Missouri woman sues police officer for confiscating her phone as she recorded an arrest

A Missouri civilian recorded a public arrest with her phone in August 2018. The officer conducting the arrest grabbed the phone and threw it into the civilian’s car; after the civilian recovered the phone and continued recording, the officer took her phone again and threatened her with arrest. On Oct. 18, 2019, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in Missouri and the Washington University School of Law filed a lawsuit against the officer in federal court on behalf of the civilian, claiming that the officer’s actions violated her First Amendment rights. 

Key Players

Sarah Townsend, the plaintiff in the case, is a resident of Dellwood, Missouri, a town just north of St. Louis. 

The defendant, Officer T. Williams (whose first name is unknown), is a police officer at the North County Police Cooperative. 

Further Details

According to the official complaint, Townsend was chatting with a stranger in a wheelchair at a local gas station when Williams arrived and arrested the man in the wheelchair. The officer accused the man of begging and harassing pedestrians, allegations the man denied. Williams claimed a nearby store had called the mayor about the man’s misconduct, a charge that the mayor later refuted, according to The St. Louis American. 

Disturbed by the arrest, Townsend began filming the incident on her phone, questioning the officer’s justifications and advocating for the man’s innocence. Although Townsend complied with the officer’s instructions to back away, Williams snatched the phone from her hand and threw it into Townsend’s car through an open window, the lawsuit claims. 

Townsend recovered the phone and continued recording, all the while maintaining a safe distance from the officer, according to the complaint. After continued probing from Townsend, Williams approached her again, took her phone, and placed it in his pocket. Williams threatened Townsend with arrest before returning the device, the complaint alleges. 

Outcome

Townsend sues officer, claiming violation of First Amendment rights

The Missouri chapter of the ACLU and the First Amendment Clinic at the Washington University School of Law filed a lawsuit against Williams on behalf of Townsend on Oct. 18, 2019. 

Williams violated Townsend’s right to criticize and document police activity by confiscating her phone and threatening her with arrest, the lawsuit asserts. 

“Criticizing the government and recording police officers when they carry out their public duties are forms of expressive conduct that are protected by the First Amendment,” the lawsuit reads. “Confiscation of one’s personal property and threatening a person with arrest—including a continuing indefinite threat into the future—would chill a reasonable person from continuing to record and/or criticize the police.”

Broadly speaking, citizens have a right to record public police activity so long as they do not hinder operations, according to Justia, a legal information database. In 2014, in the wake of unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, police reached an agreement with the Missouri ACLU allowing civilians and journalists to record police actions, Politico reports. 

Townsend’s case is not unique. In 2016, St. Louis police arrested a man for recording police activity; he has since filed a lawsuit against the city and is seeking damages.