Almost weekly, I read about an individual or individuals being arrested for photographing or video recording a law enforcement officer while the officer is working. Each time I read of these instances I become more and more incensed. Why do I care? Read on.
I believe I have the qualifications for writing this rant in that I was a law enforcement officer for over 30 years, a chief of police in two of Virginia's largest cities for 10 years as well as being a passionate photographer for 44 years. I know photography and, better, I know the law (in the United States) when it comes to photography. I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice but my somewhat qualified opinion about this subject.
First, I think it is reprehensible when law enforcement officers harass, illegally detain or arrest individuals who are legally taking photographs in a public place they are legally allowed to be (and sometimes on private property that doesn't prohibit photography), whether photographing or recording something involving law enforcement they witness AND are the photographers are not interfering with law enforcement operations in any way. It gets worse when the law enforcement officer illegally confiscates the photographer's camera or makes him or her delete their image files.
When I read about photographers getting arrested for exercising their rights granted by the United States Constitution along with the Bill of Rights, the founding documents for this country, it embarrasses me as I was, and still am at heart, an officer of the law--all laws--as well as a defender of the Constitution of the United States of America. I am embarrassed for the officers, and their agencies, who engage in these acts of unethical, immoral, and sometimes, illegal behavior. These officers should be taken to task every time they violate the Constitution of this country when they deter, interfere, stop, harass or otherwise intimidate law abiding citizens in the act of photographing government workers, paid with citizens tax dollars, at work.
Either these officers don't understand the law and the Constitution or they willfully disregard it or their training is so lacking that something as basic as rights guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States is not covered sufficiently, or the chief executive officer of the agency, whether he or she be the chief of police, superintendent of police, public safety director or sheriff, has created or allowed an organizational culture and atmosphere of laxity, uncaring and willful disregard for the law of the land.
More often than not, from what I have read, these "rogue" officers are engaging in some conduct that is contrary to their agency's rules, or contrary to local, state or federal laws. They don't want to be "caught" doing something they shouldn't be doing. They have a fundamental flaw in their character and should not be allowed to serve with those men and women of law enforcement who do an excellent job every day.
I understand terrorism. I was a chief of police when September 11, 2001 occurred. I was as stunned as the rest of you and I knew that, forever, law enforcement, as well as our country, would change. But, the Constitution has not changed, in spite of what the NSA, CIA, NRO and other like agencies are doing with data collection and analysis. If the citizens of the United States want those massive data sets collected from everyone who uses a phone or the Internet, then a Constitutional Convention should be convened, an amendment to our Constitution drafted, and thirty-six states vote to change the Constitution to allow such conduct by the government.
There is more information on Google Earth, the Internet, through a Freedom of Information request that is available to everyone in the world, that no one really has to be "suspicious" when photographing a bridge, tunnel, government building or anything else. Just look at the Internet on Google Earth and you will see.
To the best of my knowledge, if you are in a place that you are legally allowed to be, with only a couple of exceptions, you are allowed to photograph what you see. What are those exceptions? You cannot photograph a government facility, such as the classified area of a military base, that is classified as being off-limits to photography. There aren't many of those. You also cannot photograph a private business or other private facility that has been exempted by Presidential Executive Order, such as a shipyard that builds submarines, etc. Records are available online so you can identify what facilities come under these directives. You can't invade the privacy of individuals with telephoto lenses when that person has an expectation of privacy in their homes or otherwise. You can't interfere with the police either. You can't get in their face, obstruct them in their official duties or try to cross official police lines. Same with fire departments. You cannot go beyond the cordoned off area. If you are interfering or have crossed over into a cordoned off area, you are at risk of a lawful arrest. Even the press is kept out of those areas. Note: The press is no different from the public and has no right to "special" access than a member of the public, nor do they have a "special" right to information from the general public.
Beyond those, I'm not sure I can think of any others. There may be. Please let me know what I may have missed.
It just makes me so angry when I read about a photographer getting arrested for NOT doing anything wrong. I am embarrassed for those agencies where those officers work because 99% of the officers working for that agency respect the Constitution and the law. This rant is in no way meant to denigrate them.
Having written all this, my hat is off to those agencies that don't tolerate illegal and unethical behavior and take swift personnel action against those officers who willfully and knowingly violate the rights of the citizens. My hat is off to those enlightened agencies, whose management and leadership teams have provided comprehensive training to their officers and civilian support personnel on the law in regards to photography.
Okay. Rant over. Let's hope this nonsense stops and photographers don't become victims of over-zealousness and callousness in the future.
One last thing... We regularly thank the members of our military for their service to our country. That is a given. When was the last time you thanked a police officer for his or her service to their community? Probably never. You see, it is a partnership. The military protects all of us from the foreign threat and our law enforcement officers protect us from the domestic threat. Thank a police officer every time you see one. You have no idea of what he or she goes through, working very hard, sacrificing family time and their safety, day after day, serving you and keep you and your family safe. Please.
Thanks for looking. Enjoy!
Dennis Mook
Many of my images can be found at www.dennismook.com. Please pay it a visit. I add new images regularly. Thank you.
All content on this blog is © 2014 Dennis A. Mook. All Rights Reserved. Feel free to point to this blog from your website with full attribution. Permission may be granted for commercial use. Please contact Mr. Mook to discuss permission to reproduce the blog posts and/or images.
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