May 16 Ward 6 meeting, May 29 Ward 2 meeting
Covered by Documenters Brittany Nader (see her notes here) and Wittman Sullivan (see his notes here)
At two recent ward meetings, city officials and Akron police advised residents about so-called First Amendment auditors seen roaming around libraries, parking lots and the police station.
An Akron police officer at the Ward 6 meeting described First Amendment auditors as people who exercise their constitutional rights on public land in a way that tends to provoke, scare or upset the public. These auditors then record people’s reactions to their provocations and post them on YouTube.
According to First Amendment Watch, “The audits, often posted to YouTube, have become a form of activism: individuals stake out a public facility and record the location and any interactions with staff and the public.
An uneventful audit is akin to ‘passing a test,’ while a confrontational audit, usually an attempt by an employee to interfere with the filming, gets a failing grade. Many audits are nonviolent and uneventful. But some encounters have escalated dramatically, resulting in arrest and litigation.”
Akron police describe recording done by YouTuber
The officer referred to Steven Kelly who has his own YouTube channel called “Lemmy Audit You.” He records people on public property in Akron and enters spaces such as post offices and the police department to record people working. The department has received many calls about him, the officer said.
His most recent video, “County Public Health Building Public Servants Acting Goofy” is 29 minutes of him walking around the Summit County Public Health Department building filming everything he sees, including people, fliers and rooms. He is careful not to film children.
He is polite in his interactions with people who ask if he needs help, but when Health Commissioner Donna Skoda asks why he is filming and who he is with, he says he’s filming for transparency but is vague about where he’s from.
Toward the end of the video, someone else from the health department confronts him and he answers the employee’s questions with more questions.
Officer says actions are ‘annoying’ but legal
At the Ward 6 meeting in May, an APD officer said Kelly’s actions are “annoying, obnoxious, I can’t stand it, but it’s entirely legal.” He said the “auditors” could be charged with trespassing in spaces deemed “limited public forums,” such as libraries.
If you encounter an auditor in a public space, officers say to ignore them or call them out by name. Engaging and causing a confrontation is what they’re after. The officer said if you call Kelly’s name out while he is filming, he will not post the recording.
This type of activism has been used to educate the public and public servants about their rights. For example, if someone records a police interaction, organizations like Audit the Audit will post it so people can learn their rights when interacting with police. Posting videos like this also has an impact on policing.
The Washington Post has reported, “Auditor videos have led to disciplinary actions for hundreds of officers across the country, and a handful of police have lost their jobs. The interactions and resulting legal fights have found their way to a federal appeals court, which affirmed the right of civilians to film police because of a lawsuit brought by a Texas-based auditor.”