Archive for the 'Security Guard Harassment' Category

Next Entries »

Photographers to Meet, Shoot

Published September 30, 2008 Harassment , Photographers' Rights , Security Guard Harassment , Street photography Leave a Comment
Tags: ,

Downtown’s Million Dollar Theater, by jericl cat

The second-annual ShootDowntown Meetup is happening this Saturday, October 4 in downtown LA. The idea is for photographers to gather, shoot and talk shop while exploring downtown architecture and street life. The last event in December attracted 16 photographers so we wondered how well that went seeing as downtown is notoriously camera unfriendly.

Eric Richardson, of Blogdowntown and organizer of the meetup, reports there were no such problems, mainly because they stuck to older buildings and the Historic Core and not the newer skyscrapers that are seemingly managed by people who believe cameras equal terrorists. (My words not his.)

Last month, Blogdowntown ran this article about photographers rights in which Dave Bullock writes, “If you are stopped and hassled, keep in mind that you are likely in the right and your accuser is likely in the wrong.” Commenters posted that in particular the Heron Building, Wells Fargo and the U.S. Bank Tower are all high-harassment spots. If you wish to test those statements, let us know how it turns out.

London: Take Your Stinking Cameras Elsewhere!

Published August 1, 2008 Security Guard Harassment , Street photography 1 Comment
Tags: , ,

Cliche Crossfire

Photo by Brian Auer

Here’s a twist on the usual formula. Instead of being stopped by police while taking a photo, Mohammed Hanif writes in today’s Guardian about being stopped while getting his photo taken on a public street in London.

Hanif was posing for an author photo for a book he had just written when a security guard told them they had to leave. Ultimately they were booted from three other sites before finding a church where no one bothered them.

To London authorities, this type of activity amounts to a security risk and, accordingly, they’ve decided to make the whole process as laborious as possible. The nearly Byzantine rules in place require photographers to not only apply for a permit to shoot on public streets and wait up to a month for approval, but then they have to wear a radio-wave emitting tag while shooting. So they can be tracked.

Hanif asks:

Why would a potential terrorist (or people exhibiting suspect behaviour, as the Met likes to describe them in its anti-terror publicity) pose in front of an organic cosmetics stall and religiously follow the instructions of a white, female professional photographer who looked nothing if not an infidel?

But you see, it’s much easier to enact a very rigid, blanket law to outlaw any and all activity than evaluate cases on an individual basis and allow society to continue under some semblance of normalcy.

UPDATE: Thanks to Byron, who tells us the information in Hanif’s essay about the permit requirement and tracking device are not true and were actually part of an April Fool’s Day joke. Which means, thankfully, we are not living in Orwell’s 1984. Yet.

Article from The Guardian.

Andrews International Execs Remain Silent Over Guards’ Aggressive Behavior

Published June 24, 2008 Assault , Harassment , Photographers' Rights , Security Guard Harassment , Street photography 3 Comments
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,


Photo by discarted
NOTE: This guard did not have anything to do with the incident.

Dear Mr. Andrews:

I wanted to write again regarding an incident with your security personnel because it seems as if you didn’t receive my last letter. At the very minimum, this is a customer service issue, and it’s shocking that you wouldn’t want to address, much less acknowledge, a situation where your security team’s actions have been questioned.

I am referring to what happened between myself and your security guards at the Hollywood and Highland Metro station where I was harassed, threatened with arrest and cursed at for taking photographs. In case you are unaware, Andrews International security are notorious for overstepping the limits of their authority and harassing people in Hollywood. There are extremely few laws that restrict photography in public places, and they’re mostly relating to military installations or people with an expectation of privacy (i.e., in their homes). National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) attorneys have issued a memorandum on the subject that says in part:

+ There is no federal law that would prohibit photography in public places or restrict photography of public places and/or structures.

+ Any restrictions that the government does impose would need to have supporting evidence that it was essential for public safety. The burden is on the government;

Presumably you are thinking that the issue will just go away, but I’d like you to know that photographers will continue to shoot in public spaces in and around Hollywood since it is our legal right to do so. What’s more, now that we have a small movement going, this issue is on the radar, and it’s more than likely that your guards will unnecessarily and inappropriately detain photographers in the future. So my suggestion to you is to train your security force on the laws so that a situation doesn’t escalate unnecessarily.

Sincerely,
Shawn Nee

To contact Andrews International executives regarding this incident click here.

“No pictures. You could be a terrorist.”

Published June 6, 2008 Harassment , Photographers' Rights , Security Guard Harassment 3 Comments
Tags: , , , , , ,

KG

Keith Garsee was one of the photographers who joined us at the Photographers’ Rights Day rally in Hollywood on Sunday and also one of the inspirations for the event in the first place. He was harassed in the Los Angeles Metro, and we do mean harassed. It’s one thing to be told you can’t take photos, another to be threatened with arrest, and then quite another altogether to be told “F–k you” when you ask a simple question! Perhaps our tax dollars need to be going toward charm school for these security folks?

Here’s just an excerpt.

Him: Hey! It’s against the 9-11 Law to take pictures down here man!
Me: You mean the Patriot Act?
Him: No pictures.
Me: Could you explain? What law do you mean?
Him: You are lawyer?
Me: No.
Him: No pictures. You could be a terrorist. Very strict!
Me: How about I take a picture of you?
Him: F**k you… (I couldn’t believe it either)

Read the full account here.

Via Boing Boing.

Photo by discarted.

