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City Council approves citizen's right to observe, record police activity

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SEATTLE — On Monday the Seattle City Council unanimously approved the Observer Bill of Rights, which grants citizens the legal right to observe and record police activity.

Councilmember Lisa Herbold, who sponsored the bill, said “with the advent of video cameras on smartphones, more people have the ability and opportunity to record police interactions than ever before.  While the majority of police interactions with the public are fair and professional, the observation of police actions is one way to help ensure that people are treated unfairly in their interactions with police.”

The bill allows citizens who are not involved in any police activity to record, photograph or make "critical comments" of police activity as long as it "does not hinder, delay, or compromise legitimate police actions, threaten safety, or attempt to incite others to violence."