Right to Video Record is Central Feature in Police Lawsuit

The incident harkens back to a similar ordeal faced by a pair of men who were stopped and randomly searched by police officers in Belize City.  It was later determined by the courts that the officers abused their powers.  According to Mendez, the right to record is central to the case that is before the High Court.

 

Leslie Mendez, Attorney-at-law

“I think that if we recall the case of Greg Nunez and Bryton Codd, it dealt with a similar issue with respect to arbitrary searches.  In that case, the court had actually identified the use of acts such as the Misuse of Drugs Act and the Firearms Act.  [It] had identified that the department seems to, had identified the misuse of these acts.  I’ll just leave it at that, as a systemic problem within the department and in fact the judge in that case recommended that training be conducted for police officers to be able to understand how they can use these acts and what needs to be established in order for them all to utilize these acts and their search powers under these acts appropriately and specifically what really constitutes reasonable suspicion.  So that was the issue in that case and to some extent, yes, we see it arising in this case as well.  What is different in this case, though, is that we are also raising the issue of the right to record.  That was not present in that case and what we are inviting the court to find, and we rely on a couple of authorities in some jurisdictions, that say that the right to record is encompassed in the right to freedom of expression.”