Photography Is Not A Crimetag:www.allensphotoblog.com,2012:/notcrime/42012-03-22T23:06:53ZMovable Type 3.2ysb5-20051201Las Vegas police agree to pay $100,000 to beaten videographertag:www.allensphotoblog.com,2012:/notcrime//4.2982012-03-22T23:04:23Z2012-03-22T23:06:53ZThe Metropolitan Police Department has agreed to pay $100,000 to a Las Vegas man who said he was beaten by an officer as he shot video from his driveway. The payment would settle the federal civil rights lawsuit filed by...Allen Rockwellwww.allenrockwellphoto.com
Get the whole story here]]>
This Just In - Exclusive Reporttag:www.allensphotoblog.com,2012:/notcrime//4.2972012-02-11T23:54:11Z2012-02-12T00:47:08ZAn active duty US Army soldier was confronted my military police at Hunter Army Airfield at Fort Stewart Georgia for taking photos of a KC-130 aircraft performing touch and gos. The soldier was told that he would be charged with...Allen Rockwellwww.allenrockwellphoto.com
An active duty US Army soldier was confronted my military police at Hunter Army Airfield at Fort Stewart Georgia for taking photos of a KC-130 aircraft performing touch and gos. The soldier was told that he would be charged with a felony and images were deleted from his camera.
Details are still being forward to me at this time and I will update this story when the facts are in.
So far the facts that have been reported to me are these:
1. The photographer is an active duty US Army soldier who has served in Afghanistan
2. While detained, the military police told the service member that he would be charged with a felony. To my knowledge he has not been charged with anything yet.
3. The aircraft being photographed was a KC-130, a 4 engine propeller driven transport plane designed in the 1950's and used to refuel other other aircraft (nothing secret, stealth or high-tech about it)
4. Two photos of the KC-130 were deleted from his camera
5. The military police searched the soldier's facebook and flickr page for aircraft photos and said that he "must be doing this illegally"
6. The military police informed the soldier that he is no longer allowed to take photographs at Hunter Army Airfield or Savanna Hilton Head International Airport.
7. The soldier was told that it is "illegal to take photos of a runway"
One thing that must be kept in mind regarding this case is that rules, regulations, rights and freedoms for active duty service members on military property can be very different than they are for us civilians. But even considering that fact, it seems that this soldier may have had his rights violated by MPs that are making up the rules as they go along. We will see.
More details to come as they are forwarded to me.
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I'm a "Fake"tag:www.allensphotoblog.com,2012:/notcrime//4.2962012-02-09T00:56:58Z2012-02-09T01:27:12ZAfter 4 years of running this blog and trying to bring attention to the issue of photographer's rights and point out violations of photographers right I have been called a "fake" by someone that I thought was fighting the same...Allen Rockwellwww.allenrockwellphoto.com
I am dumbfounded by this recent event. Aside from the occasional small donation I have received over the years I have run this site out of my own pocket, on my own time and asked for nothing in return.
I do not know Mr. Miller and I have never done anything to invite this sort of reaction from him. Actually I would have assumed until today that were allies in the same battle. I guess I was wrong about him and his character.
In his post Mr. Miller claims that my website was apparently launched in August of 2011 and only has 7 blog posts .... a fact that even if it were true (it's not) seems irrelevant. My website was launched 4 years ago and has 43 posts.
Mr. Miller seems to believe that I am somehow trying to make people believe that this little blog is his and therefore I am somehow infringing on his rights and his apparent desire to profit in some way from his advocacy of photography rights. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Mr. Miller, for whatever reason, seems to be offended by the fact that I have a "donation" button on my blog as many people do. He does not seem to understand that a donation to the site is optional and there is no profit motive associated with this site.
An email I received from Phillip Breske (I'm not sure what his connection (if any) with Mr. Miller is) suggested that someone might confuse my site with Mr. Miller's site. His comment: "Really? You can't see any way in which someone might confuse the two sites? None at all? I think a court would feel differently. I guess you'll find out."
Mr. Breske's comment has gotten me thinking, perhaps there is some remote chance that someone might confuse the two sites and if that's that case perhaps I have a case against Mr. Miller for infringing on my rights as I am the legal owner of www.photographyisntacrime.com and he has named his blog with a name that VERY similar to my domain name. I suppose if you have a blog you can name it anything you want, but I think if you use a name that is one letter away from a registered domain name there may be an issue of infringement ... I'll have to look into this.
