On May 2nd, 2013, the Idaho Peace Officer Standards and Training Academy held a seminar on radical religious and political Movements. According to the seminar announcement, this what the seminar covered,
"Emerging Extremism will cover the history and trends of radical religious and political ideologies and their impact on leaders of nation states and their citizenry. Of special note in this presentation will be the rising challenges for law enforcement officials due to the proliferation of extremist beliefs and the waning influence of the nation state. The trend: Disgruntled and unstable people will choose to renounce allegiance to their host nations and opt for primary loyalties that are often based on radical ideologies that may call for violence."
http://www.post.idaho.gov/Calendar_Training/EmergingExtremismMeridianPD.pdf
Within Idaho, political ideology was touched on in a training exercise through initiation of a traffic stop on Interstate 84,
The video of the drivers interaction was later posted to the Libertarian Party website, making the video itself go Viral. However, not all persons working Law Enforcement in Idaho uses political ideology in the process of performing their duties, as seen with the Boise Police Department helping marchers cross the street during the Million Mask March November 5th,
One of the organizers of the march had made it clear that violence would not be tolerated during the event. In March, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation had issued a document on the subject of Political Ideology and the use of Video Recordings,
"For example, in 2010 a Virginia-based US person pled guilty to communicating threats after he posted a video to the Internet encouraging violent extremists to attack the creators of a television show, including highlighting their residence and urging online readers to “pay them a visit.” He also admitted to soliciting others to desensitize law enforcement by placing suspicious looking but innocent packages in public places, which could then be followed up by real explosives."
Speaking on the subject of First Amendment protected activity, the bulletin stated, "First Amendment-protected activities should not be reported in a SAR or ISE-SAR absent articulable facts and circumstances that support the source agency’s suspicion that the behavior observed is not innocent, but rather reasonably indicative of criminal activity associated with terrorism, including evidence of pre-operational planning related to terrorism. Race, ethnicity, national origin, or religious affiliation should not be considered as factors that create suspicion (although these factors may be used as specific suspect descriptions)." http://info.publicintelligence.net/DHS-FBI-ExpressedThreat.pdf
These guidelines, however, have been subject to interpretation by individual officers, leading to an increase of Law Enforcement ordering persons to not film in Public Places. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, this is what they had to say about Filming in Public Places,
"When in public spaces where you are lawfully present you have the right to photograph anything that is in plain view." Further in the guidance document, the ACLU said, "Taking photographs of things that are plainly visible from public spaces is a constitutional right – and that includes federal buildings, transportation facilities, and police and other government officials carrying out their duties. Unfortunately, there is a widespread, continuing pattern of law enforcement officers ordering people to stop taking photographs from public places, and harassing, detaining and arresting those who fail to comply." http://acluidaho.org/wpsite/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/KYR-Photographers.pdf
The ACLU later went on to talk about special considerations involved in Video Taping when it came to Wiretap Laws in individual states. Addressing the topic of Civil Liberties in the YouTube Age, a source close to Idaho Law Enforcement said, "The more you do your job, the more it makes my job ten times easier." The subject that was addressed was the issue of Filming Law Enforcement in the performance of their duties. The Officer went on to address the subject, saying, "I don't have a problem with you filming, however, if you get to close, I'm going to arrest you for interfering." An example of what the Officer described was seen in a video involving the Boise Police Department in Downtown Boise at Night, during Apr 1st, 2012
Within the video's description box, this is what YouTube user Cyal8rsk8r4 had said of that night, "Taylor is being violently and unnecessarily "detained" at the start of the video. Roughly 10 seconds passed before I pulled out the cam to film what I saw as a overbearing use of force. Basically making sure we obtained video evidence, WE ARE A MEDIA COMPANY."
What was unknown, was the events before the video, where the Officer had yelled at the person behind the camera about getting to close to him previously.
An example of Video documentation and Law Enforcement interactions while keeping distance, had occurred on August 3rd, when a fight had broken out at Jimmy Johns restaurant in Downtown Boise,
The Idaho Law Enforcement source said, "It really helps us out in the long run." Describing how it protects both sides involved in a Law Enforcement interaction.
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