Sir, how are you? Good. How are you? Good. Um, is there any way I can speak to a supervisor? Yeah, but the phone's not allowed in here. Oh, it's a camera. It doesn't matter. The camera is not allowed in. Why is that? Cuz we don't allow cameras or any electronic devices. Just sitting here watching some TV. Yeah. Oh, yeah. I'd like to supervisor. That's all right. Yep. But you got to go out with the the camera. Sure. I'll wait in the public lobby area over here. Let's sit here and watch TV all day, I guess. Right. Hi, sir. How you doing? Hey, how are you? I'm swing. What's going on? Um, nothing much. I just wanted to Is that door supposed to be open? Could you do me a favor and step outside? We'll talk out here. We can talk here. No, it's a little windy. You can't have that on in here? Yes, I can, sir. So, we can go outside. Who are you, sir? Sergeant Sweden. Sergeant Sweden. More than happy to talk out here, my man. No, it's We can talk in here. This is a public lobby. We can go outside. We can have a chat. I'm fine right here, Sergeant. Who are you? I'm fine right here. What's your name? I I'm not going to give it. You're not going to give your name? No, I'm not going to give it. I'm an independent journalist. I'm working on a story on the New York State Department of Corrections and um yeah, I just wanted to know did you participate in the illegal strike? I don't um you and I can have a chat here for No, I just have a couple questions. I know everybody's got questions, right? Did you I can't answer. You don't that you're a journalist. All right, but you can answer whatever you want. It's free country. It's not unfortunately. It's not. Yeah, that's why I'm Yeah, that's why I'm here. Do me a favor. Would you just step outside for me? No, I'm okay right here, sir. I'm all right. Hey, how are you? Good. How are you? Who are you? How are you? I'm sorry. Say, how are you? Oh, yeah. I'm good. How are you? How are you? Who are you? I am Lieutenant Emerson. Lieutenant. No, I'm not going to give my name. Lieutenant, is that I just have a couple Yeah, you could you could read the statement, but I just have a quick question. Please leave the area. Yeah. Do you have state will be called? New York State Police will be called if you refuse to leave the area. Videotaping and photographing prison property without the consent of the superintendent or commissioner is prohibited by Doc's policy. Here we go. While members of the public who are visiting inmates are permitted to enter this lot and park their vehicles, this property is owned by the department and is considered part of a correctional facility in falls under the authority and jurisdiction of the commissioner. You're also actually inside the comprehensive facility. I mean you guys this is a public lobby. The door was open. I mean I didn't break in or anything like that. So, do you guys did you participate in the illegal strikes, sir? I'm an independent journalist. I'm working on a story and I'm and I'm recording fractional officers in the course of the duty as is the right under New York State right to monitor direct. You didn't read the whole you didn't read the whole thing. So, is that is that door supposed to be open the way it was? Is that person supposed to be watching TV? Is that TV purchased by the taxpayers or is it purchased by correctional officers? the one that he was watching and half falling asleep. Do you guys have a beatdown squad here? He didn't even read the whole thing. He was lazy. He didn't want to read the whole thing. You know, normally we get this nice long irrelevant speech regarding the commissioner's policies. But again, there is a New York state law. So, we're giving you one more opportunity to leave, which I assume you're going to refuse. I'm just asking some questions and exercising a statuto right. We're not doing that. So, right. Did you participate in legal strike? I'll be happy to speak to the law enforcement officers. That's fine. Okay. Well, you're probably leaving in handcuffs if if that's what it I mean, I don't want to leave in handcuffs, but at the end of the day, I'm engaged in a statuto protected activity. Are you familiar with the New York State Right to Monitor Act? Are you familiar with that law? Hopefully that they're uh All righty. All right. So, we're going to be waiting outside for the law enforcement officers little Hey, what's up? Hi. The reason why you're videoing? Yeah, I'm an independent journalist. I'm working on the illegal strike story. Okay. Um the brutal beatings, beat down squads that have been in the correctional facilities. Hey sir, how are you? Good. How are you? I'm doing well, sir. Do you mind if I get your name and badge number? Name and badge number? Yeah. Trooper lease badge 251. My name is Sean Trooper. Nice to meet you. I'll smile for you. Appreciate it. Thumbs up. It can't be video on facility. Well, there's a New York there's a New York State law, sir. I'm not trying to break the law. That's not my intention. But there is a New York state law called the New York State Right to Monitor Act and it specifically says you are allowed to record correctional officers and law enforcement officers in the course of their duty. They