A man who said he was an independent journalist filming footage of a car crash in Ocean County, New Jersey, had his camera confiscated and was placed under arrest.
NBC10 reports that 23-year-old Andrew Flinchbaugh was arrested on Thursday after he refused to hand over his camera.
"This is not a negotiation," the detective says in the video above. "Do I sound like I'm negotiating with you?"
Flinchbaugh told the detective with the Ocean County prosecutor's office that he would show him his footage or make him a copy of it, but he would not relinquish his camera.
The prosecutor's office said it would likely drop the charge of obstructing the administration of law.
"We never would have looked at the video without getting a search warrant and, based on our information, we didn't have the legal right to get the search warrant at that point," Ocean County prosecutor Joseph Coronato said.
The American Civil Liberties Union notes that it is generally acceptable to film law enforcement in public areas as long as the video-taker doesn't interfere with police work.
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