By Carlos Miller
A Houston police officer ordered a photographer to delete his pictures or go to jail Tuesday afternoon.
But the photographer, who goes by JGrindal on Flickr, was not intimidated.
According to his Flickr post, he was waiting for his wife to leave work when he noticed three cop cars had pulled a blue Mustang over and had arrested its driver. He stood on the sidewalk and started taking photos.
Then an Officer Hudson told him he was not allowed to take photos.
I noted to him that I was in a public place and was simply photographing the scene, that if I was in any way impeding his work, I would be glad to comply with his orders, but otherwise I would continue about my business. He insisted that I was disrupting his work by taking photos as he “doesn’t want his picture taken.”
He noted that the scene was an active police investigation and that I would have to 1) stop taking photos and 2) delete the photos which I had taken. I politely refused, stating that I was in my full rights to take the photos, and that I intended to keep them, noting that there probably wouldn’t be any good ones anyway.
Officer Hudson then reached for his camera as if to pull it out of his hands.
I pulled back and again reiterated my point that I was in my rights to take the photos. He stated that I could either delete my photos or he would arrest me for obstruction of justice. Appalled, I informed Officer Hudson that arresting me and getting a warrant for the photos would be the only way to get me to delete them and that I wanted his full name and badge number. He refused to give it to me.
He told me that he was in a “generous mood” and would give me a chance to walk away. Noting that the situation could not end well for me, I noted that I intended to file a complaint against him, and headed on about my way.
As usual with these Flickr discussions, there was some idiot who sided with police on this matter. It turns out her father is a cop. In the United Kingdom.
Her username is Cerys Jones and while she does seem like a nice woman, it’s irritating to hear photographers misquote laws when it comes to photographing cops.
You are not alowed to take photographic evidence of a crime scene / police investigation unless you are given specific permission by the police, usually in writing.
While I am all for photographers rights, and I disagree with such action when the officers are not involved in investigations (ie, patroling, secirity, etc), you are in the wrong here. They are perfectly within their rights to confiscate your camera, ask you to delete the photographs, or – if you refuse to stop – arrest you.Knowing your rights means not only being aware of when you do have a right to do something, but also of when you do not. Ignorance of the law is no excuse.
And when she was berated for not knowing the law, she came up with the old moral argument against photographing public officials on a public street on public time against their will. She even called it harassment.
Still, I stand by my belief that if you have to argue a moral point with laws then you’re on the losing side – To me, this is a point of common courtesy on behalf of a photographer, to take their subjects feelings and point of view into account regardless of who the subject may be. Besides which, everyone has a right to not be harassed in their workplace.
It’s ironic that she lives in the United Kingdom where there are more than 4.2 million surveillance cameras recording every move civilians make. So much for common courtesy.
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I am a multimedia journalist who has been fighting a lengthy legal battle after having photographed Miami police against their wishes in Feb. 2007. Please help the fight by donating to my Legal Defense Fund in the top left sidebar. And join my Facebook blog network to keep updated on the latest articles.
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16 responses so far ↓
1 Andrew DeFilippis // Mar 5, 2009 at 1:43 AM
lol, I saw these photos last night and commented on them. The officer was in the wrong and that was obvious. I did not see the post this girl made though. That is hilarious.
2 Jack // Mar 5, 2009 at 1:47 AM
Houston cops are dicks to begin with.
3 Carlos Miller // Mar 5, 2009 at 1:49 AM
Andrew,
Next time you see a post like this, send it to me so I can get it posted.
4 Andrew DeFilippis // Mar 5, 2009 at 3:01 AM
Will do Carlos.
BTW, I’ve got you linked on my blog, so from time to time, I may post something of my own or reply to a post and link back to your site.
If I do hear of a story, where would you like me to send the information? You can send me an email if you would like. It should show in the WP Admin comments section.
5 genewitch // Mar 5, 2009 at 3:21 AM
4.2 million security cameras? How many people are there in the UK, and how many are employed watching the feeds, and how many are employed watching those employees watching the feeds?
6 Joe Cascio // Mar 5, 2009 at 11:34 AM
If she is from the UK, she was not misquoting the law. That, unfortunately, is the law in the UK. Not here, though. You are both right, sort of.
