It has been reported to the POA leadership that local television stations have attempted to capture working police officers on camera. A television crew not only filmed a legitimate stop by a patrol officer but also tried to bait the officer into getting angry by questioning the legitimacy of the traffic stop. Apparently, the only people that got angry and acted unprofessionally were the camera crew and an attorney working with the camera crew. The police officers were professional, cool and calm. Without naming the officers, I commend them for doing a good job and professionally handling a difficult situation. This attempt to catch the officers on tape never aired since the plan did not work and the incident became a non-story.
A point to be made is that anytime officers are in the field they are subject to videotaping and tape recording by television crews or ordinary citizens. You should always assume that you are being recorded or video taped on every contact. During my 15+ years representing police officers, numerous videotapes recording officer activity have been produced. With only a few exceptions, the tapes typically support the correctness of the police officers' conduct.