UK Security Guard Assaults Photographer

Published June 4, 2008 Assault , Harassment , Photographers' Rights , Security Guard Harassment 1 Comment
Tags: , , , , , , ,

This security officer in the UK gets handsy with a photographer on a public street in Middlesbrough. From the photographer’s account:

Two security guards from the nearby shopping center THE MALL came running over, we were surrounded by six hostile and aggressive security guards. They then said photographing shops was illegal and this was private land. I was angry at being grabbed by this man so i pushed him away, one of the men wearing a BARGAIN MADNESS shirt twisted my arm violently behind my back, i winced in pain and could hardly breathe in agony.

I thought the Brits were supposed to be more civilized?

Read the full account here.

via WindWalkabout

And the Harassment Continues…

Published June 3, 2008 Harassment , Photographers' Rights , Security Guard Harassment 2 Comments
Tags: , , ,

Travis Puderbaugh, one of the photographers who came out for NPRD on Sunday, was harassed by authorities shortly after the rally broke up. He was taking photos of California Plaza at Grand and 3rd in downtown LA when he was approached by security officers. They were polite, but still clearly stepping beyond the parameters of their authority in asking him to stop taking photos of a public building — from a public sidewalk. Part of their protocol it seems is to place a call into “Angelwar,” which is apparently an anti-terrorism force, to “just file a follow-up report with them.”

Read his full account here.

Photo by Travis Puderbaugh.

Harassed, Threatened, and Berated by Andrews International’s Security Guards

Published June 3, 2008 Assault , Harassment , Photographers' Rights , Security Guard Harassment 81 Comments
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Andrews International Security Guard Vasquez #782 Assaults Photographer Photo by discarted

NOTE: This guard did not have anything to do with the incident described below.

I was recently harassed by Andrews International security for photographing them in public at the Hollywood/Highland Metro station. Street photography is completely legal, and anybody, including minors and police, can be photographed in public at any time.

Here is the letter that I sent to Roger Andrews, executive vice president of Andrews International. I have not received any kind of response — or even an acknowledgement from them.

The email was also sent to Councilmen Tom LaBonge and Eric Garcetti (whose districts Hollywood falls in), and neither one of them did anything. Councilman LaBonge did personally call me and promised to call back the following week, which he didn’t.

Mr. Andrews,

I am writing you in regard to an incident that occurred on May 3, 2008 between myself and some of your officers. I am a documentary as well as a street photographer, and yesterday I was berated, touched(technically assault) and threatened with arrest and detainment by some your officers, particularly security guard Ferguson #4730, after legally photographing them in public. Obviously, your officers have not been educated about the law in regards to street photography and the rights of photographers; this is the second occurrence like this that has happened between your officers and myself.

After photographing your officers, they were completely belligerent, stating that they 
were private security officers and I was required to answer their questions, which is not true. Ferguson #4730 also tried to take my photograph, which I agreed to, but he couldn’t find a camera so he followed me around and eventually stopped me, forcing me to look up at one of the security cameras. This entire series of events is laughable because it appeared in his mind that laws that allow the city to photograph me at any time in public do not apply to Ferguson #4730 and the rest of your officers. On top of that, after having my photo taken, Ferguson #4730 then asked me if I was in the military and I said, “No, I don’t believe in the military.” He then exploded and said, “I fucking built this land you’re standing on! Get outta here!”

After that, I walked around for a few minutes thinking about what happened and decided to go back to get the officers’ badge numbers. Once Ferguson #4730 realized what I was doing, he immediately covered up his badge with his hand and started yelling, “Oh no, you ain’t getting that!” To which I stated, “You are legally required by law to give me your badge number.” That is when Ferguson #4730 along with the other officers threatened me with arrest and tried to detain me. However, I am quite aware of the law, because I am on the street practically everyday taking photographs and told them they couldn’t detain me. Ferguson #4730 would not relent and used his entire body to block me from leaving; that is when he touched me, which is assault. One of the other officers stepped in and told him to stop and took him aside to speak with him. I did not leave, told them to call the police, and waited for BID Patrol to arrive. I was questioned but not arrested because I did not do anything illegal.

While the BID Patrol security guards gave me a very nice lecture on humanity, they didn’t seem to care about the way Ferguson #4730 and the other officers reacted in an unlawful, belligerent, and inhumane manner towards me.

I am requesting that all video footage of the area in front of the Hollywood/Highland Metro stop in Los Angeles, CA, between 6PM and 7:30PM on May 3, 2008 be retained for viewing, as well as kept for evidence. I will be speaking to a lawyer this week as well exploring my other options via the city and Los Angeles Metro.

Ferguson’s unlawful behavior, along with the other officers, and more importantly, their lack of knowledge for the law is unacceptable.

BID Patrol also asked me if I was an attorney, to which I said, “No, but I don’t have to be an attorney to know the law. Since you’re not an attorney either that must mean you don’t know the law as well…which is the reason why this all happened in the first place.”

Voice Your Concerns and Write:

Roger Andrews: roger.andrews@andrewsinternational.com

Antonio Villaraigosa: mayor@lacity.org

Tom LaBonge: councilmember.labonge@lacity.org

Eric Garcetti: councilmember.garcetti@lacity.org

Rich Morallo, Metro Citizens Advisory Council: (213) 922-233

Captain Dan Finkelstein, MTA chief of transit police: (213) 922-2707/922-2700

Rick Jager/Marc Littman, MTA media relations: (213) 922-2707/922-2700

Spam Blocked

1,139,040 spam blocked by Akismet