If anyone knows what Mr. Miller's problem with me is please feel free to comment. After running this site for 4 years now this recent development has come completely out of left field. I've never had any correspondence with Mr. Miller and I cannot imagine what caused him to react in this way. ]]>
Know Your Rightstag:www.allensphotoblog.com,2012:/notcrime//4.2952012-02-01T08:05:55Z2012-02-01T08:06:57ZAllen Rockwellwww.allenrockwellphoto.com
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Well Done Cops - This is how it's supposed to worktag:www.allensphotoblog.com,2012:/notcrime//4.2942012-01-12T02:50:02Z2012-01-12T02:56:07ZCops are called because people are videotaping trains. After a quick and very polite chat with the photographers the cops go off and set the idiot train station worker right. Too bad this is the exception rather than the rule...Allen Rockwellwww.allenrockwellphoto.com
Too bad this is the exception rather than the rule ... but maybe someday everyone will understand that photography is not a crime.
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Teen arrested for filming a coptag:www.allensphotoblog.com,2011:/notcrime//4.2932011-12-31T04:07:35Z2011-12-31T04:17:23Z Statement from the arrested teen: On May 6th I began shooting film for a new video project about unwarranted raids in Wahpeton ND, I was standing on a public street filming a notorious officer (Dustin Hill) who commonly practices...Allen Rockwellwww.allenrockwellphoto.com
Statement from the arrested teen:
On May 6th I began shooting film for a new video project about unwarranted raids in Wahpeton ND, I was standing on a public street filming a notorious officer (Dustin Hill) who commonly practices unwarranted searches and seizures. He asked if I 'needed something' I responded by telling him 'no, I'm just filming a story about unwarranted raids in wahpeton' . He immediately
placed me under arrest for interfering with a police investigation, or hindering as he also coined it. There was no investigation going on, he was simply talking to a citizen on public property. I was taken into an interview room where I remained cuffed for roughly an hour, I was questioned by an officer without ever being read my miranda rights while he harrassed and grilled me.
After telling him the United States Constitution gives me the right to film in public he left, he returned after a long period of time and told me to stand up so he could remove my cuffs. I was then told to grab my camera and leave, and notified that I had 'Pissed Dustin Hill Off' I was released with NO CHARGES and my parents were never notified of my detainment, this is Orwellian authoritarian tactics of detaining a minor illegally for exercising his rights to intimidate him. I'm currently looking for the most effective avenue to seek legal action against the department but I do not feel that any more phone calls will accomplish anything but if you are exercising your right to contact the department please do so RESPECTFULLY and PROFESSIONALLY .
One act of disobeying the constitution under the protection of a shiny badge, is a strike against the rights of all men and women. I hope you will all stand with me in this fight against those who seek to overstrectch the boundaries of authority.
Robert Wanek]]>
ACLU sues Sheriff's Department, alleges photographers were harassedtag:www.allensphotoblog.com,2011:/notcrime//4.2922011-10-28T21:04:33Z2011-10-28T21:10:07ZThe ACLU of Southern California sued the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and several of its deputies Thursday alleging they harassed, detained and improperly searched photographers taking pictures legally in public places. The federal lawsuit alleges the Sheriff's Department and...Allen Rockwellwww.allenrockwellphoto.com
The federal lawsuit alleges the Sheriff's Department and deputies "have repeatedly" subjected photographers "to detention, search and interrogation simply because they took pictures" from public streets of places such as Metro turnstiles, oil refineries or near a Long Beach courthouse.
"Photography is not a crime. It's protected 1st Amendment expression," said Peter Bibring, senior staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California. "It violates the Constitution's core protections for sheriff’s deputies to detain and search people who are doing nothing wrong. To single them out for such treatment while they’re pursuing a constitutionally protected activity is doubly wrong."
