How a YouTuber prompted a Danbury police investigation, a possible lawsuit and opened a First Amendment debate
DANBURY — The YouTuber behind recent videos show the cities police response to a situation at the public library. He has filed an intent to sue a city sergeant involved. The response by police is not only raising questions about their actions, but also over whether it should be allowable for someone film or record inside a public building.
The Danbury Police Department launched an internal investigation this past week into the officers’ actions on Wednesday after the video surfaced and the YouTuber filed a complaint with the department.
Four police officers and later the sergeant were called to the Danbury Public Library on Wednesday after the YouTuber, Sean Paul Reyes, refused to stop recording video in the building, despite a library policy banning filming or photography without permission from the library director.
“I’m engaging in a First Amendment protected activity,” Reyes says in the video. “I’m gatherings content for a story. I have freedom of the press. This is a public building. I’m allowed to be here and I’m allowed to record. Regardless of what their policy says, policy does not trump law.”
Reyes, who is from Long Island, films similar videos for his YouTube channel, Long Island Audit, with the goal to educate officers and spread awareness about First Amendment rights, he said. He plans to make more videos in Connecticut, he said.
The Danbury Police Department launched an internal investigation this past week into the officers’ actions on Wednesday after the video surfaced and the YouTuber filed a complaint with the department.
Four police officers and later the sergeant were called to the Danbury Public Library on Wednesday after the YouTuber, Sean Paul Reyes, refused to stop recording video in the building, despite a library policy banning filming or photography without permission from the library director.
“I’m engaging in a First Amendment protected activity,” Reyes says in the video. “I’m gatherings content for a story. I have freedom of the press. This is a public building. I’m allowed to be here and I’m allowed to record. Regardless of what their policy says, policy does not trump law.”
Reyes, who is from Long Island, films similar videos for his YouTube channel, Long Island Audit, with the goal to educate officers and spread awareness about First Amendment rights, he said. He plans to make more videos in Connecticut, he said.