Police arrest student for taking pics of cows loose on campus

[DEMDeepEllumMusic]

OSU cops detain student for photographing loose cows | Photography is Not a Crime

What is up with this? HE IS A STUDENT OF THE UNIVERSITY!

[brad]

Wow. I don't think I've ever seen a piece of "journalism" so one sided.

There are so many holes in that story its painfully obvious there are things being left out. I'm guessing the truth is somewhere in the middle of one of those holes... probably the police were frustrated with the wrangling job and got tired of someone they saw as in their way.

Whether or not he was in their way is a matter for Internal Affairs and possibly the courts.

The mock outrage in that story is laughable. "Help, help! I'm being repressed!"

Its important to remember that freedom of the press does not give you the right to be in the way in order to "get the shot." Its important to understand that refusing a directive from a police officer is wrong and will get you detained - even arrested. The courts determine whether they were right or wrong - not the police and not the journalists.

[brad]

What I'm saying (not very well) is that a photographer has every right to document a news story.

And the police have every right to detain him to ask him why... and arrest him if he doesn't comply with their instructions or they don't like his answers.

And its up to the courts to determine if the charges are valid and prosecutable.. and then determine guilt or innocence.

As for the search, the police DID have probable cause. He was doing something they asked him not to do.

[shutterfire]

Wow, loose cows that sounds like a smelly mess!

[Crashoran]

Originally Posted by brad

What I'm saying (not very well) is that a photographer has every right to document a news story.

And the police have every right to detain him to ask him why... and arrest him if he doesn't comply with their instructions or they don't like his answers.

And its up to the courts to determine if the charges are valid and prosecutable.. and then determine guilt or innocence.

As for the search, the police DID have probable cause. He was doing something they asked him not to do.

So what crime did he commit that allowed the police to detain him?

[brad]

Originally Posted by Crashoran

So what crime did he commit that allowed the police to detain him?

Not having anything to go on other than an indignant article that didn't even try to be objective, I cannot possibly know that. But unlike the OP, I don't have an automatic distrust of police.

And you do not have to commit any crime for the police to detain you. All you have to do is look suspicious or perhaps not follow a reasonable instruction from a duly appointed officer of the peace?

Once stopped by an officer while trying question you... if you continue to act suspicious or belligerent (which, given the tone of the article, I would guess belligerent was what he was doing), that would give them just cause for detaining you further and perhaps even searching you to make sure you aren't actually a physical threat to them.

Freedom of the press does not mean you get to do whatever you want. You are still subject to the same laws as everyone else. That means if you are asked to leave the immediate scene, you must do so. The officers in this story were not just responsible for trying to stop these animals, they were also responsible for the safety of the public - including an irresponsible photographer.

If you read the story again without bias (even though that's what the article wants you to have), you will notice that the only people that told him he could NOT take pictures was the Ag person. The police only asked him to move... which he did at first, but then did not stay back where the police asked him to be.

There are stories all the time about how city police harass photographers for photographing buildings... and I'm sure there are some where the police are out of line... but even in this carefully crafted attempt at a police character assassination piece, I am not seeing anything the police did that was wrong (other than not knowing the FIRST thing about cattle wrangling).

[texkam]

Looked like the Keystone cops.

Once I realized that the OSU in this story was Ohio State University. It pretty much explained it all. Just a couple of cows. .....Yankees .

[robert t]

Retired after 29 1/2 years as LEO I would say (based on the story) they need to close the investigation and be prepared to pay off his student loans and tuition for the remainder of his education. That would be the cheep way out of this one. A student who normally would have very little restrictions to say 90% of the campus? (based on my oldest daughters experience for the past 3 years)

His attitude might have created a little P.O.P. but street justice is best served with some PC and legitimate charges. Unless the guy is trespassing (not a student), fails to move back off the crime scene, or inside the tape just wave and smile at the camera and say "hi Mom". There are plenty of nit pic things you can stop and detain but experience is what make you say "is it worth it." A kid taking pictures of folks chasing loose cows its not worth it.

