Yes. In Maryland, you generally have the right to record police officers performing their duties in public, as long as you are otherwise acting lawfully and safely. Maryland law specifically states that a police officer may not prohibit or prevent a citizen from recording the officer’s actions when those conditions are met. That right does not, however, allow someone to interfere with police activity or disregard other lawful restrictions.
Is It Legal to Record Police in Maryland?
Yes. Maryland law expressly protects a citizen’s ability to record police activity in certain circumstances. Under Maryland Criminal Procedure § 2-109(c), a police officer may not prohibit or prevent a citizen from recording the officer’s actions if the citizen is otherwise acting lawfully and safely.
This protection applies to recording an officer’s actions; it does not give someone a right to interfere with police activity, enter a restricted area, or otherwise act unlawfully while recording. The statute makes the right to record conditional on the person acting both lawfully and safely.
Does Maryland’s Wiretap Law Make It Illegal to Record Police?
Not necessarily. Maryland’s Wiretap Act generally restricts the interception of private oral communications, but that does not mean every conversation recorded in Maryland requires the consent of everyone present. The statute defines an “oral communication” as a conversation or words spoken in a private conversation.
Whether a conversation is protected can therefore depend on the circumstances, including whether the people involved had a reasonable expectation of privacy. This distinction is particularly important when recording police activity occurring openly or in public. Maryland also separately provides that a police officer may not prohibit or prevent a citizen from recording the officer’s actions when the citizen is otherwise acting lawfully and safely.
Can Police Tell You to Stop Recording in Maryland?
Police generally may not order you to stop recording simply because you are recording their actions. Maryland Criminal Procedure § 2-109(c) states that a police officer may not prohibit or prevent a citizen from recording the officer’s actions if the citizen is otherwise acting lawfully and safely.
That protection does not make recording exempt from otherwise lawful police authority. An officer may still give lawful commands related to safety, an arrest or detention, or control of a police scene. Maryland law also prohibits intentionally interfering with an officer who is making or attempting to make a lawful arrest or detention of another person. The important distinction is between an officer restricting conduct for a lawful reason and prohibiting recording merely because a person is documenting police activity.
Can Police Take Your Phone or Delete Your Recording in Maryland?
The fact that you are lawfully recording police does not, by itself, give an officer authority to take your phone or erase your recording. Maryland law specifically provides that an officer may not prohibit or prevent a citizen from recording the officer’s actions when the citizen is otherwise acting lawfully and safely. However, there can be circumstances in which police have independent legal authority to seize a phone, for example, when it is lawfully seized as evidence.
Seizing a phone and searching its digital contents are separate legal questions. In Riley v. California, the U.S. Supreme Court held that police generally must obtain a warrant before searching digital information stored on a cell phone, even when the phone was seized from someone who was lawfully arrested. The Court recognized that exceptions to the warrant requirement, such as exigent circumstances, can still apply in particular cases.
Deleting a recording presents a different issue from temporarily seizing or securing a device. Maryland’s statutory protection against preventing lawful and safe recording does not create a general power for officers to erase a citizen’s recording simply because it documents police activity. Whether police may lawfully access, copy, preserve, or otherwise handle particular digital evidence can depend on the circumstances and applicable Fourth Amendment rules.
Can You Record Police During a Traffic Stop in Maryland?
Yes. Maryland’s protection for recording police applies during traffic stops as long as you are otherwise acting lawfully and safely. Maryland Criminal Procedure § 2-109 specifically addresses traffic stops and other stops, and the same statute provides that an officer may not prohibit or prevent a citizen from recording the officer’s actions when the citizen is acting lawfully and safely.
Recording the stop does not eliminate your other legal obligations as a driver. You may still be required to comply with lawful instructions during the stop, and the right to record should not be confused with a right to interfere with the officer’s actions. In practical terms, a driver can generally record the encounter while still complying with the requirements of the traffic stop.
Can You Be Arrested for Recording Police in Maryland?
Recording police is not, by itself, grounds for arrest in Maryland when you are otherwise acting lawfully and safely. Maryland Criminal Procedure § 2-109 expressly provides that a police officer may not prohibit or prevent a citizen from recording the officer’s actions under those circumstances.
However, recording does not shield a person from arrest for separate unlawful conduct. For example, Maryland Criminal Law § 9-408 prohibits intentionally interfering with a police officer who is making or attempting to make a lawful arrest or detention of another person. A person could therefore be recording an encounter and still face arrest if there is an independent lawful basis for the arrest.
The distinction is important: recording police and interfering with police are not the same act. Maryland law protects lawful and safe recording, while other laws can still apply to a person’s conduct during the encounter.
What Should You Do If Police Tell You to Stop Recording?
If an officer tells you to stop recording, the reason for the instruction matters. Maryland law provides that an officer may not prohibit or prevent a citizen from recording the officer’s actions when the citizen is otherwise acting lawfully and safely.
At the same time, a disagreement about the right to record does not eliminate other lawful police authority. An officer may give commands related to an arrest, detention, safety, or control of a scene, and Maryland law separately prohibits intentionally resisting a lawful arrest or interfering with an officer making or attempting a lawful arrest or detention of another person.
If you believe an officer improperly prevented you from recording, you can document what happened and address the issue afterward rather than physically resisting or interfering at the scene. Complying with a lawful command involving your movement or conduct does not necessarily mean that recording itself was unlawful.
Recording Police in Maryland: Quick Answers
| Question | General Rule |
| Can you record police in public? | Generally yes, when you are otherwise acting lawfully and safely |
| Can you record audio of police? | Often, but Maryland’s Wiretap Act can apply to private conversations |
| Can you record a traffic stop? | Yes, while still complying with lawful requirements of the stop |
| Can police make you stop recording? | Not merely because you are lawfully and safely recording their actions |
| Can police take your phone? | Only when there is an independent lawful basis to seize it |
| Can police search your phone? | Generally a warrant is required to search its digital contents, subject to recognized exceptions |
Maryland Laws & Legal Sources
USA Beat relies on Maryland statutes and court decisions, along with controlling federal constitutional authority, when explaining the right to record police. The following sources provide the legal foundation for this guide.
- Maryland Criminal Procedure § 2-109 – Expressly provides that an officer may not prohibit or prevent a citizen from recording the officer’s actions when the citizen is otherwise acting lawfully and safely.
- Maryland Courts and Judicial Proceedings §§ 10-401 and 10-402 – Maryland’s Wiretap Act provisions defining protected “oral communication” in terms of private conversation and governing interception of communications.
- Maryland Criminal Law § 9-408 – Prohibits intentionally resisting a lawful arrest and intentionally interfering with an officer making or attempting a lawful arrest or detention of another person. Riley v. California, 573 U.S. 373 (2014) – U.S. Supreme Court decision establishing that police generally must obtain a warrant before searching digital information on a cell phone seized incident to arrest, subject to recognized exceptions.