Baltimore technically allows recording the police

But does not allow it in practice. [Link]

It's a caveat - some might say loophole - in the new general order publicly trotted out by police on Friday, three days before they're due in court to argue in a lawsuti brought by the ACLU that they are properly addressing citizen's right to record.

The new rule says that citizens have an "absolute right" to photograph or video record the enforcement actions taking place in public view. The chief legal counsel for the agency called it "an extension of the citizen's right to see. [An officer] wouldn't go up to a citizen at a crime scene and tell them to close their eyes, so the officer can't tell them they can't film."

But the rules also says that the person recording may not "violate any section of any law, ordinance, code or criminal article" - such as loitering - while doing so. The officers on Cross Street seemed aware of that fine print.

The police union says the officers acted appropriately and professionally; the ACLU says it shows there's more work to be done. "I think the inescapable takeaway is that the new policy,a nd any training that might have been conducted on the policy, have not been effective at changing the custom and practice of the BPD with respect to citizens' rights to record," said Deborah Jeon, of the Maryland ACLU.

Cover, a 30-year-old who recently moved to the city, said he was walking home when he saw about six officers standing over a hooded man who was handcuffed in front of the Eight by Ten club, near Magerk's. In the video, an officer who notices him seems aware but indifferent, saying, "Get some good footage, man. Get some good footage." But that draws the attention of a supervisor, who tells him to "take a walk."  Another says he is loitering.

"You guys do know you have a standing order to allow people to record?" Cover says.

"Nobody took your phone away, you can record all you want," another officer responds, as they push him up the street. After he walks up the street about 20 feet, four of the officers leave the man that is being arrested and approach him as he backpedals, one holding handcuffs.

"You've been asked to leave, how many times?" the supervisor says, then asks for his identification.

Cover said he recognizes that some people try to antagonize police and "push their buttons," but he said he was just recording on a whim. He said he wasn't looking for trouble and thinks police handled it wrong. 

"It's kind of like the Streisand effect," he said. "If they let me stand there, I probably would have got bored after 30 seconds and walked home, thinking I watched some poor schmuck get arrested."