Posts Tagged 'Phoenix'

Push Comes to Shove for Arizona Police

Published May 7, 2011 Photography , Photojournalism , Police Harassment Leave a Comment
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This week at a contentious school board meeting in Tucson, KOLD News 13 photographer Edgar Ybarra was shoved by Tucson Police officers and barred from covering the event.  Police defended their actions and said he was in the way; Police Chief Roberto Villasenor told KOLD he “was standing right in the pathway” and refused to leave. Ybarra said he was just trying to cover the story. The video shows what seems to be unnecessary aggression against Ybarra. 

As the Tucson Weekly reports:

KOLD cameraman and filmmaker Edgar Ybarra, who was following police and Castillo with his camera, was roughly pushed by the police and forced out of the building along with Baldenegro, Garcia, Rodriguez and several other activists. (It’s important to note that Ybarra tried to get the police to let him back in so he could continue to work, while his reporter co-worker waited for him in the lobby. They refused to let him back in, although they did let another cameraman in to continue working.)

Maybe shoving is something taught in police school in Arizona? It seems so by the looks of this video, where a 15-year-old girl is slammed to the ground by Phoenix Police Officer Patrick Larrison. (Go to about 1:56 if you want to see something truly alarming.) Amazingly, the police department wasn’t aware of the incident until a staffer saw the video on YouTube and alerted the higher-ups. There is now a criminal and internal investigation underway in that case.

Source: KOLD and Tuscson Citizen

Spotting Circle K’s Where They Are No More

Published January 21, 2011 Photography Leave a Comment
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Photos by Paho Mann

It’s a natural condition of aging that you start to remember how things used to be. Like when a Milky Way was 30 cents, when the Wizards were the Bullets, when you had to “star 69” to find out who just called you. It’s a natural progression of life, and it makes you feel old.

And if you’re around long enough, you’ll also see the architectural landscape of your town change. Photographer and professor Paho Mann took on that idea with his project, “Re-inhabited Circle Ks.” The Circle K convenience store was once ubiquitous, popping up every few blocks, until the business went in a different direction and focused on corner lots.

Mann sought out the transformed convenience stores all over Phoenix and found a tattoo parlor, a dollar store and a tuxedo shop, among others — all with the same unmistakable architecture. He even used city directories and phone books from the 70s and 80s (remember when people used to use phone books?) to create an interactive map, and to explore “the complex relationship between corporate expansion and the manifestation of individualism.”

You can see a gallery of Mann’s work here.

No Photography Allowed in Downtown Phoenix?

Published April 2, 2009 Photographers' Rights , Police Harassment 4 Comments
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phoenix
Photo by simax105

If a recent report is any indication, Phoenix seems to be even less evolved than Los Angeles when it comes to photography. Today the blog DowntownPhoenixJournal relays an incident where two amateur photographers were harassed and berated by a police officer, who basically told them they weren’t allowed to take photos of pretty much anything in Phoenix.

The photographers made the mistake of photographing the light rail stop Central Station, which sparked the ire of this particular cop, who accused them of taking photos of a federal building (which happened to be in the other direction, but nevermind that). The  list of prohibited subjects, he said, also included the light rail, bus stops, bank buildings, stadiums and street lights. When asked to clarify which statute he was enforcing, the police officer told them to Google it. (Far be it for the police to explain the law — that would be too much work, right?) Their detention was a Homeland Security issue, he said. (And that should be enough for us to just shut up and comply, dammit!)

After running their ID’s and telling them he’d be watching them, the police officer let the photographers go. Phoenix, thankfully, is still safe.

Read the full account here.

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