Judge Rules Lawsuit Against Round Rock Police Can Proceed: VIDEO

ROUND ROCK, TX -- A judge has ruled that a videographer's lawsuit against Round Rock police officers alleging violation of his civil rights can proceed, according to a published report.

The litigation targets five police officers who plaintiff Phillip Turner alleges arrested him while he legally recorded video at police headquarters in 2014. Turner calmly refused to identify himself at the one officer's request, informing the officer of his lawful refusal to do so without being charged with any crime -- an assertion with which the arresting police officer agrees.

The dialogue between the cop and the civilian reads like a tense-filled "who's on first" routine or a philosophical chicken-or-the-egg debate, but decidedly with less levity.

Turner politely declines to provide the ID requested by the officer unless a charge is cited, prompting the officer to summon a charge of "failure to identify."

Turner asks the officer if he knows what "failure to identify" means, to which the officer responds in the affirmative. The videographer then explains a charge of "failure to identify" is contingent on first being charged with a crime -- which lawfully videotaping on public property is not, he explains.

"It's not illegal, but you are here on our property," the officer says.

"It's public propety," Turner responds. "It's a police station. Unless you're accusing me of a crime, then I would give you my ID."

The police officer is then seen getting visibly frustrated after several minutes of discussion.

"Here's the thing, man," he says. "Here's the thing, here's the thing. People do bad things to police deapartments. I know you're recording -- that's cool; I don't have a problem with that. However when we see people taking pictures of stuff that they don't normally do, we're just going to identify you, see who you are and then you're free to go. In case something happens, the building blows up, whatever it might be."

Turner refuses, and he's forcibly detained.

He would later post the recording of the incident on YouTube, garnering numerous views and sparking a discussion about the behavior of Round Rock police as it relates to individuals' civil rights. Turner titled the six-part video series "1st Amendment Audit," a reference to his civil disobedience on that summer day in 2014.

On May 25, District Judge Robert Pittman dismissed Turner's claim the officers used excessive force upon arrsesting him, the Round Rock Leader newspaper reported. But the judge denied officers' motion to dismiss claims they violated his First and Fourth Amendment rights.

Kervyn Altaffer, a Dallas-based attorney representing Turner in the litigation, told the Round Rock Leader she was gratified with the judge's decision to allow the case to proceed.

“It’s primarily about the First Amendment,” the lawyer said. said. “It’s about constitutional rights and whether Mr. Turner can be handcuffed for just taking pictures.”

Round Rock police spokesperson Angelique Myers declined comment.

See footage of the incident below:

Read the full story at Round Rock Leader >>