Michigan Laws on Recording Police: Your Rights and Legal Limits (2026)

Michigan residents have a First Amendment right to record on-duty police officers in public spaces. Michigan's eavesdropping statute, MCL 750.539c, includes a participant exception recognized in Sullivan v. Gray: when you are part of the interaction, you may record it without the officer's consent.

Recording police officers in Michigan is legal, and the right to do so is grounded in both the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and Michigan's own recording laws. Whether you are directly interacting with an officer during a traffic stop or observing police activity from across the street, Michigan law protects your ability to document what officers do in public.

This guide explains the legal basis for recording police in Michigan, the limits of that right, what to do if officers tell you to stop recording, and how Michigan's eavesdropping statute applies to police interactions.

The First Amendment Right to Record Police

Constitutional Foundation

The right to record law enforcement officers performing their duties in public is protected by the First Amendment. Multiple federal circuit courts of appeals have recognized this right, and the U.S. Supreme Court has declined to disturb those rulings.

The legal reasoning is straightforward: the First Amendment protects the right to gather and disseminate information about government officials performing their public duties. Police officers acting in their official capacity in public spaces are government actors. Recording their conduct is a form of speech and press activity protected by the Constitution.

Sixth Circuit Recognition

The U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, which has jurisdiction over Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee, has addressed the right to record police in several decisions. In Crawford v. Geiger, 656 F. App'x 190 (6th Cir. 2016), the Sixth Circuit acknowledged First Amendment interests in recording police, but that decision is unpublished and not precedentially binding. The Sixth Circuit has not yet issued a published, binding opinion squarely holding a First Amendment right to record police in public -- making it an unsettled question at the circuit level, even as the practical right is widely recognized by district courts and the constitutional reasoning is persuasive across nearly every other federal circuit.

This means that both state and federal courts in Michigan recognize the constitutional right to record law enforcement.

Michigan's Eavesdropping Law and Police Recording

When You Are Interacting With Police

If you are directly interacting with a police officer, whether during a traffic stop, a street encounter, an arrest, or any other situation where you are speaking with the officer, you are a participant in that conversation. Under the Sullivan v. Gray participant exception, you can record the interaction without the officer's consent.

MCL 750.539a(2) defines "eavesdrop" as recording "the private discourse of others." When you are part of the conversation, it is not solely the discourse of "others." It is also your own. Therefore, recording your own interaction with police is not eavesdropping.

When You Are a Bystander

If you are observing and recording police activity from a distance and not participating in the conversation being recorded, the analysis is slightly different. The eavesdropping statute could theoretically apply if you are capturing private discourse that you are not part of.

However, two factors work in your favor:

1. First Amendment override. The constitutional right to record police performing public duties generally takes precedence over the eavesdropping statute in this context.

2. No "private discourse" in public. Police officers performing their duties in public spaces generally are not engaged in "private discourse" as defined by Michigan law. MCL 750.539a defines "private place" as a location where someone can reasonably expect to be safe from intrusion, explicitly excluding places accessible to the public. Officers on a public sidewalk or roadway have limited privacy expectations regarding their official conduct.

Police Officers and Expectation of Privacy

Police officers acting in their official capacity in public do not have the same expectation of privacy as private citizens. Their actions are public functions subject to public accountability. This principle applies regardless of whether the officer is making an arrest, issuing a citation, conducting a traffic stop, or interacting with members of the community.

However, officers may have privacy expectations in certain limited situations, such as personal conversations during breaks or communications within a police station that are not accessible to the public.

What You Can and Cannot Do While Recording Police

Your Rights

• Record from any public space. You can record from sidewalks, parks, your own property, or any other location where you have a legal right to be.
• Record without announcing it. You do not need to tell officers that you are recording. There is no duty to disclose.
• Record audio and video. Both audio and video recording of police in public is protected.
• Stream live. Broadcasting your recording live on social media or other platforms is protected speech.
• Refuse to stop recording. An officer's request to stop recording, by itself, does not create a legal obligation to comply (unless your recording is truly interfering with their duties).

