Can you photograph a police officer?
 

Why do cops always say that you can't take photos/video of them?
Last night I had a friendly confrontation with a couple cops in a funny/stupid situation. They were nice, but when we stepped back to take a photo of the entire scene including cars, people, and the officers, they said we had to delete it.

Just curious... in journalism school I was always taught to be cooperative with police and not get in their way because if they want to they can make your life difficult, BUT if police are in a public place that they can be photographed just like anyone else and not to let them try to tell you otherwise.

So... do you know the real deal?

Go for it, we are public servants in a public setting

Just taking a picture of police in day to day duties is different than getting in the way at a crime scene or investigation for which you can bring trouble upon yourself

Some cops do get pissy and may ask you to delete the photograph, but its the same as if you were at a car show and you snapped something and the person came over and asked you not to photograph them

Ive had people photograph me, I just make sure they get a good angle

Yeah thats what I thought... I really don't understand why it is so common for cops to to pull that card though. I realize its usually not worth the trouble to resist especially when they could be making a big deal out of my exhaust, tint, etc. so I just go with to save the hassle. Oh well, now we don't have a pic of my Supra stuck in the snow with the cops there finding out what the hell is going on, haha.