Photo by Jason C. Romero

This is a familiar story. Maybe you’ve heard it? A guy appreciates some artistically interesting yet vaguely industrial part of the landscape. Usually the light is really good. He gets out to take some photos. A cop shows up and starts asking questions. He makes allusions to terrorism while he harasses him for conducting a perfectly legal activity in public using that old bromide “in this day and age.”

Only this time, the Champaign, Illinois, photographer, Jason Romero, made the mistake of putting his hands in his pocket too many times and got frisked. They didn’t like his iPhone that was set to record audio. They told him that was illegal. And then the cop went through the things in his pockets, including notes and notebooks. A couple more cops showed up and they gave their own requisite “in this day and age” speech. 

Not: “In this day and age, police officers like to stop innocent photographers because we’re confused and scared about terrorism but don’t really know the law or how to address it in our town.”

No, not that one.

Article via Jason C. Romero Blog