Greeley, CO Privacy & Surveillance: Recording & Consent Laws (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- City Code § 14-183
- Press/recording exemption
- applies during riot dispersal orders
- Exemption lost if
- physically obstructing officers
- General public recording
- no separate city restriction found
Summary
Greeley's riot-dispersal law exempts news reporters and anyone recording events for the public press or other media from police dispersal orders during a riot, unless they're physically obstructing officers' efforts to control it.
A person commits a violation of this section if, during a riot or when one is impending, such person intentionally disobeys a reasonable public safety order to move, disperse or refrain from specified activities in the immediate vicinity of the riot. A public safety order is an order designed to prevent or control disorder or promote the safety of persons or property, issued by an authorized member of the police, fire, military or other forces concerned with the riot. No such order shall apply to a news reporter or other person observing or recording the events on behalf of the public press or other news media unless the news reporter or other person is physically obstructing efforts by such forces to cope with the riot or impending riot.
(Prior Code, § 15-30; Code 1994, § 10.24.080)
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Municipal Code: Supplement 6 Update 1).
Full Breakdown
City Code § 14-183 makes it a violation to disobey a reasonable public safety order to move, disperse or stop specified activity near a riot or impending riot. The same section carves out an explicit exemption: "No such order shall apply to a news reporter or other person observing or recording the events on behalf of the public press or other news media unless the news reporter or other person is physically obstructing efforts by such forces to cope with the riot." Outside a declared riot situation, Greeley's Code has no separate ordinance restricting the general public's right to record police or other officials in public.
Violations & Fines
Disobeying a lawful dispersal order during a riot is a misdemeanor violation; a reporter or recorder loses the statutory exemption and can be cited only if physically obstructing officers' riot-control efforts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I be ordered to leave while recording a disturbance in Greeley?
Does Greeley have a general law against recording police in public?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Greeley
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