Federal Court to Rule on Passengers Live Streaming Police During Traffic Stops

Cars have always been a minefield when it comes to privacy rights verses public safety, and now, two important questions are finally in front of a U.S. circuit court: Is live streaming protected in the same way as recording, and does the passenger in a stopped car have a First Amendment right to record or broadcast a stop?

These questions are now before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit based on a lawsuit brought by Dijon Sharpe. Sharpe was riding in a car pulled over by Winterville, N.C., police in 2018. He began live streaming the traffic stop to Facebook Live when a Winterville Police Department officer told him to stop. The officer tried to grab Sharpe’s phone and threatening him with arrest if Sharpe didn’t surrender the phone to the officer.

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Sharpe sued the police department, arguing that live streaming the interaction was important in order to show that the footage was not edited and to protect the footage from being deleted should the police seize his phone. The Winterville Police Department, however, argued that live streaming puts officers at risk by advertising to people associated with stopped drivers exactly where they are. Such live streams could lead to a crowd gathering or revenge from associates angry over police stops in general.