So a man in a pig costume walks into a police station...

No, I’m serious. Although not as serious as the man in the pig costume, complete with an American flag cape, and his friend, Jeremy Seabolt, who video-recorded the exchange.

“We’re going to the police department … to turn in a complaint,” Seabolt says on the video to a curious passerby. “Yes, the pig is going, too … that’s where pigs go.”

Seabolt, 34, is married with three children, and gainfully employed, he told me. In his spare time, he records videos of his encounters with police officers in public situations. His goal is to raise awareness to the constitutional rights of Americans while revealing police officers who wrongly defy or impede those rights, Seabolt said.

“We’re in New Chicago, Ind.,” Seabolt says on the video as the man in the pig costume enters the small town’s police station.

“I’m trying to request information from you, please,” he tells a female dispatcher behind the glass-walled counter. “I need a Freedom of Information Act form.”

The woman, who can’t be seen on the video behind a lowered shade, replies that she doesn’t have such a form at her desk.

“A complaint form is the only form I have,” she replies. “You can come back later.”

“It’s state law that you guys have to help us. If you can’t help us, please get someone who can,” he replies. “We’re just asking for a simple request here. It’s not rocket science.”

In October, I wrote a related column about Edward Strauss, who in September recorded a video of Gary police officers conducting an investigation of a complaint in that city.

“Sir, why are you recording me?” a female police officer asks Strauss.

“Because I can,” he replies.

“No, you can’t,” she tells him.

“I can’t?” he replies. “Well, I can. This is a public street. And, by the way, you are live on YouTube right now.”

This is the basic premise behind these YouTube videos by Strauss, Seabolt, and other “police auditors,” as they describe themselves, demonstrating that any American has the right to video record police officers on duty in public places.

I agree with these “auditors” on principle, but not always in practice. Many of them are too contentious and combative.

“If cops have nothing to hide then why do they have a problem being video recorded?” Seabolt asked rhetorically.

It’s a loaded question.

Seabolt doesn’t hesitate to video record random traffic stops by police, in case a motorist’s rights are violated.

“People need to take the time to understand their constitutional rights. Freedom is not free,” Seabolt told me by phone earlier this week.

Seabolt was charged Jan. 15 in Lake Superior Court in two separate cases. In one, he was charged with disorderly conduct. In the other, he was charged with possession of a firearm on school property.

On Jan. 11, Seabolt was charged with battery against a public safety official, intimidation, disorderly conduct and failure to signal turn.

As of Thursday, the man in the pig costume had not been publicly charged with anything stemming from the visit to New Chicago.

Seabolt and Strauss are known by police officers across the area and state, according to New Chicago police Capt. Jordan Billups.

“They’ve been charged with several crimes related to their YouTube videos,” Billups told me. “They claim they’re part of a news organization, but it’s only a YouTube channel. These guys are making media look bad when they cross the line into something more radical.”

Police officers I’ve spoken with agree that Seabolt and Strauss, among other “YouTube auditors,” are actually seeking a potentially lucrative lawsuit against a police department that attempts to stop them from video recording.

“I’m not doing this for money. I have no desire to do this full time,” Seabolt told me. “And I’ve never filed a civil lawsuit against a police department.”

Seabolt said he has made only a few hundred bucks, and two headlights for his car, from his YouTube videos. He’s doing this on principle, not for profits.

“Video does not lie,” he said.

“The pig costume is a statement,” he said. “There’s no law saying you can’t walk in to a police station in a pig costume. Just like there’s no law saying you can’t hold a protest sign outside a Planned Parenthood clinic.”

“I’m a firm believer that if we don’t use our civil rights, we lose them,” he added. “Do I deserve blatant retaliation from police for doing so? I don’t think so.”

Seabolt is convinced that New Chicago police Chief James Richardson retaliated against him because Seabolt publicly embarrassed him in his latest video, when Richardson told him it’s illegal to video record police. Billups clarified that his police chief understands that such video recording is indeed legal.

“Police are singling me out to set an example,” Seabolt said.

One police officer familiar with Strauss and Seabolt told me, “Yeah, it’s their freedom to do this, but it gets pretty scary when they track down cops and do this type of stuff.”

I asked Seabolt where the line is drawn between capturing police officers allegedly violating citizens’ rights versus instigating police officers simply doing their jobs.

“Everyday Americans should know their basic civil and constitutional rights,” he replied.

I agreed. But is all this legal and criminal hardship worth it to him?

“Initially, it was,” Seabolt replied. “But now it’s at the point where things are getting extremely serious. My wife is absolutely against what I’m doing. And my kids are scared of me going to jail. I don’t know now.”

jdavich@post-trib.com

Twitter @jdavich