John Mills, a captain with the Suwannee County Sheriff's Office, is captured in a screenshot while stopping a man from filming outside the Suwannee County Jail on Monday.

LIVE OAK, Fla. — John Mills, a captain with the Suwannee County Sheriff’s Office, was placed on administrative leave last week as an investigation is conducted on an incident between Mills and a videographer.

In the video uploaded on Youtube, the videographer was shooting video of government offices at the Suwannee County Courthouse annex Jan. 28 when he approached the Suwannee County Jail.

After taking video of the outside of the jail, the man approached the front doors and shot footage through the door but did not enter.

“I’m not going to go in and bother these people because I know they’re tyrants,” the man said on the video.

A minute later, Mills came out and approached the man, asking what he was doing.

Mills told the videographer that he couldn’t take pictures of the jail because it was a “secure location.”

When instructed to leave the area, the videographer responded, “I’m being kicked out of public?”

Mills again instructed the man to leave the area because filming the jail was a security concern.

Mills then can be seen reaching for the cellphone, on which the man was filming, while telling him to put it down.

“Now you’re going to assault me?” the videographer asked. “Please don’t assault me sir, I didn’t do anything wrong.”

Mills again instructed the man that it was a security concern and that he needed to continue walking down the sidewalk.

Mills then issued a verbal trespass warning to the videographer and escorted him away from the building.

According to Frank LoMonte, the director of the Brechner Center for Freedom of Information at the University of Florida, the videographer’s First Amendment rights were violated during the incident.

“There is a very clearly established First Amendment right to shoot photos or video from any place that it’s legal for you to plant your feet,” LoMonte said, adding that a person can lose those rights depending upon their behavior, such as obstructing traffic or going onto private property. “That’s really the dividing line.

“A public sidewalk is just a classic, what’s called a public forum in the eyes of First Amendment law. And when you’re on a public forum, really the police can’t do a thing to you. Whatever you can see or hear is free for you to record.”

LoMonte added that if there was a security concern with the filming of the exterior of the jail facility, that issue lies with the SCSO and county, not an individual videoing from public property.

“The answer to that is don’t put your jail where people can see it,” LoMonte said. “If there’s something about the exterior appearance of the jail that’s going to help people escape, then you should probably cover it up.”

Suwannee County Sheriff Sam St. John has ordered an internal affairs investigation into the incident and placed Mills on administrative leave.

St. John and the SCSO will not provide any further details until the investigation is complete, according to a release.

Mills has worked for the SCSO for more than 20 years. He oversees the jail in his duties as captain.

With Mills on leave, Lt. Tammy Donaldson, Lt. Jay Law and Chief Deputy Ron Colvin are splitting his duties at the jail.