A man was found not guilty of obstructing justice in an incident in which he had videotaped deputies and an ambulance crew outside of his apartment complex as they took away a drunken man, as reported by the TwinCities.com Pioneer Press.
On October 20, 2012, defendant A.H. had refused to identify himself to Ramsey County Sheriff's deputies, and refused to stop filming when ordered. His camera was then confiscated and a deputy told him "If I end up on YouTube I'm gonna be upset."
On February 27 a Ramsey County jury found A.H., 29, not guilty of disorderly conduct and interfering with an ambulance crew. The trial took two days and deliberations lasted less than 90 minutes. He was represented for free – the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota worked in association with the Fredrikson & Byron law firm.
ACLU legal director T.N. commented, "The notion that we're going to criminalize conduct that is First Amendment activity is troubling, and I think it was troubling to the jury."
A.H. believed that the footage would absolve his actions, however, when his camera was returned to him weeks later by police the recording had been removed. A.H. said that in the future he would use "the cloud" system that automatically saves a copy that cannot be removed.
Prosecutor Kevin Beck told reporters that he was disappointed in the jury's verdict. He said that A.H. had come within 3 feet of a paramedic that was trying to access a patient's drunkenness. The paramedic asked A.H. to cease filming and A.H. continued. Then the paramedic asked the sheriff's deputy to speak to A.H. According to Beck the ensuing discussion delayed getting the patient to the hospital. Beck said, "The crime was committed when the paramedic had to stop providing medical care."
However, A.H.'s attorney, Kevin Riach, explained to the court that his client was 35 feet from the patient during the filming and remained silent while the police frisked the drunken man. Riach said that A.H. is a "meek, mild-mannered guy" that happens to have a hobby of filming police in action – in an effort to make them answerable for their actions.
A.H. said that he has no animosity toward the police department, nor has he ever suffered at the hands of police personnel. He had seen a 2012 YouTube of a police beating and became interested in filming police after that.
In his closing arguments Riach stated that his client was only doing what half of the TV news crews do on a daily basis. In this incident it was only escalated when sheriff's deputy J.M. got angry with A.H. when he refused to stop filming. The deputy grabbed his camera, confiscated it and then we had "the mystery of the disappearing video" to contend with as well.
The police never secured the camera effectively, Riach said, and at one point it was in Deputy J.M.'s car, and later, in her office mailbox. Riach said, "That camera should've been put into evidence right away. We'll never know exactly what happened to it."
T.N. added, "(A.H.) is a unique guy in which he was willing to stand up and fight on this. I think we should admire him."
If you have been arrested for a crime and want to fight the charges, contact a criminal defense attorney to discuss your rights and the law.
