Get the Popcorn, get the beer....

[Murph]

Freedom of photography: Police, security often clamp down despite public right

More photographers arrested, detained, beaten, abused, harrassed, and or made to feel really bad about things.

[ChristopherCoy]

***backing away s l o w l y....***

[pjt72611]

Nice post! You need to pick your battles wisely. Even though a photographer may a right to take pictures in public places, it is a lot easier to stand down and walk away if challenged.

[Tom]

Originally Posted by pjt72611

Nice post! You need to pick your battles wisely. Even though a photographer may a right to take pictures in public places, it is a lot easier to stand down and walk away if challenged.

I'm glad George Washington didn't feel the same way when pressured by the tyrannical rulers of England. It sure would have been easier to just do whatever the King said than to fight in the Revolutionary War.

[ChristopherCoy]

And we're off....

Thomas, you ever thought of being a lawyer?

[oldfotopro]

It seems to be some sort of hysteria in the law enforcement community, although I hate to clump security personnel with sworn law enforcement officers.
We see a lot of stories about "innocent" civilians being questioned, etc. about
carrying a camera, taking images, etc.
Where are all the stories about bad guys taking photos of buildings, cops, trains, etc and then using them to commit crimes of terror ?

simple question, simple answer. There aren't any !

[kamekaze]

Originally Posted by oldfotopro

It seems to be some sort of hysteria in the law enforcement community, although I hate to clump security personnel with sworn law enforcement officers.
We see a lot of stories about "innocent" civilians being questioned, etc. about
carrying a camera, taking images, etc.
Where are all the stories about bad guys taking photos of buildings, cops, trains, etc and then using them to commit crimes of terror ?

simple question, simple answer. There aren't any !

Yes there are simple answers. there are no stories about "bad guys taking photos of buildings, cops, trains, etc and then using them to commit crimes of terror" because it doesn't happen. LEO's and there federal counterparts try to stop you from taking photos because of either ignorance of the law or they are doing something seedy themselves that they do not want documented.

[prncfarquad]

Interesting about the federal buildings...I was in Houston for work a couple of weeks ago and decided to do a photo walk in DT Houston...there was a wall down there with what I thought was interesting shape and texture so I started shooting a few shots of it..walked around the area for 20-30 minutes just playing. A security guard walked up to the area I was shooting and just stared me down so I turned around and said hello and he returned the hello so I left the area to continue walking around. Ended up the area I was shooting was the federal reserve building

So I guess not ALL security/LE think it is such a bad thing

[oldfotopro]

Maybe we all need a National Identity Card indicating we are amateur or professional photographers and have sworn to uphold the laws and regulations regarding the rightful and wrongful use of photography ?

or

We could wear our TPF t-shirts all the time.