PS: If he didn't touch the AG person, wasn't responsible for setting the bovine free, wasn't trying to steal or harm them, the PC at this point was drying up. The AG person has no right to order him to stop taking photos unless he was in a restricted area of the AG dept.

disclaimer: there could be more to it but.......at best maybe a disorderly conduct?

[robert t]

Originally Posted by Crashoran

So what crime did he commit that allowed the police to detain him?

You don't have to commit a crime to be detained. Detained for investigation, name, address etc...

[TxLerman]

This case is as black and white as Borden's Bessie. At OSU (the one in Ohio), Bovine have the right to a reasonable expectation of privacy when they are doing their business. Having a photographer snapping pictures while they are doing their business can be considered the intentional infliction of emotional distress that can cause irreparable harm if not stopped immediately. Furthermore as a result of the photographer's actions, the bovine many need intense therapy because of the trauma induced by the photographer. The OSU law enforcement officers are merely doing their job to protect the bovine from severe trauma. This is what is expected from Buckeyes

Now in Texas, the situation would be different. The cops would have taken cows to slaughter, fired up the grill for the steaks and asked the photographer to take trophy pictures of the hunt!

[DEMDeepEllumMusic]

What really tops it is when he goes into one of the buildings to get some shots and is stopped. Really how in gods green Earth could he be in the way of the officers? It says that he also works for the school paper so he should know at least the fundamentals of PJ work. I think that the Agricultural lady was just po'ed that the cows got away and she had to call in police to get them and then the cops being made fools of by a couple cows were mad too and then this kid decides to document it. I really agree with Robert that he shouldn't have any school loans left after they pay him.

It sounds like he just decided to tell the Ag lady to flip off because he had the right to shoot, since this is a state supported campus just about anybody has the right to walk the streets and grounds, then after he was told by the cops that he may have been in danger he gets behind a fence which basically told the cops I AM going to shoot my story which ticked them off more. As to them searching his pockets? That was a bit much if he told them who he was and that he was with the paper (they could verify that in a few seconds by radio). Then the stopping of him in the building, which as a student he should have full access too unless it was marked as a restricted area (ie biohazard or something similar) just tops it.

Yeah the story is a bit onesided but the cops screwed the pooch on this one.

[Jeff_Green]

Originally Posted by DEMDeepEllumMusic

I really agree with Robert that he shouldn't have any school loans left after they pay him.

He was detained for TEN MINUTES, dude. It wasn't like he was arrested, booked, and spent the weekend in jail. After seeing some of those guys out there getting stomped by the cows, I can see why the police done want anyone remotely close. The cows were running farther than 100 yards.

[brad]

And you're going on the student's assessment that it was 100 yards and he was safe... not his call to make.

Yea.. puh-lease... he's not going to pay off anything but perhaps a parking ticket with a 10 minute detainment and a search of his pockets. And that's only if he has a really good lawyer.

I'll say it again, no one's first amendment rights were trampled here. The ONLY people who told him to stop taking pictures were the Ag folks... and he had every right to tell them to go jump in the lake. By his own admission, the police never told him to stop taking pictures... the police came over at the request of the Ag folks and the photographer started in about how he had the right to shoot... the officer started quoting cases to him, but the article never says which ones... I'll bet they had to do with access to a crime scene and how they had the right to ask him to step back.


I think we have a tendency around here to demonize the police and are quick to jump to the conclusion that a photographer is right just because he is a "journalist." My experience has been there are just as many jerks in journalism as there are in the police... probably more.

[d2creative]

Hmmm... not what I was thinking when the title said "cows".

[Crashoran]

Originally Posted by Jeff_Green

He was detained for TEN MINUTES, dude. It wasn't like he was arrested, booked, and spent the weekend in jail. After seeing some of those guys out there getting stomped by the cows, I can see why the police done want anyone remotely close. The cows were running farther than 100 yards.

I don't know about you, but we have something called rights, and shouldn't be harassed, handcuffed, and detained for taking photos. Even if it's for 10 minutes, that doesn't make it right.