"Carlos Miller and his blog Photography Is Not A Crime has to be the best blog I have come across to date that documents the ongoing battle that photographers and videographers are facing in increasing numbers."Hodson Report
"Anyone who promises to 'mock, madden and maybe even muckrake' has my attention - especially when he's fighting for my right to plant my sticks wherever the Constitution says I can."Lenslinger
"With a seemingly increasing number of stories of police harassing and arresting photographers making headlines, one man has made it his job to watch the police."B-roll
"This is not a partisan issue. It's a police abuse-of-power issue, and 'security' is no excuse for this sort of totally unacceptable and unconstitutional behavior by officers of the law. Carlos Miller is a great source of information about these unfolding stories."Brendan Loy
I have a bunch of RSS feeds on my smartphone, and I tell ya, this is one i read constantly. Great info, and it is unbelievable what is going on right here in the USA.... Virginia Beach Photo Club
“Photography is not a Crime” is informative, well written and takes no prisoners. The Photojournalist
"If you read enough of his site, you start to understand that Miller has a bit of an ability to instigate. I don't blame him for this. I think that in order for society to progress, authority must continually be challenged. [Post] Modern College Life
The Bad
"This Carlos Miller character is just a jerk, no redeeming social or personal value."Conservative Cave
"You're a good writer, Carlos, but until you're able to recognize and acknowledge your biases, your quests for justice will be seen by most as little more than sour grapes by a man with a chip on his shoulder."South Florida Daily Blog
The Ugly
"You are a cockroach and boil on the ass of journalism in Miami and the sooner that responsible journalists in Miami disown you and repudiate your actions the better.""Hank"
"Your arrogant, crass, thug-like behavior crops up at every turn. One only need to read your blog to see that.
You can’t seem to cover anything without getting into a potentially violent confrontation.""Hank"
Recognition
The South Florida Daily Blog Post of the Month February 2008The South Florida Daily Blog Post of the Month June 2008The South Florida Daily Blog Post of the Month November 2008Some Cranky Guy
Uber Amazing BlogNovember 23rd, 2008
By Carlos Miller
Rolando Ruiz clearly had his hands on the hood of a police car when a Minneapolis police officer walked up behind him and applied his Taser gun to his neck, forcing Ruiz to fall down in an incident caught on a dash cam.
The two men then fall out of view for several seconds but Ruiz’s screams do not stop, giving the impression that the officer is continually tasing him.
Ruiz was arrested for allegedly throwing a brick through the windshield of a cop car. He is now suing for $75,000 in damages.
It’s true. People do stupid things. This man committed a crime (no matter how much I sympathies with it). What a law enforcement officer is supposed to do is detain the suspect and take him in to custody. Then the courts are in-charge of dictating a sentence.
This cop is a criminal because he committed a crime (a heinous one). He is obviously not fit for the job of policing society. His crime was way worse than destruction of property. He assaulted a man repeatedly. He could’ve caused the kids death. For what??? A fucking windshield???
I’m curious what was going on before the video tape. Was the officer telling him to get on the ground? Was he telling him to put his hands behind his back? If the “victim” was not doing what he was told, then the taser was justified. If it was just for revenge then….
@JL, I have worked in TV news production, and that clip looks cut for newscast – edge to edge. I tend to doubt that the lawyer would be so confident to take the case, if his client was clearly resisting on tape. And would the FBI even be bothered to investigate if the full tape wasn’t compelling.
The alleged suspect’s a dumbass if he committed vandalism against a cop’s property — but summary judgement and punishment is a whole other kind of bad.
“Pain compliance” seems to be pleasure for some cops, but probably retribution for breaking a window in this case.
I bet the cop gets off (no pun intended.)
Must be frustrating to be a cop, to see perps get away with crime, right JL? Must make you want to give them a taste, tune ‘em up before you take them down to the precinct?
Doesn’t really matter. The guy had his hand on the hood. Even as the cop approached offered no resistance. There was no reason to shock at that point. No reason to ask to get on the ground. The cop could have easily handcuffed him. Instead he decided to assault him. That cop should be fired and charged with assault, because that’s what that was.
Doesn’t really matter. The guy had his hand on the hood. Even as the cop approached offered no resistance. There was no reason to shock at that point. No reason to ask to get on the ground. The cop could have easily handcuffed him. Instead he decided to assault him. That cop should be fired and charged with assault, because that’s what that was.
You all crack me up….every one knows they have the answer and knows how it should have been done, but haven’t spent even a minimal 8 hours doing the job of a cop.
