Archive Page 72

Photographers, Police Clash in DC

Published July 26, 2010 Photographers' Rights , Police Harassment , Security Guard Harassment Leave a Comment
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Photo by Joe in DC

A few weeks back Washington Post writer Annys Shin put the call out for photographers who’d been harassed while photographing federal buildings and landmarks in the DC area. This article is the result. Shin finds out what many of us have known for a while, and that’s while DC may be the country’s seat of power, its law enforcement and security personnel are often woefully lacking in knowledge about laws regarding photography.

This quote from the DC police union president is kind of troubling — and illustrates that, no matter how many articles are written, they still just don’t get it.

“When people see a camera, they get more into it,” said Marcello Muzzatti, president of D.C. Lodge No. 1 of the Fraternal Order of Police, which represents 11,000 officers in more than 100 D.C. and federal agencies. “Some people will figure, ‘I have a right to take pictures,’ and we are not arguing with that. An officer also has a right to his or her safety and to control the situation.”

Be sure to also look at this interesting compilation of the photos that got DC area photographers in trouble with the law.

Article from Washington Post

Journalists Arrested at Clinton Wedding Site

Published July 23, 2010 Photographers' Rights , Police Harassment Leave a Comment
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The quaint Hudson River town of Rhinebeck is all abuzz with Chelsea Clinton wedding preparations and Norwegian journalists in hot pursuit of the big story. On Wednesday, Thomas Bjorn Nilsson and Kjerste Sortland, working for the newspaper Verdens Gang, were charged with trespassing at the Astor Estate where Clinton will be married on July 31. The journalists claim they were only photographing the gate.

We don’t know what really happened. Perhaps the Norwegians didn’t understand US private property laws — but Nilsson lives in New York, so that seems like a stretch. Maybe, more likely, police are being a little overzealous in their protection of this very high-profile wedding?

As the New York State Police spokesman said, “We’re aware of the visit by the former president of the United States and are working with the U.S. Secret Service as we do with all visits by protectees of the Secret Service.” That really says it all.

Article from Huffington Post

Making the Case for Cameras

Published July 22, 2010 Photographers' Rights Leave a Comment
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Photo by threecee

Along with the rest of the right-thinking world, Popular Mechanics believes in photographers’ rights. In an essay on the magazine’s web site, author and law professor Glenn Harlan Reynolds calls law enforcement’s suspicion of cameras “misguided,” claiming cameras make us safer, not the other way around. Citing the Times Square car bomb incident where law enforcement officials sought out private cameras and footage that might yield clues in the case, this guy says photography enhances public safety.

He says:

…it’s a problem that stems as much from cluelessness at the bottom of the chain of command as from heavy-handedness at the top. The officers who crack down on photographers no doubt believe they are protecting public safety. But evidence that photography might be useful to terrorists is slim.

And:

…we need better education among security guards and law enforcement.

But that’s not all:

With the proliferation of cameras in just about every device we carry, digital photography has become too ubiquitous to stop. Let’s have a truce in the war on photography and set our sights on the real bad guys.

To read the whole article, go to Popular Mechanics

Photographing Police – on KPCC/NPR

Published July 20, 2010 Photographers' Rights Leave a Comment
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Today, Patt Morrison of Southern California’s NPR station (89.3 KPCC) talked about the right of citizens to videotape and record police activity – a hot-button issue lately with the Johannes Mehserle and Anthony Graber cases, among others. Guests Peter Bibring of the ACLU and Byron Warnken, law professor at the University of Baltimore, take on the topic, and Morrison even brings up the people who have been harassed taking photos of buildings in downtown LA.

Listen to the whole segment here.

Thank You For Your Call

Published July 20, 2010 Documentary 4 Comments
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In 1935, the Social Security Act was created to help ensure the economic safety of America’s elderly.

As of July 2010, the United States Social Security Administration does not recognize same-sex marriages or domestic partnerships as valid relationships.

Consequently, thousands of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender seniors are denied Social Security benefits every year.

Ineligible for Social Security surivors benefits, and faced with undue economic burdens, many LGBT seniors are often forced to give up their homes after losing their partner.

To learn more about this issue please visit rockforequality.org

Video by Shawn Nee / discarted

MSM Backs Photographers’ Rights

Published July 16, 2010 Photographers' Rights , Police Harassment 1 Comment
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Photographer Jerome Vorus’ July 3rd encounter with DC police on a Georgetown street has gotten a lot of traction in the media, with reports on WashingtonPost.com, NBC Washington, Reason magazine’s blog, We Love DC and DCist, among others. It surprised me because, if you follow these things, it was a pretty run of the mill event. Maddening, ridiculous,probably  illegal, yes — but pretty standard.

