PLEASE NOTE: Nothing in this publishing or on this website should be taken as legal advice.
San Antonio Police Officer Enforced the 1st Amendment for a Photojournalist
On an unknown day in an unknown month during 2022, more than a couple members of the San Antonio Police Department in an unknown location of San Antonio properly applied the first amendment for some photojournalist that reference themselves as SkyNewsSA.
Martin D. Olivares, a photojournalist under the calling of SkyNewsSA, advised this moment was captured on recording as he was on an accident scene in San Antonio.
The San Antonio Police Department (SAPD) was conducting an investigation and a citizen was concerned her house was being recorded. For her privacy, we have blurred out her image. The SAPD Officer advised the citizen the individuals recording the accident were allowed to be present to film the encounter.
She was upset and began to provide a license plate of a vehicle to SAPD dispatch, whom she was on the phone with during part of the encounter. Olivares advised us the license plate was not his, but it was also censored for privacy.
The moment may not be “newsworthy” for some, but we found the application of 1st Amendment refreshing and something we would consistently expect from SAPD.
If you watch many auditing videos you may see a theme of auditors asking responding law enforcement to educate the party, which initiated contact, about the auditors ability to record such public videos. You may also see many law enforcement agencies in those videos tend to escape the conversation to reinforce the 1st Amendment.
We hold SAPD, overall, in high regard when comparing like sized departments in Texas. As Chief McManus has stated to News4SA, the agency is not currently experiencing a staffing shortage and it is able to accomplish hiring without offering incentives. These types of actions may be the reason why it does not have a hard time recruiting people to join the department.
Who is SkyNewsSA?
SkyNewsSA is located in San Antonio. It has a Facebook following of over 57K people. The page SkyNewsSA provides a unique experience for many San Antonio and Bexar County residents. It was first established on January 14, 2019. The page allows citizens to post matters of emerging interest which may require a photojournalist to consider capturing.
You can find SkyNewsSA on Tik Toc too @SkyNewsSA1
Please feel free to follow the social platforms of SkyNewsSA. If you reside in the Bexar County area, please feel free to contribute to what the platform is intended to provide.
SkyNewsSA has Authorized us the Ability to Publish this Video
We reached out to Olivares about the video we saw on Tik Toc. He stated we could publish the video. The credit of the video is given to Olivares and the person or people he was with during the encounter. We thank Olivares for allowing us to show this video where SAPD Officers exemplified what it means to “Protect the Alamo City.” We believe it is important for the public to be aware of 1st Amendment rights and this video helps represent such a point.
A Couple of Our Other Publishings
You may like to read our publishing on the Texas Attorney General and his hope to have the Texas Supreme Court stop a whistleblower lawsuit filed on him.
Or you may find our publishing on a “knock and talk,” matter in San Antonio, of interest.
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