Police Officer Filmed a Violation on Her Phone, But the Court Rejected the Video — the Driver Was Punished Anyway

A Czech court has ruled on a traffic violation case featuring an unusual twist: a video recorded by a police officer on her personal phone was deemed inadmissible evidence, yet this did not stop the court from finding the driver guilty.

According to the ruling issued last week, establishing guilt required nothing more than the fact that the officer and her patrol colleague had personally witnessed the driver holding a phone to his ear.

Why the Recording Was Rejected

Judge Jaroslava Křivánková, presiding alone over the case, explained why the video couldn't be used as evidence: "It was not established whether the recording in question had been protected against unauthorized access, alteration, or misuse in accordance with the Police Act. The officer added it to the case file only more than 20 days after it was filmed. Therefore, the possibility that it was tampered with during that time cannot be ruled out."

Nevertheless, the court immediately added that the driver's guilt had been proven beyond doubt — and that the officers' testimony alone was sufficient for that.

Testimony Over Video

"The patrol stopped the vehicle after noticing the driver's unlawful behavior at an intersection in the city that offered a clear line of sight. As trained professionals, the officers had no trouble visually confirming that the driver was holding a mobile phone while driving," Judge Křivánková stated.

She noted that in cases of violations visible to the naked eye — including holding a phone while driving — such testimony is entirely sufficient. However, its credibility must be assessed by weighing the officers' statements against the defense's version of events.

In this case, the officials correctly assessed the situation, refusing to believe the driver's claim that he had been holding a different object. The driver had, in fact, changed his story several times since being pulled over — first admitting guilt, then claiming the object was a voice recorder, a glasses case, or a thermal mug.

Source: novinky.cz