Photography is not a crime

Congresswoman seeks clarity in photo policy at DC’s Union Station

Carlos Miller — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 05:18:20 +0000

By Carlos Miller
Just over a mile from where the U.S. Constitution is permanently displayed in Washington DC, photographers have been routinely harassed and threatened with arrest for daring to snap a photo inside one of the most historical and picturesque train stations in the United States.

The situation got so bad that even a TV news crew reporting about the harassment was told they were not allowed to film inside Union Station, which is only three subway stops from the National Archives Building, where the original copy of the U.S. Constitution is displayed (as well as the Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights).

On Tuesday, U.S. Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) held a hearing to clarify the photo policy at Union Station. Norton was incensed that such a national landmark and hub for public transportation would be treated as private property.

The companies that operate Union Station assured Norton they would begin drafting and enforcing new policies that would allow photography inside the train station. One executive even said he was “embarrassed” about the lack of policy, according to the Washington Post.

Norton summoned officials to the hearing from Union Station Redevelopment Corp., the nonprofit organization that leases the federally owned building; Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp., which subleases the property; and Jones Lang LaSalle Retail, which manages the building.

“Basically I’m just embarrassed that we don’t have a standard policy,” said David S. Ball, president of Union Station Redevelopment Corp. “There are over 5,000 people who work at the station in the course of a business day, and you may get many different answers on a given issue.”

Ball said he would take steps to make it clear that photography is allowed. As a follow-up, Norton asked that Union Station management present an outline of photography policies within 30 days and enforce any new policies uniformly throughout the station within 60 days.

“All of this goes back to the management,” Norton said. “People do what you tell them to do.”

(more…)

Greetings from Mexico

Carlos Miller — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 23:27:46 +0000

By Carlos Miller
I finally got to my hotel in Merida after traveling all day. We took the long way, from Miami to Mexico City, then to Merida, which is in the Yucatan penisula.

I am here on a journalist assignment, so it’s not all fun and games. However, I’m traveling with a fun group of people.

And before my critics get up in arms, I did get permission from my probation officer.

But when the hell did Mexico get so expensive?

I paid ten dollars for a mediocre sandwich at the airport in Mexico City. Yes, it’s an airport, but I’ve had better and cheaper sandwiches at La Guardia, not to mention MIA.

Anyway, I am paying five dollars an hour for wireless, so I am not going to elaborate or upload photos.

I’m just going to finish my Tecate and hit the town.

Iraq War veteran “assaulted” for trying to photograph cops in DC

Carlos Miller — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 06:00:38 +0000

By Carlos Miller
Adam Kokesh, an Iraq War veteran turned antiwar activist, was handcuffed by undercover FBI agents after trying to photograph police making a traffic stop.

The incident occurred Tuesday when Kokesh and a friend were walking down the street and encountered an agitated police officer ordering another car to stop.

Kokesh pulled out his cell phone and snapped a few photos, but the cop jumped out of his car and grabbed Kokesh, spinning him around and putting his hands on the car.

Within minutes, a dozen cop cars and undercover FBI agents swarmed Kokesh, handcuffing him and ordering him to delete the photos, but Kokesh refused.

Finally, they released Kokesh without deleting his photos. For more details on this story, check out the video.

Congresswoman to hold hearings on photographers’ rights

Carlos Miller — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 19:44:28 +0000

By Carlos Milller
Hopefully, this is the first of more to come.

Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) is holding true to her promise by scheduling the first hearing over the flap regarding photographers and Union Station security guards and management.

According to LightboxDC, the meeting will be scheduled as follows:

The hearing is set for next Tuesday, July 22, 10:00am in Room 2167 of the Rayburn House Office Building (RHOB for all ye fellow former Hill staffers; I just had to type “RHOB” reflexively).

So what exactly is “unlawful photography” anyway?

Carlos Miller — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 15:44:41 +0000

By Carlos Miller
In a clear violation of his First Amendment rights, Tennessee deputy Starling McCloud arrested Scott Conover last week for photographing him with an IPhone during a traffic stop on a public road.

McCloud went as far as using two sets of handcuffs to arrest Conover, according to a witness statement from another police officer.

McCloud ordered Conover to delete the photo, but Conover rightly refused, according to the arrest report,

So McCloud arrested Conover and charged him “unlawful photography”, which is a violation under the Tennessee Code.

However, the law specifically states that the victim would either have to be a minor or have a “reasonable expectation of privacy”.

McCloud, an adult who was on-duty and standing on the side of a public road, did not have any reasonable expectations of privacy.

This is the way the law reads:

39-13-605. Unlawful photographing in violation of privacy. —

(a) It is an offense for a person to knowingly photograph, or cause to be photographed an individual, when the individual is in a place where there is a reasonable expectation of privacy, without the prior effective consent of the individual, or in the case of a minor, without the prior effective consent of the minor’s parent or guardian, if the photograph:

Would offend or embarrass an ordinary person if such person appeared in the photograph; and

Was taken for the purpose of sexual arousal or gratification of the defendant.

(b) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires, “photograph” means any photograph or photographic reproduction, still or moving, or any videotape or live television transmission of any individual so that the individual is readily identifiable.

(c) All photographs taken in violation of this section shall be confiscated and, after their use as evidence, destroyed.

(d)

A violation of this section is a Class A misdemeanor.

If the defendant disseminates or permits the dissemination of the photograph to any other person, a violation of this section is a Class E felony.

(more…)

UK dad called “pervert” for photographing his own children in park

Carlos Miller — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 18:04:47 +0000

By Carlos Miller
The War on Photographers in the United Kingdom has reached a level of preposterous paranoia after a married father was accused of being a “pervert” for photographing his own sons in a public park.

