This story has been updated with additional information and comment from the Cincinnati police union.
Three Cincinnati police officers arrested a self-proclaimed First Amendment auditor from Kansas City after they said he refused to identify himself to officers.
Angel “Bartholomew” Moses, 39, told The Enquirer he was exercising his First Amendment rights on the sidewalk near Piatt Park on May 12 when police approached him.
Moses was recording First Commonwealth Bank on the Downtown park and asking questions about bank security, according to a complaint filed in Hamilton County Municipal Court.
A video published on Moses’ Facebook page had more than 136,000 views as of Wednesday night.
Moses regularly posts his “First Amendment audits” of police departments across the country there. The one from Cincinnati shows three Cincinnati bike patrol officers approaching him outside the bank.
First Amendment audits are a nationwide trend where people go outside of places like police departments, banks and other institutions and begin recording to provoke a response from law enforcement. When officers respond, the auditor generally claims their First Amendment right to record from a public space and most departments will move along.
Officer Craig Graening asked Moses several times what he was doing outside of the bank. Moses responded that the officer could see what he was doing.
Graening, an 11-year officer within the department, began to explain why he was called out there, but Moses cut him off and asked if bank security called police.
Moses pointed at a bank employee standing outside and began to walk toward him. Officer Caleb Sarchet, a 10-year officer within the department, then grabbed Moses and placed him in handcuffs.
“Sir, you were recording a bank, asking questions about the layout of the bank. You could be planning a robbery or something. You could be armed. You could be dangerous,” an officer tells Moses as he is being arrested.
In the complaint, officers said Moses refused to identify himself.
Moses said he was about to walk away but instead was arrested and brought to jail. Court records show he was charged with misdemeanor failure to disclose personal information.
In a statement posted on social media, Cincinnati police asked for the community’s patience as the incident is investigated internally and by the city’s Citizen Complaint Authority. Police department spokesman Sgt. Anthony Mitchell confirmed the statement is referring to Moses’ arrest.
“The Cincinnati Police Department is aware of the incident currently circulating on social media involving members of our department,” the statement says. “We take all community concerns seriously, and we are actively reviewing and investigating the facts and circumstances surrounding this incident.”
Department policy says recording in public is lawful
Cincinnati police policy explicitly addresses citizens photographing, video and audio recording in public places.
“Recording of people, places, buildings, structures, and events is a lawful activity and shall not be restricted by Department personnel,” the policy reads. “Recording in places where a person is permitted to be is not by itself suspicious conduct.”
The policy says that when an officer sees a citizen taking photos or recording video/audio, the officer shall not order the citizen to stop recording, demand their identification, demand they provide a reason for recording or detain them for recording.
Officers also may not intentionally block or obstruct recording devices, or in any way threaten, intimidate or discourage someone from recording.
Police union says Moses ‘bit off more than he could chew’
Police union President Ken Kober said in a statement on Facebook that Moses needs to “brush up on the constitution and Ohio Revised Code” going forward.
“After reviewing the video, it’s clear the ‘auditor’ simply bit off more than he could chew. CPD officers responded, investigated and made an arrest that was based off what the law says,” Kober said.
Mark Krumbein, a Cincinnati defense attorney for more than four decades, said Ohio’s law on failure to disclose personal information is clear that police must have reasonable suspicion a crime has been committed.
“What would give you suspicion? Police might say he’s hanging around a bank. But if he’s casing the bank, the last thing you’d want is to be seen doing it,” Krumbein said. “It’d be covert.”
Krumbein said the law comes up more often during traffic stops. If someone is pulled over for a traffic violation, they are required to identify themselves to police. But like anything else, he said, police cannot just pull someone over for no reason and ask questions.
“I’m unaware of any statute that says you have to talk to the police,” Krumbein said. “Obviously, you could be asking for trouble or hassle, but there’s nothing illegal about it.”
Caution tape surrounded the entrance to First Commonwealth Bank the afternoon after Moses posted the video of his arrest on Facebook. He was released on a $1,500 bond and is expected next in court on June 17.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati police arrest man in First Amendment ploy. Video goes viral
Reporting by David Ferrara, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
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