But for some reason the media really jumped on it. And the more mainstream outlets that highlight the absurdity of this harassment, the more likely police departments will review their policies and educate their officers.

On a related note, in an editorial yesterday, USA Today came out in support of the rights of citizens to film police activity. (Be sure to also read the counter point from the police union. Overall, I just don’t buy the “these videos must be viewed in context in order to be understood” argument. I think the Oscar Grant killing, the Times Square cyclist attacks and the UMD beatings, to name a few recent ones, all stand on their own.)

Cover Model Sues Vampire Weekend

Published July 16, 2010 Photographers' Rights Leave a Comment
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It turns out that lovely 80s blonde staring out on Vampire Weekend’s “Contra” album cover wasn’t in on that. Or so she says — Kirsten Kennis is suing the band for unauthorized use of her photo and she wants $2 million. The band got a release from the photographer, but Kennis claims the signature was forged.

I guess that’s what you get for trying to be all indie ironic. They’re wishing now they just went with the four-guys-against-a-wall shot….

Story from TMZ

Oakland PD Lifts Flickr Looting Photos

Published July 15, 2010 Photographers' Rights 2 Comments
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Photo by Thomas Hawk

Photographer and blogger Thomas Hawk is helping the Oakland Police Department apprehend looters. He didn’t agree to that, mind you. When reading a San Francisco Chronicle article about police trying to track down looting suspects in the aftermath of BART cop Johannes Mehserle’s manslaughter conviction, Hawk recognized his own photos in the batch. It seems that, to aid their police work, the Oakland PD took photos off Flickr from the riots and released them to the media.

The legal issue here is hazy – at least Hawk’s photos were under Creative Commons, which means people are able “to copy, distribute and transmit the work” with the condition that attribution is given. But the Oakland PD did not give attribution and, seemingly, released them as their own. To cover themselves, the Chronicle uses the credit “Obtained from Oakland Police.”  

Does it seem weird to you that law enforcement are essentially breaking copyright law to aid in their police work? How hard would it have been to include the photographers’ names with the photos?

Post from Thomas Hawk

News Crew Kicked Off State-Funded Property

Published July 15, 2010 Security Guard Harassment 2 Comments
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Sacramento’s CBS 13 news crew went to a vacant EdFund building as part of a story on government waste and were met with some puzzling resistence. First, a security guard put his hand over the camera’s lens and asked them to stop filming. Then, Heather Wallace, EdFund’s lawyer — someone ostensibly very familiar with the law! — came out to tell them to stop filming.

“You are not authorized to film right now,” said the lawyer.

“We’re in a public place right now,” the reporter responded.

“This is not.” Wallace stated. “This is not a state property.”

But the rent on this property at Mather is in fact entirely funded by the State of California. Yet that didn’t stop EdFund from escorting the CBS 13 crew off the premises.

Later, an EdFund communications staffer told CBS 13 that the reaction was due to the confidential nature of what goes on there…in a vacant building…that, if it were operational, would be to “provide counseling and financial information for students – and ultimately guarantee the loans will be paid back.” It doesn’t seem top secret, but OK.

Taxpayers have been paying $1.3 million a year in rent for the vacant building for two years. California is in the midst of a fiscal crisis of extreme proportions, with a budget deficit of $19 billion. Could that be why they’re so averse to a news crew filming there?

Story from CBS 13

Why Do Cops Hate Cameras?

Published July 14, 2010 Photographers' Rights , Police Harassment 2 Comments
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Photo by JH

Photographer Jerome Vorus’s exchange with the DC police a few weeks back is getting some play in the DC media, and now Washington Post writer Annys Shin is looking into the topic of police and photography. In a “Story Lab” post she asks, “Why do police hate getting their picture taken?” It’s a good question. If you’re BART cop Johannes Mehserle, it might be because you don’t want any evidence if you just happen to break the law. (Although video didn’t help that New York City bicyclist who got pummeled by the rookie cop in Times Square.)

The DCPD have no excuse though. They’re just misinformed. And misinformation + arrogance = abuse of power.

Shin (shina AT washpost.com) wants to hear from you if you’ve been harassed or detained while taking photos of police, government buildings and the like in the DC metro area.

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