CONCORD, N.H. — A New Hampshire city is paying out $275,000 to settle a federal civil rights lawsuit over the arrest of a man who filmed the police.
The state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union filed the lawsuit and said Wednesday that Manchester agreed to make the payment to Alfredo Valentin.
Valentin is from Manchester and was arrested in 2015 on misdemeanor wiretapping charges after he used his phone to record two police officers who were on duty at the time.
The ACLU says the arrest violated Valentin’s First Amendments rights. It says Manchester countered that Valentin’s rights weren’t violated because he was trying to hide his phone from view.
An attorney for Manchester hasn’t responded to a request for comment.
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