Florida man sues after being arrested for filming police

Florida man files lawsuit federal civil rights lawsuit three years after a Marion County sheriff's deputy arrested him for filming officers from a public sidewalk.

In 2021, Marion County Sheriff's Deputy Neil Rosaci arrested George Nathansen and charged him with obstruction of justice for refusing to follow his orders to leave the scene of an investigation. However, body camera footage showed Nathansen standing at least 30 feet away on a public sidewalk before Rosaci approached and put him down.

In Nathansen's lawsuit, filed last Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, he alleges that Rosaci and the Marion County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) violated his Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights by wrongly arresting and incarcerating him.

Numerous federal appeals courts have ruled that filming police is protected by the First Amendment, but police across the country continue to illegally arrest people for this reason. The Department of Justice released a report this month on widespread civil rights violations by the Phoenix Police Department, notably in retaliation against citizens who attempted to record them. Earlier this year, Texas prosecutors abandoned charges against a citizen journalist who was arrested, strip-searched and imprisoned for filming police.

Nathansen's case is another example of police retaliation against someone for activities critical to the First Amendment.

The incident began on July 24, 2021, when Rosaci arrived at the scene of a car accident. As officers spoke with both parties involved in the crash, Nathansen arrived and began filming with his cell phone. There are a growing number of so-called “First Amendment auditors” across the country who record interactions with police and post them online. (In response to allegations of harassment, several states have adopted questionable “buffer zone” laws which criminalize being too close to a first responder.)

Rosaci's body camera footage, obtained by the Ocala Postshowed Nathansen filming near deputies' cars when Rosaci first chased him away and told him, “You can stand on the sidewalk over there.”

A few minutes later, Nathansen walked to a bench, away from deputies, where several of the occupants of one of the cars involved in the crash were sitting. Rosaci returned and physically forced Nathansen back onto the sidewalk, warning him that if he intervened again he would be arrested. Nathansen suffers from a disability that prevents him from speaking and requires him to use an artificial larynx.

Rosaci and another deputy at the scene mentioned they had seen Nathansen before. “He’s the one trying to start this YouTube channel,” the other deputy complained.

Nathansen moved down the sidewalk, taking a few steps back and then taking a few more steps toward the deputies before stopping.

“Sir, don’t come back here,” Rosaci said after Nathansen stopped. “I tell you, if you come back to our neighborhood, I will take you to prison. Back off, back off.”

Nathansen didn't step back, but gestured to the sidewalk. Rosaci approached him and handcuffed him.

Watch the full camera video here:

Nathansen repeatedly requested that a supervisor be present at the scene, but was refused.

A month later, after MCSO released the body camera footage, the local state's attorney dropped charges against Nathansen, saying in a statement to Ocala Post that “Upon review of the body camera video, the defendant's actions do not warrant further prosecution.”

Nathansen's lawsuit seeks compensatory damages and attorney's fees.

The MCSO did not respond to a request for comment.