Cops investigated for blasting DISNEY songs out of their cruiser in a quiet neighborhood in an attempt to use music copyright infringement to stop videos of them going viral
- Santa Ana, Calif. Cops Played Toy Story, Mulan, and Encanto Classics
- The officer pumped the tracks so people couldn’t download them due to copyright
- They played ‘You got a friend in me, we don’t talk about Bruno around 11 p.m.
- Residents, many of whom were sleeping or preparing to go to bed, were left furious
Cops were caught blasting Disney songs late at night to try and stop people from recording their busts and posting them on social media.
Officers in Santa Ana, Calif., streamed Toy Story, Mulan, and Encanto classics so people couldn’t download them for copyright reasons.
They played ‘You’ve Got a Friend in Me, We Don’t Talk About Bruno and Reflection around 11 p.m.
Residents, many of whom were sleeping or getting ready to go to bed, were furious and a town councilor vowed to ban the practice.
The tactic has been used by police forces to prevent their arrests from being recorded and pasted online due to copyrighted songs.
Officers in Santa Ana, Calif., streamed Toy Story, Mulan and Encanto classics so people couldn’t download them for copyright reasons
In one instance, cops in Oakland, Calif., blasted Taylor Swift’s 2014 song Blank Space in June as they clashed with activists.
Despite this ruling, footage of the police on both occasions remains on YouTube and other social media sites.
Santa Ana Police Department officers were the last to deploy the method on April 4.
A cruiser pulled up on the street around 11 p.m. and started screaming Un Poco Loco from Disney’s 2017 film Coco before switching to You’ve Got A Friend In Me.
The cameraman asked, “Do you get paid to listen to music?”
Meanwhile, Santa Ana City Councilman Johnathan Hernandez asked, “Why are you playing Disney music?” He added: “Do you live here?
The officer replied, “No, I don’t know sir.” Hernandez added, “Well, maybe you should treat us with respect.” The officer apologized.
The video of the exchange was posted on the Santa Ana Audits YouTube channel, which monitors police interactions with the public, and has more than 45,000 views.
Santa Ana Police Chief David Valentin said his forces are investigating the circumstances of the clip.
He said, “I expect all police service employees to perform their duties with dignity and respect in the community for which we are hired.”
But Hernandez said he thought it meant officers were trying to keep the clip off social media.
He said: “I am embarrassed that this is how you treat my neighbours. There are children here.
He added to the Post: “If you work for the public and there are a lot of people recording you telling you to turn it off, why wouldn’t anyone in their right mind stop that?”
In June, the same tactic was deployed by Oakland police in front of the Alameda Courthouse as they played a song.
An officer, identified as Sgt David Shelby, asked protester James Burch to move a banner before playing the music on his phone as people started recording.

They played ‘You’ve Got a Friend in Me, We Don’t Talk About Bruno and Reflection around 11 p.m.
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