”, referring to Frain’s cell phone, which was confiscated that night along with Kilgore’s camera and cell phone.

Also worth noting is that on February 5th, CCPA held a march to the Tarpon Springs, FL police department in support of Kilgore and Frain. You can see video of the march and brief interviews with Kilgore and his lawyer from a local news channel here:

Notes: