Officers were called to investigate, found Angel Moss filming a bank and 'reasonably believed' he was about to commit a crime, court records show
CINCINNATI - Cincinnati police announced Wednesday they are investigating the arrest of a man charged with failing to disclose personal information to officers when they were called to investigate as he filmed outside a bank.
The suspect, a self-described ‘First Amendment auditor,’ asked employees inside First Commonwealth Bank near Piatt Park on Tuesday how many of them worked there and where the vault was located, according to the police union. Then, once the man, Angel Moses, 39, was escorted out of the bank and police arrived in response to their 911 call, Moses kept filming, and his encounter with officers is now posted on his Facebook and YouTube pages.
He “began recording a bank and asking questions about bank security, then refused to identify himself when stopped by police,“ his criminal complaint states. Police arrested and charged him with failure to disclose personal information, a fourth-degree misdemeanor, because “while in a public place did refuse to disclose name, address or date of birth, when requested by law enforcement who reasonably suspect is about to commit a criminal offense,” officers wrote in the court record.
Moses, who is from Kansas City, Missouri, was booked into the Hamilton County Justice Center at 1:36 p.m. Tuesday and is now out after 10% of his $1,500 bond was posted, according to the court docket. If convicted, Moses faces up to 30 days in jail, a $250 fine, or both. In an interview with FOX19 NOW, he said he was trying to educate the public about their First Amendment rights.
“I try and put people on notice. I try and let people know about rights. I try and put you on notice rights you may or may not have. I try and teach people what to do in hostile situations and how to deal with law enforcement respectfully,” he said.
Angel Moses was arrested outside a downtown Cincinnati bank Tuesday on a charge of failure to disclose personal information. An official complaint was filed with police about his arrest, prompting the Cincinnati Police Department to release this statement on their Facebook page: “The Cincinnati Police Department is aware of an incident currently circulating on social media involving members of our department.
We take all community concerns seriously, and we are actively reviewing and investigating the facts and circumstances surrounding this incident.
“An official complaint has been filed and is currently being investigated by the department’s Internal Investigations Section, as well as the Citizen Complaint Authority. These investigations are conducted independently and run parallel to one another to ensure a thorough and impartial review process.
“We respectfully ask for the community’s patience as these investigations continue and all relevant information is carefully examined. The Cincinnati Police Department remains committed to transparency, accountability, and maintaining the public’s trust.
“Additional information will be provided as appropriate and consistent with the integrity of the investigative process. ”The police union defended the officers, saying they were following the law and just doing their jobs when a bank employee called 911 for their help.
“There’s a video circulating online for someone who is a self-proclaimed First Amendment auditor who was ‘wrongfully’ arrested after a bank employee called 911 asking for the police to respond. After reviewing the video, it’s clear the ‘auditor’ simply bit off more than he could chew. CPD officers responded, investigated and made an arrest that was based off what the law says.
“Being a self proclaimed ‘First Amendment auditor’ doesn’t insulate you from breaking the law. It appears this auditor needs to brush up on the Constitution and the Ohio Revised Code before acting in an unlawful manner.
“A) No person who is in a public place shall refuse to disclose the person’s name, address, or date of birth, when requested by a law enforcement officer who reasonably suspects either of the following:“Society is at a crossroads. We want officers to proactively patrol and prevent crime in our communities or we don’t.
Watch more videos on FOX19 NOW:Moses claimed his interaction with Cincinnati police was unexpected, but he has been to 13 states doing similar things, posting “First Amendment audits” of police nationwide. The video shot in Cincinnati shows three bike patrol officers approaching Moses outside the bank at 25 Garfield Place.
“Good, how are you? ” the officer asked.
“You really need to know what I’m doing? ” Moses said.
“So, what’s wrong with that? ”“I’m asking you,” the officer repeated. The first officer asked Moses: “Why, why can’t you tell me what you’re doing? ”“Cause you’re looking at it,” Moses said.
“I asked you a simple question. You’re making this way more difficult than it needs to be,” the officer told him.
“OK, what’s that reason? ”“For free,” Moses repeated.
“OK, well, I can ask these questions to you,” the officer said. “OK, it’s up to you whether you want to answer them or not,” the officer said. “Who did? You called them?
” Moses demanded, asking the bank employee standing out on the sidewalk. The employee’s hands were in his pockets with a cell phone clearly on the front of his chest, likely also recording.
“You called them? ” Moses asked the guard again. At that point, another officer said “Let’s detain him. ” Police then told Moses: “Sir, you were recording a bank, asking questions about the layout of the bank.
You could be planning a robbery or something. You could be armed. You could be dangerous. ”“It was horrible,” he said.
“I was shocked and that it even happened because my intention was I was going to record some of the government buildings, which is public, but to get a feel on the police, I decided to do the first one on the public sidewalk, which is a traditional public forum, and police are supposed to be aware of this,” he said. Asked why he just didn’t tell police his name and what he was doing, Moses said people will take advantage of those who do not know their rights.
Moses said he was recording in front of a bank when bike police approached to question him. When asked about how that may have made people nervous, he said his rights do not stop where feelings start.
“My work is intended for the younger generation, and they have a bad reputation of being disrespectful to authority to their elders, so if they look up to me, I can teach them and think I’m a cool guy, they can be respectful for anyone they will continue the path because the youth, they mimic what they see and repeat what they hear,” he told FOX19 NOW. Mark Krumbein, a Cincinnati defense attorney, said the issue is whether police can prove Moses was required to give his personal information.
If any officer has reasonable suspicion that a crime has been, may be, or will be committed, they have every right to identify a suspect, Krumbein said.
“To me, it’s not a real obvious situation, the thing that we’re missing here is we don’t know what the officers knew,” Krumbein said. This case involves balancing one’s First Amendment right to do things that are permissible under the Constitution versus violating criminal law, he noted.
“The complaint alleges that he was inquiring about bank security, so I think that is what the police are saying: They had reasonable suspicion that he might be committing a criminal offense. ” Cincinnati police policy states that recording in public is a lawful activity and not suspicious on its own. Under the law, there are two reasons for someone to be arrested for not disclosing personal information in a public place, Krumbein said.
Whether they might be a witness to a serious offense or an offense of violence.
Fox19 19 Fox News Channel Cincinnati FOX 19 Channel 19 News Cincinnati Police Arrest First Amendment Auditor Failure To Disclose Personal Information Recording In Public Angel Moses Downtown Arrest First Amendment Cincinnati Police Citizen Complaint
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