Despite LAPD officers, Kevin Foster and Michael Palmer, arresting me for taking this picture and claiming I “interfered” with their investigation, Algennon and his wife (the people on the balcony) weren’t arrested for “interference” when they recorded my arrest from the same distance.
The LAPD cop who arrested a photographer for “interfering” because he ran up the street to document police activity.
For the past 3-5 years, I’ve documented Hollywood Blvd on Halloween night. The work can be viewed here, here, and here. So of course I’ll be doing the same again this year.
But to help remind the Los Angeles Police Department that I have a right to stand in public space and document police activity without the threat of arrest, or any other kind of interference, I’m finally publishing last year’s videos of their officers doing the following to me:
HARASSING ME
THREATENING ME WITH ARREST
TARGETING ME BECAUSE OF A CAMERA
INTENTIONALLY USING THEIR HANDS TO BLOCK MY CAMERA
INTENTIONALLY USING A FLASHLIGHT TO BLIND MY CAMERA
COMMITTING BATTERY
After watching the following videos, please use twitter to let LAPD know how you feel about their actions.
They can be reached at the following Twitter accounts: @LAPDhq, @911LAPD, @LAPDhollywood, @LAPDHDQTRS and @LAPDChiefBeck
LAPD officer gestures and mumbles not to take pictures:
LAPD officer Kevin Palmer #2204 walks by me, turns around, and stands behind me:
LAPD officers harass and threaten me with arrest while other people without cameras are allowed to move freely. Sergeant Martin #33768 arrives to defend status quo:
LAPD officers intentionally use their hands to block my camera, violating my rights as well as LAPD’s internal policies. Two of the officers claim they didn’t violate anything:
A couple of LAPD “heroes” power-trip because I wasn’t standing where they wanted me to stand while waiting to cross the street. One of them actually says, “Did you just cross my yellow tape?” Last time I checked, the tape belongs to myself and taxpayers. The mindset of today’s cop (sigh):
LAPD officer #18908 tells me not to take pictures and intentionally uses his flashlight to blind my camera multiple times. Meanwhile, an undercover cop cheap shots me from behind by slamming his body into me. Like a coward, he quietly slithers back into the crowd as though he never committed the crime of battery against me:
Historically speaking, my videos clearly show that LAPD officers weren’t recognizing my rights to freely observe and document police activity. One officer (whom I feel is the most professional officer in Hollywood) admits that “new officers” just don’t know.
So is LAPD’s tendency to violate my rights a training issue? An officer issue? Or a cultural issue?
Here’s one more from 2012 (which is not the only video from that year showing LAPD harassing me for taking pictures):
“Interfering with a police investigation.”
That moment before your rights are violated & you’re unlawfully arrested
As a concerned citizen worried about the direction that law enforcement is heading in nowadays, the next time you contact the Los Angeles Police Department with your complaints, you might want to take the response you receive with a grain of salt.
Continue reading ‘LAPD’s Canned Response to 23 Citizen Complaints’
otherwise you’ll be subjected to harassment, lies, threats, violence, unlawful detainment, or arrest
On June 2, 2013, while standing on a public sidewalk and approximately 90 ft. away, Shawn Nee was arrested for photographing officers from the Los Angeles Police Department. The officers claimed he interfered with their police investigation. Shawn was transported to the Hollywood police station, handcuffed to a bench, and escorted into an interrogation room where he was questioned by a detective. The arrest lasted approximately 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Shawn was eventually released without charge.
Taking photos in downtown Hollywood comes with its own nuisances — tourists who don’t know how to walk, punches in the face, BID Patrol. But last night’s fatal stabbing at Hollywood and Highland proves that it’s also possibly very dangerous. As the LA Times reports, Christine Calderon, 23, and her friend took photos with their cellphones of some panhandlers holding what’s described as offensive signs. (Some LAist commenters claim they say “F*** You Very Much.”) When the women refused to give the panhandlers money, they were attacked. Calderon died later at the hospital during surgery. Three men are now in custody.
More information will surely come out, but in the meantime, this is reminder to keep safety in mind when taking photos in public. People are crazy.
UPDATE: LAist has an account from Calderon’s friend who was with her at the time of the attack. He said the sign read “F*** You. Give me a dollar, please.” They took photos (one of which accompanies the post), the panhandlers asked for money, and they told them to “f*** off.” Commenters on that post are actually saying it’s Calderon’s fault for instigating it. (Because yeah, you should always expect to be killed for exchanging words with someone in the street.)
And KPCC has the names of the three suspects booked for the murder: Dustin Kinnear, 27; Jason Wolstone, 33; and Brian Widdows, 34.
National Photographers’ Rights Day – June 1, 2008
Today is National Photographer’s Rights Day, so we hope you’re out exercising your First Amendment rights to take pictures in public like we were doing this afternoon.
As you all know, it’s completely legal to take photos in public space. Some people are catching on; some people aren’t. These things do take time, but we do believe we have had far more successes than setbacks since the creation of the National Photographers’ Rights Organization in 2008.
In the past we’ve held a gathering on this day to bring photographers of all kinds together to take pictures, share stories, educate anybody who is willing to listen, and to demonstrate that there’s nothing wrong with taking photos in public.
However, we’ve been busy over the past year or so with general life stuff, not to mention an ACLU lawsuit against the LA County Sheriff’s Department. So we have not been as active as we’d liked to have been. We’re still around though, and we do have some future photography events and trips in the works; there’s also plans to have a seminar and a photography walk with ACLU staff. So stay tuned.
And in case you forgot, here are your rights.
boywithgrenade.org 