As shown in the picture above, Gary Crutchley was photographing his sons, ages 5 and 7, as they slid down an inflatable slide when the operator of the slide ordered him to stop.

As he pleaded his innocence, other families ordered him to stop taking photos as well, according to the Daily Mail.

“She told me I could not take pictures of other people’s children. I explained that I was only interested in taking photographs of my own children and pointed out that this was taking place in a public park.

“I then showed her the photos I had taken to prove my point.

“Then another woman joined in and said her child was also on the slide and did not want me taking pictures of the youngster. I repeated that the only people being photographed were my own children.
“She then said I could be taking pictures of just any child to put on the internet and called me a pervert.”

Crutchley, 39, was so enraged he called over a couple of police officers, who to their credit, took his side in the matter.

’The two police officers confirmed that I had been perfectly within my rights to take photographs of my own children in the park.”

Below is a picture of Cruthley and his family.

Tennessee man arrested for “unlawful photography” after photographing cop

Carlos Miller — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 16:21:24 +0000

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.

My night in jail after photographing police against their wishes

Carlos Miller — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 07:14:31 +0000

By Carlos Miller
The most humiliating part of my arrest was not necessarily the way the five Miami police officers slammed me down on the hard sidewalk and bashed my forehead against the concrete. Nor was it the way they tightened the handcuffs on me until they cut off the circulation in my wrists. Nor was it the way one officer twisted my right wrist backwards until I yelled out in pain. Nor was it the way an officer threatened to taze me if I did not shut my mouth.

It wasn’t even the way the sergeant taunted me at the precinct by saying, “I don’t know what police department you’re used to dealing with, but this is Miami PD and we don’t put up with that kind of crap here.”

No, the most humiliating part of my arrest was when I was ordered into a small dark room at the Miami-Dade County Jail and ordered to drop my pants, bend over and spread my cheeks while a jail guard with a flashlight ensured that I was not smuggling any contraband into the jail.

Thanks for helping me win the SFDB Post of the Month

Carlos Miller — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 05:36:58 +0000

By Carlos Miller
This is a bit belated but it’s been a busy week and I was hoping to incorporate this information in a longer post about what I’ve accomplished on this blog so far, but I’ve really haven’t accomplished anything yet except maybe stir the pot a little and hopefully raise a little awareness, so I will save that post for a later time.

In the mean time, I will just thank everybody who voted for me last week, helping me win the Blog Post of the Month for June in the South Florida Daily Blog monthly contest.

It was the second time in five months one of my posts was chosen. In February, I won the very first SFDB Blog Post of the Month contest.

Both times, my posts included video, photos and commentary, allowing me to demonstrate my multimedia skills. And both times, the topic was on protests, a fundamental First Amendment right I will always cherish.

In fact, this whole blog is an ongoing protest against authorities who have no respect for the First Amendment when it comes to photographers. Or bloggers for that matter.

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The Miami New Times publishes my article on … guess what?

Carlos Miller — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 18:21:30 +0000

By Carlos Miller
I wrote an article about photographers getting harassed by cops which will be published in Thursday’s edition of the Miami New Times.

The article, titled “Cops Target Photographers”, has already been uploaded to the New Times Website. Check it out here.

Carlos Miller for president?

Carlos Miller — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 15:04:10 +0000

By Carlos Miller
With my police record hanging over me, I didn’t think I would qualify as a candidate, but obviously other people disagree. Check out the video.

A modern-day Ira Hayes

Carlos Miller — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 04:35:42 +0000

By Carlos Miller
Horrified by the 9/11 attacks, Joseph Dwyer enlisted in the army two days later.

The New York native was one of thousands of Americans who enlisted during those traumatic days. One of thousands who would end up getting shipped to Iraq despite the fact that the 9/11 mastermind, Osama bin Laden, was said to be in Afghanistan.

His name would have been virtually unknown had he not been captured in a photograph saving an Iraqi child from the crossfire during a battle in 2003.

(Army Times/ Warren Zinn)

The photo became world famous and so did Dwyer, who was hailed as a hero. A symbol of good in a controversial war.

But like many soldiers, the war had taken its toll on Dwyer. He returned to the United States with a severe case of post-traumatic stress syndrome and struggled with drug abuse, marital breakdown, unemployment and severe psychiatric episodes.

He was in and out of psychiatric care, once being committed after he started firing at imagined attackers inside his home, leading to a three-hour police siege. He had also crashed his car several times after swerving to avoid imagined roadside bombs.

His life began to resemble the life of Ira Hayes, another soldier who was hailed as a hero after being captured in a photo that became world famous. Hayes was further immortalized in the song sung by Johnny Cash, The Ballad of Ira Hayes.

(AP/ Joe Rosenthal)

Ira Hayes died in 1955, 10 years after returning from World War II; his postwar life troubled by depression, alcoholism and run-ins with police. He died in a pool of his own vomit after a night of drinking. He was 32 years old.

Joseph Dwyer died June 28th, three years after returning from the Iraq War; his life troubled by depression, addiction and run-ins with police. He died after inhaling fumes from a computer cleaner aerosol. He was 31 years old.

Government statistics would never dare list these men as war casualties; nor would they dare list as casualties the countless other veterans battling demons long after leaving the battlefield.

But government statistics lie.

A salute to our photograher cousins across the pond

Carlos Miller — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 03:39:43 +0000

By Carlos Miller
As police in the United Kingdom are continually being allowed to restrict public photography, more and more activists are making a stand. Last week, we saw this video from London.

Today, I present you with the following video from England, in which more photo activists are taking a direct stand against authorities who try to forbid them for photographing in public.