James Lieutenant ltic with the Billings police department out so I'm aware of the of the incident I reviewed it honestly I have no no excuse for for that type of behavior um or for those type of decision making going on with that with that type of incident um it's not something we condone obviously we know you need to have Reasonable Suspicion to detain somebody or identify them hey what's up everybody it's James Freeman and I've got an update on this arrest in Billings Montana I got a phone call from the lieutenant apologizing for the arrest I'm going to show the arrest again here for people who haven't seen it to make sure you've got the full story if you've already seen it and you want to skip to the update there will be timestamped chapters in the video so that you can skip to the part that you want on July 4th 2024 officer fonte of the Billings Montana Police Department arrested Ron Phillips for recording outside of a government building officer fonte approached Ron told him he had to give him his ID and then arrested him right nows being called on you for filming here what are you doing waiting for an Uber waiting for an Uber yeah I figured this would be the safest place okay and I need an ID I'm exercising My First Amendment right I need an ID what crime have I committed you're the subject of a call from this Detention Facility so I need an ID I just told you that M My First Amendment right I'm telling you if you don't give me an ID I'm going to take you to jail for obstructing a pce officer so but what crime have I committed by not giving your ID you're committing the crime of obstructing P but I'm asking for my fourth amendment protection searches and seizures of my persons and property correct you commit a crime then I have the right to Jud I have the right to seize you yeah so what crime have I committed obstructing a police officer right now you're committing that crime no there has to be an underlying thing that you're investigating I'm investigating you they called me okay but what crime am I committing obstructed police officer so you you you going to give me your idea so had they not called you how would I be obstructing a peace officer okay so I haven't committed a crime Prim I will take this right to jail okay so here's the deal I'm going to tell you real quick I'm waiting for an Uber like I said I'm exercising My First Amendment right right now you're being detained you're not free to go what reasonable articul suspicion do you have that I'm committing a crime right now you're committing a crime of obstructing a piece officer I already told you that so here's but you don't have the right to come up and just identify me yes I do when you're the subject of the Fall I do were you guys were you out on the nor no not the I'm waiting for my Uber I'm waiting for my Uber and I would like to do it in a safe spot is your last give me your name I'm going to go to jail man because this is my first can I take my backpack off no we didn't yeah I have done nothing wrong instructing a pce officer you refus to provide your name or date of birth that is a crime okay prot am a crime come do you have any weapons so I called the police department and I spoke to a sergeant Peterson hoping that he would understand and comprehend this is is it standard to arrest somebody simply for failing to ID uh yeah if we're there for a lawful reason they have to provide their name and date of birth if you're there for a lawful reason yep if if someone hasn't committed a crime or isn't suspected of committing a crime are they required to give ID it it depends on the circumstances it was the next day that Lieutenant lenck called me back I was asleep it was 7 in the morning when he called me back turned on a phone to start recording and recorded this phone conversation with Lieutenant lenck hello hi this James yeah James Lieutenant lenck with the bills Police Department out I am calling you cuz Sergeant Peterson passed on your information to me this morning and I returning your phone call what can I do for you sir um I was uh just wondering if uh you guys were going to continue to arrest people for refusing to ID he he had told me that uh that people are required to ID when they aren't suspected of a crime is that correct no that is not correct so I'm assuming this is stemming from officer font's arrest on July Fourth of Mr whatever his name is I'm sorry Phillips I think right yes yeah okay so I'm aware of the of the incident I got made of aware of it on Monday um when I got into the office so I reviewed it I honesty I have no no excuse for for that type of behavior um or for those type of decision making going on with that with that type of incident um it's not something we canone obviously we know you need to have Reasonable Suspicion to detain somebody or identify them and then probable cause to make an arrest not identifying yourself you haven't committed a crime and you're simply videotaping in front of a a public sidewalk is not a crime um and it doesn't doesn't constitute uh that type of identification or arrest so I reviewed everything I've already met with the city attorney's office I requested that they review the case and the charges uh we did an internal complaint on the officers filed it with the offic of Professional Standards my office um issued mandatory uh constitutional law training that focuses specifically on the First Amendment um Department wide that went out yesterday afternoon um to make sure that we're clearing up any questions or misunderstandings on that on that type of law our guys should already know that but obviously we need to revisit it uh so I'm trying to work quickly to get ahead of it and get everything get everything cleaned up and get everybody's questions answered and make sure that everybody's on the same page and they understand what constitutes Reasonable Suspicion and probable C so that we don't have this issue anymore excellent great that was that's where we stand right now um I'm I you know I'm waiting to hear from the results on The Office of Professional Standards and I'm waiting to hear from the city attorney's office on like their take on it you know but I I would be kind of hardpressed to think that they have a different understanding of the law than I do I mean that's that's how I understand it so I'm going to assume that they're going to kind of fall in line with like that that shouldn't have happened and we need to we need to fix it and take some account of for it and get it cleared up awesome I appreciate it that was uh that was all I was looking for uh it was I was a little upset when uh the sergeant kind of gaslighted me and told me he doesn't know and I like I told him when I spoke to him look man we all make mistakes but um you know I I I do it all the time just ask my wife uh yeah no no we're human right like and I you know I get it yeah things happened and but no we don't I I watched the video and I just I don't all I can do is just kind of sit there and awe and now all I can do is go back and try to get it cleaned up and fixed all right I appreciate it I will uh I'll get an update published and and I appreciate you addressing it yeah no absolutely if you got any other questions let me know happy to clear them up for you all right thanks a lot all right thanks man but at the exact moments that Lieutenant linck was on the phone with me assuring me that he would fix the the issue and get First Amendment training for the Department someone at the department was hiding or deleting or removing comments from posts on the Department's Facebook page because the the comments and the posts were critical of the police department there were somewhere between two and 300 comments hidden by the department on posts that were made by the department on July 17th and July 18th the truth is that over the last few decades government in the US has been able to get away with silencing their critics by any means necessary including threats and even force or violence and with this new age of social media things are changing the tables are turning and we're able to publish and show Beyond reasonable doubt that our governments here in the United States not just the federal government but even more so our local governments are doing exactly what we Trash Talk places like Russia and North Korea and China for doing they are literally doing the same thing but they've had such a powerful handle on controlling the narrative for so many decades that now when people like myself criticize them the general population is so brainwashed into believing that we have the greatest government in the world that they are almost uh they're angry that anyone would dare to criticize their government and and most of these people especially up in Montana are people who will wave their their flags and claim to be Freedom loving people uh who hate big government but the second you criticize the muscle behind big government the police they lose their Collective Minds