Seems like they’re trying to send a signal that they’re not interested in engaging in any more conversation. Feels like a de-escalation tactic.
Whether you like them or not, these cops have people obsessively following them around, filming them, and trying to engage them for social media clout. I suspect if the filters had more of a legitimate purpose, we’d be hearing about it in these articles.
It feels like a de-escalation tactic? This is pretty classic passive-aggressive behavior. And aggressive behavior, whether in the form of overt aggression or passive-aggressive tactics, does not contribute to de-escalation.
Recording police in public as they perform their official duties is a constitutionally protected activity, upheld by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, whose jurisdiction covers California. The police are trying to deter and prevent people from exercising that right.
The mature way to send a signal that they're not interested in engaging in conversation is to say, "I'm sorry, I'm not interested in engaging in any more conversation. I've got to attend to the duties of my job. It was nice talking with you."
I do acknowledge that police officers often face special scrutiny from the press and from the public. But that is because they are public servants with the ability to impinge upon people's life and liberty. And the more the public records LEO interactions, the more bad apples they seem to uncover.
In the video (which hadn’t been taken down, contrary to the headlines) the officer does what you suggest: He calmly states that he can’t continue to engage the person recording in the same conversation over and over again.
This doesn’t appear to be a simple case of the police ignoring someone’s first question. The person recording the police appears to be following them around, recording them, badgering them with accusations and taunts, and posting the videos for social media clout.
Whether you like them or not, these cops have people obsessively following them around, filming them, and trying to engage them for social media clout. I suspect if the filters had more of a legitimate purpose, we’d be hearing about it in these articles.