A group of North Texans has gone on cop watch, following police around on their patrols, and videotaping their confrontations.
Many of the so called "cop watchers" have police scanners in their cars, so they show up at traffic stops and then start taking video of the officer conducting the stop.
"The whole idea of my cop watch is to let the police know that as they watch us, we're watching them,” said Jose Vela with Dallas Cop Block.
Vela says his group and others, like the Tarrant County Peaceful Streets Project, are trying to hold police accountable.
He says they've already seen Arlington police officers speeding.
"We're catching them doing not 5 miles an hour, not 10 miles an hour, but 15 and 15 plus over the posted speed limit with no lights and sirens,” said Vela.
But what the group claims is accountability sometimes comes off as harassment to some.
For example, in a video posted by a man named Jacob Cordova, a man can be heard telling an officer in his car, “Well, you're double parked right now, so I'm gonna need to see your license and insurance. I'm gonna have to ask you to step out of the vehicle, sir."
In another video that was filmed by Kory Watkins, the President of Open Carry Tarrant County, watchers get right up in the face of a female officer.
In the video, Watkins calls the officer sassy and later in the video, refuses to obey another officer's request.
Catherine Smitt-Torrez is the former Police Chief of Cockrell Hill and a law enforcement expert.
She says that what the watchers are doing is taking away an officer's concentration on the matter at hand, and is flat out dangerous.
"The person's safety whom he has stopped, his own safety, the traffic around whatever's going on…he cannot focus on that, ‘cause now he's got to worry about this person who's getting themselves involved in the scene,” said Smitt-Torrez.
She adds that anyone getting close to a police scene or even a traffic stop is automatically making themselves a suspect.
"All that is, is mere intimidation, what that guy's trying to do,” said Smitt-Torrez.
Arlington police have issued the groups a letter acknowledging that what they're doing is legal, but advising them not to interfere with an investigation or threaten an officer.
Vela admits that sometimes, cop watching is just about doing it because participants can.
"The whole idea was to give him a taste of their own medicine, too, as well,” said Vela.
Kory Watkins told FOX 4 that the groups are just trying to hold police accountable.
Cordova is good friends with Watkins. FOX 4 asked Watkins to pass along reporter Brandon Todd's phone number, but Cordova never called us.