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Police sued over deleted videos of confrontationtag:www.allensphotoblog.com,2011:/notcrime//4.2912011-09-01T01:08:14Z2011-09-01T08:11:46Z SARAH BRUMFIELD BALTIMORE (AP) - Baltimore police officers deleted videos from a man's mobile phone after he recorded a confrontation between officers and a female friend at the 2010 Preakness Stakes, violating his constitutional rights and wiping away a...Allen Rockwellwww.allenrockwellphoto.com
SARAH BRUMFIELD
BALTIMORE (AP) - Baltimore police officers deleted videos from a man's mobile phone after he recorded a confrontation between officers and a female friend at the 2010 Preakness Stakes, violating his constitutional rights and wiping away a year and a half of memories of his young son, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday.
The suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland challenges the detention of Christopher Sharp, the seizure of his phone and the deletion of the recordings as unconstitutional. The ACLU argued that law enforcement officers in Maryland, including Baltimore police officers, "routinely threaten to arrest or punish civilians who document police activity, using the Maryland Wiretap Act and related, inapplicable infractions to back up these threats."
Full story on AP HERE]]>
A 1st Amendment victory for videotag:www.allensphotoblog.com,2011:/notcrime//4.2902011-08-30T23:30:46Z2011-08-31T06:33:16ZBy Robin Harris | August 29, 2011, 8:02am PDT Summary: Cops and some congressmen may not like it, but a Federal court has ruled that recording public officials, including police, performing their public duties is a protected 1st Amendment activity....Allen Rockwellwww.allenrockwellphoto.com
Summary: Cops and some congressmen may not like it, but a Federal court has ruled that recording public officials, including police, performing their public duties is a protected 1st Amendment activity. Good!
Just the facts
Citizen Simon Glik was walking in nation’s oldest public park, the Boston Common, and stopped to video 3 police officers arresting a young man. After the arrest one of the officers turned to Glik, confirmed that he was recording audio, and arrested him for violating the state’s wiretap statute.
Glik was charged with wiretapping, disturbing the peace and aiding the escape of a prisoner. The last was so silly the state dismissed the charge.
The Boston Municipal Court found Glik not guilty of the other charges, noting the audio recording was not secret and carried out in plain view. Glik complained to the police, but they refused to investigate, so he filed a civil rights suit for violation of his 1st and 4th Amendment rights.
The officers claimed “qualified immunity” - a rule meant to protect public officials from legal harassment while performing their lawful duties - which was denied by the US District Court. The officers appealed to the US Appeals Court for the 1st Circuit - kind of like 2nd level tech support - which issued this historic ruling.
Get the full story on ZDNet by clicking HERE]]>
US Open Of Surfing calls photog "Sick"tag:www.allensphotoblog.com,2011:/notcrime//4.2892011-08-05T02:09:03Z2011-08-05T09:37:13Z I received a report from a photographer that was shooting photos of the competitors and spectators at the US Open of Surfing at Huntington Beach, CA this week. Here is a bit of it: "...Two staff guys from the...Allen Rockwellwww.allenrockwellphoto.com
I received a report from a photographer that was shooting photos of the competitors and spectators at the US Open of Surfing at Huntington Beach, CA this week.
Here is a bit of it:
"...Two staff guys from the surfing contest walked up to me on the beach and asked who i was shooting for.
One of them "knew" i was taking photos of women's butts and called me "sick". i told him i'm not taking pictures of women's butts and showed him pictures of guys. He said "you're even more sick". i told them the pictures were perfectly legal and went about my business."
The photographer handled himself perfectly in this situation, however the officials from the event were far less professional in their behavior.
There are several things that jump out at me in this story that make it interesting,
1. The official led off with the "who are you shooing for" question. Does this imply that shooting photos of women's butts is OK as long as you are shooting for a reputable magazine??? However if you are just shooting photos as a hobby, you are "sick"?.
2. When the photographer showed the officials his photos (which he was under no legal obligation to do) they saw that they were in fact all photos of men at which point the officials declared that the photographer was "even more sick". I'm not sure what qualifies an event official to make determinations and or comments about a photographer's mental condition or to imply that a male photographer taking photos of other males is more "sick" than a male photographer taking photos of females... or any other gender combination.
Shame on you US Open of Surfing, your officials are out in public acting like idiots and most likely violating peoples civil rights and making judgements about them as people. Is that the job of a surfing competition official?
Some facts to be noted:
The US Open of Surfing is held at a public beach.
