Wilmington, N.C. – Last month during a traffic stop, cops illegally demanded from an Uber driver that he stop recording the interaction with his cellphone. What they didn’t know however was that the driver, Jesse Bright is a defense attorney. Now after an investigation, Police Sgt. Kenneth Becker, one of the officers involved, has been demoted with a 5% reduction to his paycheck after 17 years in the department, CBS News reports.
Bright uploaded three videos to his Facebook timeline of the traffic stop in which he points out that his passenger was being arrested for allegedly visiting a drug house. When one of the officers ordered Bright to cease recording, Bright replied, “I’ll keep recording, thank you. It’s my right. … “You’re a police officer on duty. I can record you”, after which Officer Becker threatened to take him to jail. Bright stuck to his guns though, telling Becker he knows the law: “I’m an attorney so I would hope I know the law”.
When a K-9 unit was then called in to search the vehicle, and Bright told police that he does not content to the search.
According to CBS, after the incident the department released a statement that they are launching an official investigation. Chief Ralph Evangelous in the statement reiterated that “Taking photographs and videos of people that are in plain sight, including the police is your legal right.”
Watch the video below:
