"}Is This Beverly Hills Cop Playing Sublime\u2019s \u2018Santeria\u2019 to Avoid Being Live-streamed?
Sennett Devermont was at the department to file a form to obtain body camera footage from an incident in which he received a ticket he felt was unfair. Devermont also happens to be a well-known LA area activist, who regularly live-streams protests and interactions with the\u00a0police to his more than 300,000 followers on Instagram.
So, he streamed this visit as well\u2014and that\u2019s when things got weird.
In a video posted on his Instagram account, we see a mostly cordial conversation between Devermont and BHPD Sgt. Billy Fair turn a corner when Fair becomes upset that Devermont is live-streaming the interaction, including showing work contact information for another officer. Fair asks how many people are watching, to which Devermont replies, \u201cEnough.\u201d
Fair then stops answering questions, pulls out his phone, and starts silently swiping around\u2014and that\u2019s when the ska music starts playing.\u00a0
Fair boosts the volume, and continues staring at his phone. For nearly a full minute, Fair is silent, and only starts speaking after we\u2019re a good way through Sublime\u2019s \u201cSanteria.\u201d
Assuming that Fair wasn\u2019t just trying to share his love of \u201990s stoner music with the citizens of Beverly Hills, this seems to be an intentional (if misguided) tactic to use social media companies’ copyright protection policies to prevent himself from being filmed.
Instagram in particular has been increasingly strict on posting copyrighted material. Any video that contains music, even if it\u2019s playing in the background, is potentially subject to removal by Instagram. […]
In a separate part of the video, which Devermont says was filmed later that same afternoon, Devermont approaches Fair outside. The interaction plays out almost exactly like it did in the department \u2014 when Devermont starts asking questions, Fair turns on the music.
Devermont backs away, and asks him to stop playing music. Fair says \u201cI can\u2019t hear you\u201d \u2014 again, despite holding a phone that is blasting tunes.\u00a0[…]
In a statement emailed to VICE News, Beverly Hills PD said that \u201cthe playing of music while accepting a complaint or answering questions is not a procedure that has been recommended by Beverly Hills Police command staff,\u201d and that the videos of Fair were \u201ccurrently under review.\u201d
However, this is not the first time that a Beverly Hills police officer has done this, nor is Fair the only one.
In an archived clip from a livestream shared privately to VICE Media that Devermont has not publicly reposted but he says was taken weeks ago, another officer can be seen quickly swiping through his phone as Devermont approaches. By the time Devermont is close enough to speak to him, the officer\u2019s phone is already blasting \u201cIn My Life\u201d by the Beatles \u2014 a group whose rightsholders have notoriously sued Apple numerous times. If you want to get someone in trouble for copyright infringement, the Beatles are quite possibly your best bet. […]
If Fair\u2019s intent was to inhibit the ability to share video of inconvenient police interactions, it seems to have been unsuccessful thus far. Devermont has posted\u00a0another, longer clip\u00a0of the first interaction, music intact.\u00a0
And for now, both videos of the impromptu Sublime listening session remain online.
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The cyberpunk future continues to completely suck ass