Texas should pass legislation protecting the rights of citizens to record the police without arbitrary distances and allowing officers to order such recording position to be changed when their safety or ability to perform their duties is interfered with. Texas should also adopt an amendment to current statute governing interference with governmental operations to provide a defense for filming, recording, photographing, documenting, or observing a peace officer alone similar to the “speech alone” exemption in current statute.
Testimony in Support of SB 36, with Ammon Blair in House Committee on Homeland Security, Public Safety & Veterans’ Affairs
Chairman Hefner, Vice Chairman Lopez and honorable members of the committee, My name is Ammon Blair, I am a Senior Fellow at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, and I am testifying in support of Senate Bill 36. My background includes being a former U.S. Border Patrol Agent who served in the Rio Grande Valley Sector....