Prosecutors office in New Jersey are reviewing a video filmed by a man who caught a plainclothes law enforcement officer searching through his parked minivan, apparently without permission.

The Passaic County Prosecutors Office in Paterson confirmed to the PatersonPress that the officer in the video is a member of the Passaic County Sheriffs Office. The prosecutors office said they were reviewing the footage, apparently filmed by the vehicles owner.

The undated video, whichwent viral on Friday, shows a plainclothes officer in a red shirt looking through the trunk of the van. When the man who is filming asks the officer why hes in his car, the officer shuts the trunk door and walks away.

As heard in the video, the man accuses the officer of searching his car illegally and tells the officer that he knows his rights.

William Maer, a spokesman for the sheriffs office, told the Paterson Times the matter has beenreferred to the prosecutors officein an effort to assure an independent investigation of the circumstances around the video. The sheriffs office would not identify the officer in the video.

Maer did not reveal whether anyone was arrested in the incident. The date the video was filmed also is unclear

The Facebook page Mediatakeout shared the video, which has been viewed more than 1.7 million times.

When the man filming asks the officer, What the fuck is you doing, yo ... What is you in my van for, the officer shuts the vans rear door and walks away.

The officer, still walking away, tells the man filming to follow him, but the man refuses. The man asks the officer again, What is you in my car for when Im sitting down eating with my family?

The officer tells the man that were getting a lot of complaints about guns, to which the man replies, Listen, I dont care about none of that. What are you in my van for?

When the man asks the officer how he accessed his trunk, the officer replies,Its open. Its wide open.

Still. Still, the man filming says in return. Youre not supposed to be in my van sir.

After the plainclothes cop is joined by a uniformed officer, the man asks the officers for their names and badge numbers.

Yall doing shit that yall aint supposed to be fucking doing, the man says while filming the license plates of police cars.I know my rights.

Ed Barocas, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey, called the footagetroubling and disturbing,in an interview with the Paterson Times.

You have an individual who appears to be a law enforcement officer entering someones vehicle without permission and seemingly without any lawful authority, Barocastold the online news site. Not only is it improper, its a crime.

Although the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects Americans against unreasonable searches and seizures, New Jersey police officers may search vehicles without a warrant or the owners permission if they believe probable causeexists that a crime has been or is being committed.

In 2015, the New Jersey Supreme Court overturned one of its previous rulings andrelaxed the standards for warrantless searchesby police officers.

Read more from the original source:

Man Confronts NJ Officer Searching Van Apparently Without Permission - HuffPost