Cops tell Uber driver to stop filming, but he's also a lawyer
When cops pulled over Uber driver Jesse Bright and asked him to stop filming on his phone, they had no idea he was actually a lawyer, and knew he was well within his rights.
Bright was driving a passenger on the ride sharing app when he was pulled over near a pawn shop in Wilmington, North Carolina on February 26. Bright started filming the interaction as multiple officers surrounded his car and his passenger was detained.
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As Bright is filming, Wilmington Police Sergeant Kenneth Becker tells him to turn it off.
"No, I'll keep recording, thank you. It's my right," Bright fired back immediately.
"Don’t record me. You got me?," Becker replied.
"Look, you’re a police officer on duty. I can record you," Bright said.
Becker then claimed that there was a new law which made filming illegal, and when Bright asked him to be more specific, Becker told him to step out of the vehicle. Bright didn't get out of the car, and told the officer that he was recording just in case something happens.
Becker told Bright that he was going to search his car. When Bright refused, Becker called for a K-9 unit.
That's when Bright tells the cops he's an attorney, and offers up his American Bar Association card to prove it.
The K-9 unit was brought in, and according to the cops, indicated a presence of narcotics, allowing cops to do a full search of the vehicle. They found nothing.
Both the Bright and his passenger were released without charges.
According to WECT, the Wilmington Police Department started an internal affairs investigation last Friday. On Wednesday, Chief Ralph Evangelous issued the following statement, which will also be given to officers to read in the future:
"Taking photographs and videos of people that are in plain sight including the police is your legal right. As a matter of fact we invite citizens to do so when they believe it is necessary. We believe that public videos help to protect the police as well as our citizens and provide critical information during police and citizen interaction."
However, the New Hanover County Sheriff's Office – which also had an officer at the scene – won't be conducting an investigation because their officer did not violate any laws.
While the issue with filming was problematic enough, Bright also found issue with the K-9 unit. Officers refused to tell Bright the dog's indicator for smelling narcotics, and Bright said he believed they had no right to search his vehicle.
Bright explained in an email to WECT what occurred during the K-9 search.
"I repeatedly asked the Sergeant and the K-9 what the dog's indicator was, to indicate that he smelled narcotics in the vehicle. They refused to tell me. The K-9 lead the dog around my car 1 time, in which the dog did nothing but sniff the vehicle. He didn't seem to make any indication at all towards the vehicle, besides sniffing in the places that the K-9 told him to sniff. After the sniff was done, the Sgt immediately went into my vehicle without my permission, and did a full search, checking all areas of the car, and pulling everything out of the center console and glove box. During the search, I was told I had to let them search my body as well, which they did."
Bright claims that his constitutional rights were violated when officers told him to stop filming, and when officers searched the vehicle without his consent.
The American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina said it's going to monitor the situation and see how both agencies involved proceed going forward.
