By Carlos Miller
It seems like the taller the building, the more dickish the security guards.
At least in California where security guards from Los Angeles to San Francisco have made up their own laws regarding photography in public places
Earlier this year, it was security guards at the U.S. Bank in Los Angeles, which is the tallest building west of the Mississippi River.
This week, it was security guards at 555 California Street, the second tallest building in San Francisco.
After hearing the usual story of security guard harassment and intimidation from a photographer name JohnM.brasia, photographer Troy Holden and another photographer decided to check it out for themselves.
Within a few moments several security guards greeted us with wagging fingers and walkie-talkies.
No photography, they stated clearly. Why, we responded. Safety, they said.
I decided to challenge this statement and the older of the bunch (left) asked me if I wanted to be punched in the face. No, I replied, I have to go back to work and a black eye would make things awkward for me. He then asked me how I would feel if he broke my camera. I told him I would be bummed, but that I needed an upgrade and if he touched me or my camera I would seek monetary legal action to the extent of a brand new Canon 5D Mark II
Holden then sent an email to someone at the top, complaining of the incident. He received the following response from Fatima Vegas who works on the security team for Voranado Reality, the company that manages the property:
“Thank you for your e-mail. I just received information from the incident within the past hour. I am investigating the matter. This is not typical of our security team at 555 California St. If our investigation results in the officer behaving in an unprofessional manner, he will be disciplined accordingly. We do not tolerate that sort of behavior from any of our service providers.”
He should be fired and maybe even investigated by police. Hopefully Troy keeps up with this incident, ensuring the guard no longer is able to make physical threats.
Via Thomas Hawk.
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Fernandez, as I mentioned in a 
1. Digital voice recorder. Wear one. Use it. Post the audio.
2. Any modern DSLR has video capability. Use it. Post the video.
A couple of still snaps might support the story, but they don’t prove the claim.
The witty response. Best weapon ever.
Audio woulld be nice. But a “touch me or my camera and I will shove that walkie talkie down your throat” would always be a good response too.
just a follow up from Col. Jeff Cooper
“Fight back! Whenever you are offered violence, fight back! The aggressor does not fear the law, so he must be taught to fear you. Whatever the risk, and at whatever the cost, fight back!”
I have written to the Vornado company that owns/manages the building. Here is the contact info.
FATIMA VEGAS
General Manager
fvegas@vno.com
DIANA ROSENBLATT
Property Manager
drosenblatt@vno.com
JERICHO NEIBERT
Assistant Property Manager
jneibert@vno.com
STEVEN ROTH
Chairman of the Board
sroth@vno.com
MICHAEL FASCITELLI
President, CEO and Trustee
mfascitelli@vno.com
LAWRENCE FRANCIS
Director of Security Services
lfrancis@vno.com
24 hour number to security at 555 California St.
(415) 391-8212
@ KBCraig Replacing your existing body to gain that capability can get expensive… Most sub-$300 pocket cameras shoot at 720p and 1080p. I hang an old Nikon P5100 around my neck, then start recording when the po-po or insecurity guards start walking in my direction.
They never notice it, cause they’re usually focusing on my DSLR gear.
For audio: iPhone and Android phones both have apps for surreptitious audio recording, and some are free. My favorite for Android is called ‘Cop Recorder’ –
http://www.androlib.com/android.application.org-ale-coprecord-qBpq.aspx
The name could draw unwanted attention from LEOs, but once activated it will run in the background, while the phone is “off,” and keeps running til you run out of battery or memory, which could be a couple of hours.
I also enable the G1’s security features, so nobody else can unlock it, keeping out the nosy LEOs who could care less about press rights.
Old-timer on the left has probably been lucky enough to not threaten anyone that would actually pre-emptively smack him down.
Although a good beatdown would be fun the law looks down on it these days. Now if he assaults you and you are recording you can defend yourself. However, the witty retort is always allowed just be prepared to defend yourself. Bullies don’t like to be reminded of their stupidity.
I love how the parent company always denies responsibility and describes it as atypical behavior. Security guards don’t freelance, they do what they’re told and harass people they’re told to harass. Of course, most people simply walk away, and when someone does challenge them, they can just throw up their hands and say “this is not what we tell them to do (officially).”
Organizations who engage in this sort of practice should be investigated. Sadly, law enforcement has no problem with this behavior so it’s not likely to happen.
Disappointing to see a security guard treat a photographer so unprofessionally. Photography is not a crime.
The thing to do would have been an immediate 911 call to the real police. This guard communicated a threat of physical harm and, while IANAL , almost certainly opened himself up to criminal and civil action.