A federal civil-rights lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court says McKinney police arrested journalist James Springer, who reports and publishes under the name James Freeman, for recording a traffic stop from a public sidewalk and criticizing the officer involved — then took his cameras, phone, and memory cards and searched his data even though the footage was already being broadcast live.

The case does not describe a spontaneous overreaction. It lays out a sequence of decisions that, according to the filing, began with Officer Dean Riano on the side of the road and extended through the City of McKinney, its police department, and the way the city publicly defended the arrest. At stake is whether local governments can use arrest powers and digital searches to shut down journalists who document police activity in public.

Who James Freeman is and why he was there

James Springer, known online as James Freeman, is an independent journalist who travels the country documenting police activity and public-official conduct. His reporting style involves live-streaming encounters, allowing the public to see what happens in real time.

On the evening of October 8, 2025, Freeman was in McKinney, Texas, when he noticed a traffic stop being conducted by Officer Dean Riano. He positioned himself several feet away on a public sidewalk and began recording, broadcasting the encounter to his audience.

Freeman did not step into the roadway, did not approach the vehicle being stopped, and did not interfere physically with the officer. He spoke, however — loudly and critically — questioning what he saw and telling the officer to “shut up” as the exchange grew tense. That speech is what the lawsuit says triggered everything that followed.

“I can take you to jail for that”

According to the court filing, Officer Riano repeatedly ordered Freeman to back up. Freeman complied, but continued speaking. At one point, Riano allegedly told him words to the effect of: “For telling me to shut up, I can take you to jail just for that.” Backup officers soon arrived. Instead of telling Freeman to leave or moving the traffic stop to another location, McKinney police placed him under arrest for Interference with Public Duties under Texas law.

The lawsuit says the charge was applied even though the statute explicitly protects speech that merely criticizes or challenges officers. Freeman was not accused of blocking the stop, touching anyone, or preventing police from doing their work. His actions, the filing says, were limited to filming and speaking. He was taken to the Collin County Jail, booked, and held for roughly seven to eight hours before being released on $2,500 bond. No criminal case was ever filed.

Cameras, phones, and memory cards taken by police

The arrest did not end on the roadside. McKinney police also seized Freeman’s cell phone, his professional video camera, and two CF Type-A memory cards that the lawsuit says contained not only the footage of the McKinney traffic stop but other journalistic work.

The following day, Freeman attempted to retrieve his equipment so he could continue his reporting and return to Arizona. McKinney police told him they were seeking a search warrant to access the data on his devices. The lawsuit says he was pressured to consent so that he could get his property back sooner.

When police completed their digital extraction, the filing alleges they downloaded far more than the traffic-stop video, gaining access to Freeman’s journalistic files, work product, and contacts. This occurred even though the entire encounter had already been broadcast publicly via livestream and recorded on police body-worn cameras.

The City of McKinney steps in

As the arrest went viral online, the City of McKinney did not distance itself from what happened. Instead, the McKinney Police Department issued a public statement acknowledging the attention the arrest was receiving and asserting that people are allowed to record police so long as they do not “interfere.” At the same time, the city stated that officers are authorized to take enforcement action — including arrest — if they believe interference has occurred.

The lawsuit says that messaging was not neutral. It claims the city’s statement signaled official approval of Freeman’s arrest and reinforced the idea that speaking critically while recording police can be treated as a crime.

The filing also points to the city’s handling of online comments and public discussion afterward, arguing that the City of McKinney acted to limit criticism rather than examine whether its officers had crossed a constitutional line.

Why this is not just about one officer

Although Officer Dean Riano is named in the case, the lawsuit argues the conduct did not end with him. It accuses the City of McKinney of maintaining policies, training, and decision-making that allowed — and then defended — the arrest of a journalist for filming and speaking. The city, according to the filing, chose not to discipline anyone involved and instead treated the arrest and the seizure of Freeman’s equipment as appropriate law-enforcement actions.

That matters because under federal law, cities can be held accountable when constitutional violations result from official policy, custom, or deliberate choices by leadership. The lawsuit says this was not a rogue act. It says it was how McKinney chose to operate.

James Freeman’s own documentation

Freeman did not leave the story to court filings. Under his James Freeman YouTube channel, he published the footage of the traffic stop, his arrest, and later follow-up videos explaining what happened when he tried to get his equipment back and what police did with his data.

His attorney, Brandon J. Grable, also released video commentary describing the legal issues and the demands being made to the City of McKinney:

Those videos are now a central part of the public record and are expected to be used alongside police body-camera footage and digital-forensics logs as the case moves forward.

What this case could change

At its core, this lawsuit is not about whether James Freeman was polite. It is about whether a government can jail a journalist for speaking critically while filming police in public and then take that journalist’s reporting tools and copy their data.

If the court agrees with Freeman, the ruling could reshape how police departments across Texas — and far beyond — handle people who record them. It would draw a hard line between real interference and speech that officers simply do not like.

If the City of McKinney prevails, it would give cities broader power to use arrest and digital searches as a way to silence and deter people who document law enforcement. That is why this case is being watched well beyond Collin County. And it is why a traffic stop on a McKinney sidewalk has become a federal courtroom battle over press freedom in the digital age.

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