7 enhager // Mar 5, 2009 at 1:59 PM
Let’s give the HPD some credit and let them know what’s going on. The chief of police, Harold Hurt, has a blog and it allows comments. So I assume he wants to hear from the public. His officers just need some basic education. We can ask him what he thinks and to respond.
HPDChief Blog
8 Bob // Mar 5, 2009 at 1:59 PM
Somewhat disturbingly, there was recently a law brought in in the UK that states that it is illegal to take photos of the police when engaged in counter-terrorism measures. Which really means, it’s illegal to photograph police – cop was beating up a pakistani and doesn’t want the photos to appear ever? Oh, the pakistani was a terrorist and the photos must be deleted.
9 Carlos Miller // Mar 5, 2009 at 2:31 PM
I remember Chief Hurtt from my days of covering cops at the Arizona Republic when he was police chief of the Phoenix Police Department.
The main thing I remember about him is he was always complaining that the feds were not doing enough to ensure WMDs did not enter the US from Mexico.
I will be interviewing the photographer in this incident shortly and will soon add to the story.
10 Carlos Miller // Mar 5, 2009 at 2:32 PM
Andrew,
My email is carlosmiller at magiccitymedia dot com
11 Curtis Copeland // Mar 12, 2009 at 8:56 AM
A similar incident occurred to me while photographing in South Florida. I was taking landscape and pictures on a public street and a police officer gave me a hard time. He actually fingerprinted me and said he was going to run them though interpol! A second officer showed up and threatened to arrest me multiple times. Hey, I know our Policemen are trying to protect us, but when I tell them I have business cards a website and that I am a professional photographer and they don’t even listen….
At some point I kept hoping common sense would kick in.
Ah, such is the life of a professional photographer….
12 Sgt. Joe // Jun 3, 2009 at 5:59 PM
There is absolutely nothing unlawful about photographing a police officer in Texas during the performance of his/her duty. The only issue is if you actively interfere……
I have also been the victim of such police misconduct. I photographed a deputy in Montgomery County writing a citation about 75-100 yards away. He stopped me while walking, demanded to know why I was photographing him and demanded identification. Be advised of this… If a police officer has reasonable suspicion that you have committed a crime or about to commit a crime (must be more than hunch or being pissed off) they can detain you and you are required to identify yourself….. However, you are only required to produce identification if you are driving a car or flying on a plane…. I made the decision to show my license to avoid being arrested, then promptly filed a complaint with that particular Sheriff’s Dept. I was a LEO for almost 30 yrs in Houston. Most officers are honest and hard working. Some are complete jerks and a very few are criminals. Unfortunately, we recruit from the society we live in…. Check out Supreme Court decision Brown vs. Texas and Terry vs. Ohio. These will clarify your rights.
By the way, I did not tell him I was a retired HPD Sergeant. Why? Why should I be treated differently than everyone else? I am not a cop bashing liberal bleeding heart, but a right wing conservative who believes in the U.S. Constitution. Where the government fears the people, there is freedom. Where the people fear the government, there is tyranny. Another one is those who beat their swords into plowshares will be ruled by those who don’t.
This is a legitimate subject of discussion. It should be limited to specific acts of misconduct and not a broad indictment of everyone who wears a uniform…..
13 Jake // Jul 18, 2009 at 3:17 PM
Not everyone want random ass pics taken of them how would you feel if someone was taking pics of you at work? On the way to work.. washing your car?… You wouldn’t like that now would you
14 Upendraya // Aug 6, 2009 at 7:32 PM
excellent post
15 patriotictex // Jan 17, 2010 at 3:27 PM
I would love to come to yall’s work place and photograph you all day behind your desk. Judging by these photos you got way too close and if I was a cop I would have ordered you to move along or at least get back. You don’t just walk up right next to a cop car like that, all you media guys and amateur photographers think you have the right to harass everyone.
16 patriotictex // Jan 17, 2010 at 3:34 PM
Way to go, complain on fellow officers because you were probably a broke officer and worse Sergeant. In case anyone wants to know the actual law, a police officer can request your identification anytime you are in a public place and you must provide it, even during a consensual encounter. I may not be a cop but I do have a masters degree in CJ from Sam, one of the top CJ universities in the nation. If there is one thing my professor taught me, it was that broke cops complain on good cops because they feel they have something to prove or they just got burned themselves. Way to go there sarge.
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