didn't make any exception. How can I how can I record you? Just let me finish and then I promise you, right? Well, you you guys left the doors open. All the doors were open and I saw an individual watching TV. Yeah, but how am I supposed to record correctional officers in the course of their duty if I can't record them in publicly accessible areas of a correctional facility? I'm going to read this to you. You could read what you already read it to me though. Please leave the area. New York State Police will be called video taking and photographing doc facility property without the consent of the superintendent or commissioner is prohibited by doc's policy. While members of the public who are visiting incarcerated individuals are permitted to enter this lot and park their vehicles. This property is owned by the department is considered part of a coral facility. and falls under the authority. Pursuant to correction law section 112, he is empowered to exercise superintendence, management, and control over all department correctional facilities. He can't violate the law or the constitution. He has promulgated the restriction against the videotaping and photographing of doc facility property by any person while present on correctional facility parking lot. Can't wait to foil you that picture. If you would like to request permission to take photos or video of the facility, you may contact the superintendent or commissioner. This property, while publicly owned, is a nonpublic form, traditionally recognized or designated as a form for public publicly owned and it is less restricted. Your activity here is considered a security risk and a trespass. Did you drive a vehicle? You're you're not a law enforcement officer. Hey. Hey, sir. I don't know if you're familiar with the New York State Right to Monitor Act. Um, I mean, I guess you should be, but I don't know if you're familiar with the details of it. I I don't want to break the law. I'm not trying to get arrested. So, in order for me to take this to court, are you going to arrest me if I get engaged in my statuto protected activity and record on the like publicly accessible areas? Where are you going to be recording? In the publicly accessible areas. Not in any restricted area. Obviously, I wouldn't do that. But I'm saying in the publicly restricted publicly accessible areas, excuse me, of the correctional facility, which includes what? But the sidewalks here, the sidewalks here just asking questions. Correctional officers, the the public sidewalk correction officers as they come out, right? Well, I wanted to on the sidewalk. I'm not going Yeah, I only went in to ask for a supervisor. I went in. I said, "Hey, can I speak to a supervisor?" And uh none of these gentlemen came out, but it was a sergeant that came out. But again, I'm not trying to go into a correctional facility, and I'm not trying to go into any restricted areas of anything. I just don't understand how am I supposed to exercise, and that's why I want to take it to court if it needs to go that way. So, a judge can say, "Well, If you were to violate my statutory rights today, I can take it to court and the judge can decide, okay, well, the New York State legislator passed a law saying you're allowed to record them in the course of their duty as a journalist or as a public citizen. But they're saying because of their policy, I can't record them on the property. Journalist or like journalist credentials for an accredited Well, you don't need or you just like run a YouTube channel. Well, you don't need you don't you you don't need credentials. There is no no I'll explain it to you. There is no credentials um for being a journalist. You can get them, I'm sure, from CNN, MSNBC. I'm sure. I'm asking, do you work on behalf of a I work on behalf of the people. The people who A journalist is somebody who reports on No, no. A journalist is somebody who The definition of a journalist is somebody who reports on matters of public interest and disseminates that information to the public. Public interest, right? Because illegal strikes, there's national guardsmen working here. I don't know why they're still here. Yeah. They're they're in the watchtowwer. They're in here. They're, you know, the this is a big story that people have public interest in. Illegal strikes. Uh I'm sure you're familiar with the the body camera footage of the brutal beatdown of um Robert Brooks uh beatd down squads. So I'm here working on that above my head as far as if you're back to the original question was am I going to enforce whatever laws might be applicable here if if you continue to record through these windows. Right. Well well no I I wasn't public accessible. Right. Exactly. And and again, no, and you just read that to him what the New York State Police doc's stance on, right? But nothing nothing he read was the law. Let me be clear. It wasn't the law, right? You want to decipher the law. Right. The law and what they want. Right. Exactly. Because I know the law. I've read the New York State Right to Monitor Act. It includes correctional officers. I know that for a fact. I can pull up the law for you and you can read it yourself. Their policy. Do you have ID?