I agree it looks bad, and maybe the cop wasn’t justified…but I’d want to see the whole video. Doesn’t that seem like a fair request? At least I’m willing to look at evidence and THEN have an opinion. Instead, edit to suit your points and the cop is guilty no matter what. Nice….easier that way, huh?
My name is Carlos Miller and I am a multimedia journalist who was arrested by Miami police after taking photos of them against their wishes, a clear violation of my First Amendment rights.
Since that arrest on Feb. 20th, 2007, I've fought a lengthy battle against the State of Florida to prove my innocence. After going to trial in June 2008, I was acquitted of all charges except resisting arrest without violence. I appealed that conviction pro se, meaning I represented myself, and I won a reversal.
However, I am now fighting another arrest for photographing cops against their wishes. On Memorial Day Weekend 2008, I was arrested on Miami Beach on a single charge of resisting arrest without violence after I photographed a couple of cops against their wishes.
Click here to read more.
Their side of story
Police “escorted defendant to the middle of the street and told him to cross to the sidewalk. Defendant for the fourth time refused the verbal commands and that’s why he was arrested.” Read arrest report.
A legal view
The general rule in the United States is that anyone may take photographs of whatever they want when they are in a public place or places where they have permission to take photographs. Absent a specific legal prohibition such as a statute or ordinance, you are legally entitled to take photographs. Examples of places that are traditionally considered public are streets, sidewalks, and public parks.(more).
SPJ’s protest letter
National leaders of the largest journalism organization in the United States have expressed their disappointment in Miami-Dade County Court Judge Jose L. Fernandez for violating my First Amendment rights.
Fernandez, as I mentioned in a previous post, gave me an extremely harsh sentence and criticized me for having blogged about my case.
Read the press release from the Society of Professional Journalists.
Sarcasm Disclaimer
I am a very sarcastic person in person. And I am probably even more sarcastic in my writing.
But if you’ve never met me, you might not see that sarcasm. After all, sarcasm depends on tone and delivery for pure effectiveness, something that is hard to do with the written word.
So if you are ever offended by something I write, whether you are a conservative, liberal, Catholic, Jew, atheist, American, foreigner, black, white, southerner, yankee, homosexual, straight or whatever, chances are, I am just being sarcastic.
Truth is, I am not a hater. I don’t even hate cops. I just want them to abide by the law.
Support the blog
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Fernandez, as I mentioned in a 
He should’ve thrown the brick at a cop!
It’s true. People do stupid things. This man committed a crime (no matter how much I sympathies with it). What a law enforcement officer is supposed to do is detain the suspect and take him in to custody. Then the courts are in-charge of dictating a sentence.
This cop is a criminal because he committed a crime (a heinous one). He is obviously not fit for the job of policing society. His crime was way worse than destruction of property. He assaulted a man repeatedly. He could’ve caused the kids death. For what??? A fucking windshield???
If only he wouldn’t have resisted the officer…
Uh…
I’m curious what was going on before the video tape. Was the officer telling him to get on the ground? Was he telling him to put his hands behind his back? If the “victim” was not doing what he was told, then the taser was justified. If it was just for revenge then….
@JL, I have worked in TV news production, and that clip looks cut for newscast – edge to edge. I tend to doubt that the lawyer would be so confident to take the case, if his client was clearly resisting on tape. And would the FBI even be bothered to investigate if the full tape wasn’t compelling.
The alleged suspect’s a dumbass if he committed vandalism against a cop’s property — but summary judgement and punishment is a whole other kind of bad.
“Pain compliance” seems to be pleasure for some cops, but probably retribution for breaking a window in this case.
I bet the cop gets off (no pun intended.)
Must be frustrating to be a cop, to see perps get away with crime, right JL? Must make you want to give them a taste, tune ‘em up before you take them down to the precinct?
Doesn’t really matter. The guy had his hand on the hood. Even as the cop approached offered no resistance. There was no reason to shock at that point. No reason to ask to get on the ground. The cop could have easily handcuffed him. Instead he decided to assault him. That cop should be fired and charged with assault, because that’s what that was.
@Johnny Law:
Doesn’t really matter. The guy had his hand on the hood. Even as the cop approached offered no resistance. There was no reason to shock at that point. No reason to ask to get on the ground. The cop could have easily handcuffed him. Instead he decided to assault him. That cop should be fired and charged with assault, because that’s what that was.
You all crack me up….every one knows they have the answer and knows how it should have been done, but haven’t spent even a minimal 8 hours doing the job of a cop.
I agree it looks bad, and maybe the cop wasn’t justified…but I’d want to see the whole video. Doesn’t that seem like a fair request? At least I’m willing to look at evidence and THEN have an opinion. Instead, edit to suit your points and the cop is guilty no matter what. Nice….easier that way, huh?