By Carlos Miller
A man who appears to be some type of security guard confronts a videographer during an anti-war protester in Rochester, New York.
The man gets directly in front of the camera and tells her that the security guards do not want their picture taken. As if that really makes a difference.
Then he tells her that “you can’t take pictures of a federal building … that is against the law.”
The videographer responds by saying she is not filming the federal building.
Let’s get something straight. It is not illegal to film a federal building.
By responding that she wasn’t filming the federal building, she already fell into his trap of having to defend herself, even though she was not doing anything illegal.
The man then proceeds to arrogantly fog up the camera lens with his breath. And then cries out “don’t touch me” when someone tries to separate his proximity to the videographer.
What an asshole.
In another video shot during another antiwar protest in Greenfield, Massachusetts in 2007, police arrest a videographer after she refuses to leave the area. In fact, it appears as if she is leaving when they ordered her to stop the car. They then arrest her.
The camera remains turned on and you can overhear a cop specifically saying that it was not illegal to film them, but it was illegal to use audio. She was charged will illegal wiretapping, disorderly conduct and trespassing. Those charges were dropped seven months later.
So let’s get another thing straight. It is not illegal to record audio of police officers if they are in public and you are making it obvious you are filming them. I have yet to see a single conviction on this charge, but I’ve seen several cases dropped.
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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, which helps pay for the thousands of dollars I’ve acrued in debt since my arrest. To keep updated on the latest articles, join my networks at Facebook, Twitter and Friendfeed.
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13 responses so far ↓
1 sickntired // May 19, 2009 at 1:57 PM
we have bush to thanks for this crap and Obama ain’t doing shit to correct it, What we need to do is have every pro, amateur photographer and videographer stop taking photos for the government. Once they find that their no one to photograph or record video for them then just then they might get the point..
Obama needs to address this crap asap..
2 Kol. Klink // May 19, 2009 at 5:16 PM
sickntired:
Obama is an ONLY ONE, and is the dear leader of your Feces Problem.
See how the war is going into Cambodia – or whatever that country is next to the ONLY ONES are liberating?
He’ll always protect power over liberty.
3 Kol. Klink // May 19, 2009 at 5:24 PM
Ya’ll had better just watch and be satisfied with what NBC/CBS/ABC/FOX offers you, because if you don’t, you’re subject to arrest.
4 Mike // May 20, 2009 at 11:42 AM
I grew up in Greenfield, MA and still have family and friends there. The cops in that town are usually pretty reasonable – it’s sad for me to hear that they acted this way.
5 Roy // May 22, 2009 at 6:08 PM
I distinctly heard the manager of the property tell that woman to leave at least three times. She had the right to video those people but *not* from private property where she had been asked, then told, to leave. That’s called trespass.
She deserved to be arrested.
And Bush had nothing to do with any of it – nor Obama.
6 Carlos Miller // May 22, 2009 at 6:10 PM
Roy,
It looked as if she was leaving. Besides, there was still no basis for an illegal wiretapping charge.
Also, they dropped the trespassing charge.
7 Roy // May 23, 2009 at 11:15 AM
Carlos, I enjoy your blog and agree with you most of the time. However, you are not being consistent.
Just like the earlier Ron Zigler incident, this is a very bad example of how photographers should defend their rights. I agree that she would have been well within her rights to video anyone and everyone – including the audio – had she been on public property. However, she was *not* on public property, she was on private property. And you do *not* have the right to photograph or video from private property once the owner, or his representative, have ordered you to cease and desist and leave.
The woman was clearly committing trespass. She had been warned at least three times to leave or be arrested. She didn’t start to go until the cop finally declared her under arrest and ordered her out of the car. Once you are under arrest, you don’t get to say “never mind” and then go on your way.
Personally, I’m glad the charges were dropped – including the trespass charge. But this woman was clearly in the wrong and did indeed deserve to be arrested. I think she learned a valuable lesson here and so should we.
And by the way, “Uncle Sam”, the instigator of the whole thing, is one of those types that I have utter contempt for. (And it has nothing to do with his ideology.) He seems to think that his opinion means more than the property right of others. If it had been *my* sign, on *my* property that he was defacing, I would have been sorely tempted to shoot his ass off the top of that billboard. However, that’s my anger talking. Calling the cops on him was the proper thing to do. But I hope he got jail time.
8 tom // Jun 16, 2009 at 4:29 PM
They file charges to justify having made an arrest and harassing the reporter, and they don’t suffer a penalty like they should. Dock them a month’s pay for that kind of performance and they won’t be so eager.
9 Matt // Mar 4, 2010 at 2:45 AM
My wife and i were EVICTED from Government housing in Mishawaka Ind Barbee Creek apts after a heated discussion with the admin there about a man that was harassing older women while they were in the laundry facilities that is in the building where the would be harasser lives.
I had told them (the admin) that if this man harassed my wife again i would videotape it,they then proceeded to tell me i would be evicted if i did.
I cannot even record a crime on federal property to protect my wife and other women across the street that are in the same situation.
This man has shown tenants in our building a knife that is stuck in the tip of his cane and the office still favors this mam/harasser cause he is a VET.
I will NEVER live in public housing again let alone one that is on federal property.
Oh i forgot to mention i had permission from Corporal jojo who spoke to Sgt Fox at the police dept,they are the ones that gave me that go ahead to film.
The housing authority calls it harrasment
yet i was following every law not filming in windows etc.
All i was using it for was to escort my wife in the evening to the laundry facility.
I swear to god i will never stop video taping the wrongs in this world and i have even upgraded my camcorder with a very powerful telephoto lens so i can see up to 3 miles away.
I know thats a little extreme,
But after this experience and the fact we lived there 10 years with no problems is only proof that the government cannot be trusted anymore to right the wrongs in life.
In that housing development what is wrong is right and what is right is WRONG.
10 Shawn // Mar 4, 2010 at 9:15 AM
That’s an unjustified eviction. Why didn’t you fight it?
11 Matt // Mar 12, 2010 at 9:25 AM
Because the lawyer they use is also on on the town council plus it’s now illegal to film on federal land.
Those are the grounds they used on my wife and i.
Now that it’s illegal to film on federal land a crime can take place on HUD property and nobody can film it for evidence purposes.
They used the excuse that Mr james Niswonger (the harasser) felt intimidated by me with the camera,combined with the new patriot act law.
It’s nice to know now that you can commit a crime on government property and nobody can film you doing it.
12 Matt // Mar 12, 2010 at 9:28 AM
Oh but on the other hand GOOGLE earth can stroll through and take pictures of every house in mishawaka including where we lived at (Hud) owned property and they probably won’t ever get a call for filming on HUD owned land
13 Matt // Mar 12, 2010 at 9:33 AM
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&q=&vps=1&jsv=212a&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=22.431602,60.820313&ie=UTF8&geocode=FYyQewIdMBjd-g&split=0
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