Update: Deputies threatened to arrest man’s 12-year-old daughter for “unlawful photography”.
Update: So what exactly is “unlawful photography” anyway?
By Carlos Miller
And yet another law enforcement officer proves clueless of the First Amendment.
This time it was a Johnson County Sheriff’s deputy, who said he “feared for his life”, when civilian Scott Conover snapped a photo of him with an IPhone during a traffic stop in Tennessee on June 6th.
A Johnson County sheriff’s deputy arrested Scott Conover for unlawful photography.
“He says you took a picture of me. It’s illegal to take a picture of a law enforcement officer,” said Conover.
The deputy, who was not named in the article, ordered Conover three times to delete the photos before arresting him.
“Here’s a guy who takes me out of the car and arrests me in front of my kids. For what? To take a picture of a police officer?” said Conover.
The deputy claims Conover pointed a laser at him, which terrified him, but the IPhone does not even emit a laser.
Also, another law enforcement officer who witnessed the arrest stated that the deputy kept asking Conover about the camera, never about a laser.
Conover is scheduled for court on August 6th.
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19 responses so far ↓
1 Another Dave // Jul 14, 2008 at 3:07 PM
I’d call the ACLU on this one. If all went as you say, you’re clearly in the right, and cases like this are the ACLU’s bread and butter.
Fight like mad!
2 joe // Jul 14, 2008 at 3:08 PM
Taking pictures in public areas of the united states is legal, even of law enforcement. If they harass or arrest you for it, it would constitute censorship. And as an on-looker to a crime that a police officer is committing against a fellow us citizen - you by all means can call them all the obscenities you would like… what a bunch of pigs….
3 Dennis // Jul 14, 2008 at 4:50 PM
If it was me, I would insist they arrest me. I could use the money, This is a million dollar lawsuit
4 Jasper // Jul 14, 2008 at 6:39 PM
Nonsense arrests should have reprocussions for the policemen doing them.
5 William // Jul 14, 2008 at 8:31 PM
I agree - while I’m sympathetic to the difficulties of law enforcement, one cop like this who makes up a law to arrest someone ruins the reputation of 10,000 cops and makes the world that much more difficult for everyone. Of course, there could be more to this story.
6 enhager // Jul 15, 2008 at 1:03 PM
They’ve added the officers’ written report to the story - three testimonies.
7 straightarrow // Jul 15, 2008 at 1:22 PM
Yeah, I know what you mean. It’s always the 97 out of a 100 that ruin it for the good cops.
8 Jim // Jul 15, 2008 at 1:27 PM
I think everyone’s overreacting a bit. The ACLU doesn’t need to be involved. The officer should be disciplined, and a public apology should be made to the defendant. All charges should be dropped. Not everything requires the courts and the ACLU.
9 bj // Jul 15, 2008 at 3:10 PM
Sorry Jim, any violation of someone rights by a public official requires the courts to be involved.
This man will now have an arrest record that will follow him for the rest of his life and can / will affect everything from jobs to credibility in future disputes.
10 nycphotorights // Jul 15, 2008 at 5:34 PM
Jim - sorry a public apology is not enough when someone is arrested and detained. I know several railroad enthusiasts who were detained for questioning because they were taking pictures of trains. They were awarded anywhere from $8,000 to $16,000 depending on the period of time they were detained (2 to 4 hours). In this case $50,000 PLUS a public apology would be appropriate…
11 SteveMay // Jul 15, 2008 at 10:06 PM
You all have NO IDEA at how back-woods, inbred and socially Neanderthal upper East Tennessee really is. A very scary place for normal people!
Not only will this guy get nothing for being falsely arrested, if he even hints about a lawsuit, the local D.A. will have him indicted and convicted of a felony before his lawsuit is even typed-up.
12 Ed Selby // Jul 16, 2008 at 9:24 AM
After reading the reports and sworn statements (including citation of the laws and codes for which Conover was charged), not only am I convinced that the officer in question wrongfully arrested Mr. Conover, but basic grammar and the ability to write a cohesive report are not requirements for law enforcement in Tennessee.
13 Momoko Sudo // Jul 16, 2008 at 9:11 PM
“Basic grammar and the ability to write?”
The president of the United States can’t speak proper English. How can we expect anyone to use the proper language?
14 Jorge // Jul 17, 2008 at 9:56 AM
Go photograph wet lilies Momoko!
15 seven ate nine :: Rights, Duties and Anarchy :: August :: 2008 // Aug 17, 2008 at 9:15 PM
[...] common arrests of people who insist on their right to take pictures. I live in west Tennessee (the article that I will specifically refer to from here on is about an incident in east TN), where a few years ago a website was created that [...]
16 Rad Geek People’s Daily 2008-08-22 – No, seriously, I could swear the water in this pot is getting a little hotter… (#5) // Aug 22, 2008 at 10:44 PM
[...] arresting Scott Conover for unlawful photography in Mountain City, Tennessee last June, Johnson County Sheriff’s Deputy Starling McCloud [...]
17 Mike // Nov 19, 2008 at 2:21 PM
Any idea what the disposition of this case was? It’s well past the posted trial date…
18 Carlos Miller // Nov 19, 2008 at 3:00 PM
Mike,
This is something I’ve been meaning to update but it has become a rather complicated story.
Charges against Conover for unlawful photography were dropped late last month.
However, because he pissed off the sheriff so much, they created a vendetta against him, which resulted in an altercation with another man.
Conover and his family were forced to move back to Florida. And lawsuits are being threatened on both sides.
And I really can’t get into too much detail here because it’s a really complicated mess right now, and frankly I don’t have the time to sort it out because of my appeal.
However, I do talk to Conover on a regular basis. Just talked to him yesterday, in fact, where he had me talk to his lawyer about my case.
He is a good guy. He just doesn’t put up with shit.
Once I file my appeal, I will sort out all the details in his situation for an article on this blog.
19 Brad // Nov 30, 2008 at 9:59 PM
Momoko, you are an idiot.
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