The event is open to the public and is attended by hundreds of thousands of people.
A huge majority of the attendees have cameras or camera phones. there is no prohibition on photography at the event.
Huntington Beach has a reputation of being the place where the "beautiful people" go to be see and be seen, many photo hobbyist go there just to shoot photos of "the beautiful people"
Note: This is one side of the story, the photographer's side. I will write to the USOS and see if they would like to offer their comments on this story and I will post their response here.]]>
Cameraman stands up for his right to shoot...tag:www.allensphotoblog.com,2011:/notcrime//4.2852011-06-07T21:09:59Z2011-06-08T04:21:09Z... even though mom might be a bit crazy....Allen Rockwellwww.allenrockwellphoto.com
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Hearing imparied toursit from Oregon detained in Baltimore for video tapingtag:www.allensphotoblog.com,2011:/notcrime//4.2872011-05-11T22:06:27Z2011-06-08T05:09:44ZI wonder how many crimes were committed in Baltimore during the 35 minutes that 9 officers harassed this deaf tourist from Oregon....Allen Rockwellwww.allenrockwellphoto.com
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Police beating of Las Vegas man caught on tapetag:www.allensphotoblog.com,2011:/notcrime//4.2862011-05-05T21:16:03Z2011-06-08T04:20:17Z From the Las Vegas Review-Journal. View the entire story and video here When Mitchell Crooks checked out of the county jail last month and checked into a Las Vegas hospital, the 36-year-old videographer knew he had a fight on...Allen Rockwellwww.allenrockwellphoto.com
From the Las Vegas Review-Journal. View the entire story and video here
When Mitchell Crooks checked out of the county jail last month and checked into a Las Vegas hospital, the 36-year-old videographer knew he had a fight on his hands.
His face was bloodied and bruised. His $3,500 camera had been impounded by police, and he faced criminal charges for battery on a police officer.
One month later, things have changed for Crooks.
The Clark County district attorney's office has dropped all charges, and Crooks has retained an attorney of his own. The Metropolitan Police Department has opened an internal investigation into the Las Vegas police officer, Derek Colling, who Crooks says falsely arrested and beat him for filming police.
And his camera -- which captured the entire March 20 altercation between Crooks and Colling -- has been returned.
From the Las Vegas Review-Journal. View the entire story and video here
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A document that all photographers should print and keep with you at all timestag:www.allensphotoblog.com,2011:/notcrime//4.2832011-01-28T20:22:05Z2011-01-29T04:22:38Z A document that all photographers should print and keep with you at all times Originally uploaded by _Allen_ Here is a link to the full document so you can download it and print it documents.nytimes.com/photographing-federal-buildings-fro... PDF format document s3.amazonaws.com/nytdocs/docs/567/567.pdf...Allen Rockwellwww.allenrockwellphoto.com A document that all photographers should print and keep with you at all times
Originally uploaded by _Allen_
Here is a link to the full document so you can download it and print it
PDF format document s3.amazonaws.com/nytdocs/docs/567/567.pdf ]]>
Photography could cause another 9/11tag:www.allensphotoblog.com,2011:/notcrime//4.2822011-01-22T18:39:32Z2011-01-23T02:40:04Z Photography could cause another 9/11 Originally uploaded by _Allen_ It's absolutely insane that the ONLY example of activity they cite that "may become a composite indicating the possibility of criminal—even terrorist— activity" is photographing a stupid boat being loaded....Allen Rockwellwww.allenrockwellphoto.com Photography could cause another 9/11
Originally uploaded by _Allen_
It's absolutely insane that the ONLY example of activity they cite that "may become a composite indicating the possibility of criminal—even terrorist— activity" is photographing a stupid boat being loaded.
When the next terrorist attack happens (and, sadly it probably will as long as the US keeps sticking it's stupid nose into parts of the planet we have no business in), it will probably be an amateur photographer that captures the event taking place and provides the "authorities" with the evidence they need to capture the perpetrators. Or maybe the photographer will see something about to happen and report it and prevent another 9/11.
Stop demonizing photographers and realize they are the ones most likely to observe and report actual suspicious activity while you asswipes have your heads buried in computer monitors looking for suspicious emails or telephone chatter.
