11 Comments

SNAP! You’re detained!

March 24, 2006 by in Privacy,Stupid with 11 Comments

Ben Hider carries his camera with him just about everywhere, and so it was on Friday, as he was heading to the train station in White Plains he stopped to snap some beauty shots on the flags in front of the court house. That’s when his trouble began.

Ben Hider, Photographer: “Three police officers ran at me, immediately, telling me to stop where I was.”

And that’s exactly what Ben Hider did. He even showed the court officers the pictures he took and offered to delete them. Moments later they escorted him inside the courthouse for two hours of questioning.

Local laws are bing passed by the boat load in order to strip rights away from an individual, espically when it regards photography (NY’s MTA tried floading such law in 2005, but was shot down so photograpgy on rail property is LEGAL under NYS law).

Is this blatant abuse of police power under the cloak of national security, or is the nation better off understanding that the limited restrictions for some rights are necessary to protect all others?

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  • http://www.nathanieljc.com Nathaniel

    I say this is a blatant abuse of “national security concerns.”

    1984.

  • Roberto Felgueiras

    Wow, that’s retarded. Big Brother much?

  • Ian

    One of my other jobs being photography, I personally think it’s bogus to have local/state/federal governments prohibiting taking pictures from certain PUBLIC places. According to a federal law (one which that I can’t directly quote because I forgot the name of it), it is legal to take any picture of private property on public ground. This includes photos of sensitive areas. However, if one was to sneak into a private place, those photos could be confiscated. I’d be surprised if any law really holds its ground in court, because I’d put money down that the ACLU would back just about any photographer that found him/herself in hot water.

    If you want more info about photographer’s rights, there’s a nifty pdf out there that specifies what’s legal and what rights you have.

  • http://www.nolo.5thirtyone.com Dylan

    This is pathetic. If a court deems the detainment unconstitutional, which I bet they will, the officer could be charded with kiddnapping, false imprisonment, and coercion . . .

  • Emory

    “Those Who Sacrifice Liberty For Security Deserve Neither”
    -Ben Franklin

  • http://www.tomshakely.com Tom Shakely

    Emory: You can be forgiven, for it’s an extremely common mistake, but Franklin actually said, “Those who sacrifice ESSENTIAL liberty for A LITTLE TEMPORARY security deserve neither.

  • Tim

    “They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” – Benjamin Franklin

    that maybe? lol

  • http://www.myspace.com/theotherjason jason

    not pointing it out to be a jerk, but you mean you are, not your. ;) took me a year to break that habbit.

  • justin

    jason: and you, good sir, mean “habit” not “habbit.”

    But getting back on track, we’re becoming a police state. Does the US still profess itself to be the “Land of the Free” ?

  • http://ikonq.com ikonQ

    I might have to add ‘Professional Photographer’ to my business cards, just incase Australian Police officers get jumpy… :P

  • http://bordom.net joeyo

    Snap! Your title is broken!

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