Witness CameraAfter the protest: who to give footage of police conduct to
Keep the original, take advice first, and know the official routes before you need them.
Footage of police conduct is only useful if it reaches someone who can act on it, in a form that holds up. This page covers what to do with it afterwards and the official routes we could verify in five countries. Procedures change, so confirm them on the official sites, and take legal advice before you hand anything to anyone, authorities included, because the footage may show other people.
Short answer. After filming police conduct at a protest, keep the original and the full Witness session folder, write down what you saw while it is fresh, and take legal advice before publishing or handing footage over. Routes differ by country. In France: the IGPN (police) or IGGN (gendarmerie) reporting platform, a criminal complaint, or a referral to the Défenseur des droits. In Greece: the Ombudsman acts as the national mechanism for incidents of arbitrariness by police. In Spain: the Defensor del Pueblo has opened inquiries into police charges at protests. In Germany: some states have independent complaint offices and the Bundestag has a federal police commissioner. In Italy, a video alone may not identify an officer.
First, for every country
- Keep the original file and the whole session folder: videos, manifest and time-stamp proof.
- Write down at once what you saw, with the time and place.
- Do not post it. Take advice from a lawyer or a legal-support organisation you trust, because footage can show other people, including minors.
- Ask whether the person filmed, or their lawyer, wants a copy.
Country by country
- France. The IGPN (police) and IGGN (gendarmerie) have an online reporting platform, but a report on it is not a criminal complaint. A criminal complaint is filed through the IGPN's reception in Paris or at a police station elsewhere. The Défenseur des droits, the independent authority overseeing the conduct of security forces, can be referred to by online form, post or a local delegate. The LDH advises filing a complaint, which lets investigators requisition recordings and a medical examination. Sources: IGPN, LDH.
- Greece. The Ombudsman acts as the National Mechanism for the Investigation of Incidents of Arbitrariness, competent for complaints about police and coast guard personnel. It does not replace other complaint routes. Confirm the procedure on the Ombudsman's official site.
- Spain. The Defensor del Pueblo has opened inquiries into police conduct at protests, including after videos of a police charge on a teachers' demonstration in Valencia in May 2026, and admitted a complaint about riot equipment at Ferraz. It asked for the officers involved to be identified. We could not verify the filing procedure.
- Germany. The Bundestag has had a federal police commissioner since 2024, and several states have independent police complaint offices. Rules on officer identification for riot units vary by state. Amnesty argues that without identifiability convictions are hard. For a criminal complaint, see a lawyer. We could not verify the current position in every state.
- Italy. We found no verified practical guide. A recent case in Turin illustrates the problem: a young person hit by a tear-gas canister has video of the incident, but prosecutors have sought to close the case because the officers could not be identified, and the lawyer is opposing. Capture units, helmets, numbers, times and places where you safely can, and see a lawyer.
A caution about your own footage
Footage can identify protesters as well as officers. In Italy, the decree-law of 22 October 2026, number 190, in force from 23 October, allows arrests within 48 hours on the basis of video for some offences in demonstrations, including for minors. It must be converted into law within 60 days and can change. This is one more reason to keep raw footage in your own storage and to take advice before you give it to anyone.
Questions
Who should I give footage of police violence at a protest to?
Take legal advice first. Then the routes depend on the country: in France the IGPN or IGGN, a criminal complaint or the Défenseur des droits; in Greece the Ombudsman; in Spain the Defensor del Pueblo; in Germany independent complaint offices in some states and the federal police commissioner; in Italy a lawyer and the prosecutor. Confirm each on its official site.
Is a report to the IGPN the same as a complaint?
No. According to the IGPN's own information, a report on its online platform is not a criminal complaint. A complaint is filed in person, at the IGPN in Paris or at a police station.
Should I post the video instead?
Not before taking advice. In France spreading images of violence is an offence with an exception for footage made as evidence, and footage can show minors and other protesters.
Why keep the whole Witness folder?
It contains the videos, the manifest with each file's hash and the time-stamp proof, which anyone can verify with OpenSSL without the app. That is what shows the footage is unaltered.
Set up Witness before the next day of action
The app is free on iPhone and Android. Set it up and test it before you need it.
More in this series
- Filming the police at student protests across Europe
- Protest phone checklist: 10 steps before you film the police
- Police told you to delete your video or hand over your phone at a protest
- If your teenager is going to a protest: how to prepare their phone
- How to film a dispersal order at a protest: what to capture
- Filming an arrest at a protest: distance, identification, minors
- Student and campus journalists: filming protests safely and lawfully
Written on 26 October 2026. The situation and the law change. This is not legal advice.