Limitations

• Do not physically interfere with police. MCL 750.479 prohibits resisting, obstructing, or assaulting an officer performing their duties. If your recording activity physically blocks officers, prevents them from reaching a scene, or creates a safety hazard, you can be arrested.
• Obey lawful orders to move. Officers can establish reasonable perimeters for safety purposes around crime scenes, accident sites, and emergency operations. If an officer orders you to move back for legitimate safety reasons, you must comply. You can continue recording from the new location.
• Do not enter restricted areas. You cannot enter a crime scene, restricted area, or private property without authorization to get a better recording angle.
• Do not touch officers or their equipment. Physical contact with officers or interference with their equipment, vehicles, or communications is prohibited.

What to Do If Police Tell You to Stop Recording

Officers sometimes tell people to stop recording, even though no legal basis exists for the demand. Here is how to handle the situation:

Stay Calm and Assert Your Rights

Calmly state that you are exercising your First Amendment right to record in a public place. Do not argue, raise your voice, or make sudden movements. You might say something like: "I understand, officer. I am recording from a public space and I am not interfering with your work."

Do Not Physically Resist

If an officer insists or attempts to seize your device, do not physically resist. Clearly state that you do not consent to the seizure, but do not fight. Physical resistance can lead to arrest for obstruction or resisting an officer, creating legal problems that are separate from the recording issue.

Note the Officer's Information

If possible, remember or note the officer's name, badge number, patrol car number, and the time and location of the interaction. This information is essential if you later need to file a complaint or lawsuit.

File a Complaint

If you believe your rights were violated, you can file a complaint with the officer's department, the Michigan Department of Civil Rights, or the ACLU of Michigan. You may also have grounds for a federal civil rights lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. Section 1983.

Device Seizure and Search Rules

The Warrant Requirement

The U.S. Supreme Court held in Riley v. California, 573 U.S. 373 (2014), that police generally need a warrant to search the contents of a cell phone. This protection applies to recordings stored on your device.

In Michigan, police cannot:

• Take your phone without a warrant or valid exception to the warrant requirement
• Delete recordings from your device
• Force you to unlock your device or provide a passcode (though courts are split on biometric access)
• Review the contents of your phone without a warrant during a stop or arrest

Exceptions

Limited exceptions to the warrant requirement may apply in exigent circumstances, such as when officers reasonably believe that evidence on the device is in imminent danger of destruction. However, the mere fact that you are recording police activity does not create exigent circumstances.

Recording Police Body Cameras and Dashcams

Michigan does not have a statewide body camera mandate for police. Departments that operate body cameras are governed by the Law Enforcement Body-Worn Camera Privacy Act, MCL § 780.311 et seq., which sets electronic recording policy requirements. Individual departments set their own policies regarding body-worn cameras and dashcam equipment.

When officers are wearing body cameras, they are recording you while you may also be recording them. Both recordings are generally legal. Your recording may capture different angles, audio quality, or events that the officer's body camera misses.

Accessing Police Recordings

You can request copies of police body camera and dashcam footage through the Michigan Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), MCL 15.231. Departments must respond to FOIA requests within five business days, though they may charge reasonable fees for duplication and may redact certain portions under statutory exemptions.

Recording Public Government Meetings

Michigan's Open Meetings Act (MCL 15.263) provides an explicit statutory right to record public government meetings. The Act states that the right to attend a public meeting includes the right to:

• Tape-record the proceedings
• Videotape the proceedings
• Broadcast live on radio
• Telecast live on television

This right does not require prior approval from the public body. However, the public body may establish reasonable rules and regulations to minimize the possibility of disrupting the meeting.

Penalties for Interfering With Officers

While recording police is legal, interfering with their duties is not. MCL 750.479 establishes penalties for obstructing or resisting an officer:

Recording from a reasonable distance without interfering does not constitute obstruction. Courts evaluate whether the recording activity actually impeded the officer's ability to perform their duties, not whether the officer was annoyed or uncomfortable with being recorded.

Related Michigan Recording Laws

Audio Recording | Video Recording | Voyeurism & Hidden Cameras | Workplace Recording | Recording Police | Phone Call Recording | Security Cameras | Recording in Public | Landlord-Tenant | Dashcam Laws | Schools | Medical Recording

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