Your Right to Record Police in Texas

Recording officers doing their jobs in public is a common way people document what happens during stops, protests, and arrests. In Texas and the rest of the Fifth Circuit (Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi), the leading federal appellate decision is Turner v. Driver, 848 F.3d 678 (5th Cir. 2017).

What Turner v. Driver held

Phillip Turner was filming a Fort Worth police station from a public sidewalk in 2015 when officers detained him. The Fifth Circuit concluded:

We conclude that First Amendment principles, controlling authority, and persuasive precedent demonstrate that a First Amendment right to record the police does exist, subject only to reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions.

The court also held that the right was not yet "clearly established" when Turner was detained in September 2015, and the decision put officers on notice going forward. The court granted qualified immunity to all three officers on the First Amendment claim and the Fourth Amendment detention claim; on the unlawful-arrest claim it affirmed qualified immunity for Lt. Driver but reversed and remanded as to Officers Grinalds and Dyess.

The court did not decide which specific restrictions are reasonable. It said restrictions must be "narrowly tailored to serve a significant governmental interest," but they "need not be the least restrictive or least intrusive means of serving the government's interests." Turner, 848 F.3d at 690.

Retaliation for recording

Arresting, threatening, or using force against someone because they are recording can raise a First Amendment retaliation claim under 42 U.S.C. §1983, separate from any Fourth Amendment claim. Retaliatory-arrest claims have special rules about probable cause. Our First Amendment retaliation guide explains them.

Phone seizures and searches

An officer taking a phone is a seizure under the Fourth Amendment, and searching what is on it is a separate step. In Riley v. California, 573 U.S. 373 (2014), the Supreme Court held that police generally need a warrant to search the digital contents of a cell phone seized during an arrest. Seizing a phone only to stop or delete a recording can raise both Fourth and First Amendment problems. Our article Can Police Search Your Phone Without a Warrant in Texas? covers phone searches in more detail.

Practical do's and don'ts

These are general safety and record-keeping suggestions, not legal advice for any particular encounter.

Do

• Record from a place where you are lawfully allowed to be.
• Keep a reasonable distance so you are not interfering with the officers' work.
• Stay calm and keep your hands visible.
• Say clearly, if asked, that you are recording and do not consent to a search of your phone.
• Back up footage to the cloud or another device as soon as you safely can.
• Write down names, badge numbers, patrol car numbers, and the time and place afterward.

Don't

• Physically resist, even if you believe an order is unlawful. Challenge it later.
• Step into an active scene, block officers, or ignore a lawful order to move back.
• Unlock your phone or give your passcode just because you are asked.
• Delete or edit original footage. Keep the file exactly as recorded.
• Post footage of an ongoing case before talking with a lawyer about it.

Related resources

See our First Amendment & content creators page, our constitutional law page, and the videos on our Education & Media page.

This page is general information about Texas and federal law, not legal advice for your situation. Laws and court decisions change, and every case turns on its own facts.