This what Happens when NYPD kicks you off the Scene! Damn,
originally uploaded by fOtO Vs.Graf’z™ (its a fight for the final JPEG).

While the person who took this picture does not offer many details we can tell from the picture that an officer of the New York Police Department obviously violated his rights. There is no yellow tape or other barrier and in the distance we can see people walking even closer to the scene.

The law does not require a press pass for taking pictures of a crime scene, accident scene, disaster or ANYTHING from public space.

The widespread arrests of people who videotape police officers has finally gotten the attention of our lawmakers. Edolphus Towns (D, NY) is proposing the following resolution:

H.CON.RES.298 — Expressing the sense of Congress that the videotaping or photographing of police engaged in potentially abusive activity in a public place should not be prosecuted in State or Federal… (Introduced in House – IH)

HCON 298 IH

111th CONGRESS

2d Session

H. CON. RES. 298

Expressing the sense of Congress that the videotaping or photographing of police engaged in potentially abusive activity in a public place should not be prosecuted in State or Federal courts.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

July 15, 2010

Mr. TOWNS submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of Congress that the videotaping or photographing of police engaged in potentially abusive activity in a public place should not be prosecuted in State or Federal courts.

Whereas prosecutors in several States are applying State wiretapping laws in the prosecution of individuals for the videotaping of police engaged in potentially abusive activity;

Whereas State and Federal wiretapping laws were not intended to be used for such charges;

Whereas some police departments have been using national security as a justification for the harassment, charges, or an arrest of individuals, based solely on a citizen recording, with no additional factors considered;

Whereas a study conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice in 2000 indicated that 22 percent of police officers claim their fellow officers sometimes, often, or always use excessive force; and

Whereas the privacy and safety rights of the police officers in the line of duty must be balanced carefully with the public’s right to transparency and accountability of public servants: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that–

(1) citizen recording fills in gaps in existing checks against law enforcement abuses, when balanced with the needs of law enforcement, police privacy, and citizen privacy;

(2) national security alone is insufficient justification for harassment, charges, or an arrest for otherwise innocent behavior, such as videotaping; and

(3) members of the public have a right to observe, and if they choose, to make video or sound recordings of the police during the discharge of their public duties, as long as they do not physically or otherwise interfere with the officers’ discharge of their duties, or violate any other State or Federal law, intended to protect the safety of police officers, in the process of the recording.

It is about time considering the escalating harassment and interference with our First Amendment rights by police as explained in a recent editorial appearing in USA Today on the issue:

This is an abuse of prosecutorial authority and a misinterpretation of state law. But it’s typical of the attitude of too many prosecutors and police toward people who record their encounters with law enforcement and are usually completely within their rights to do so.

Websites that monitor these cases have posted stories from around the country of police ordering people to stop videotaping or photographing them, sometimes violently. Most of the time, the police apparently either don’t understand the law or are deliberately misstating it to bully people into putting away their cameras or cellphones

We not only hope that this resolution passes but that it is followed up with stronger FEDERAL LEGISLATION that guarantees the rights of citizens to videotape and photograph their police. After all we are not a police state (yet).

Employees of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority LIED to a group of students by telling them that photography was illegal, in spite of the fact that MBTA rules clearly state that it is perfectly legal.

According to one of the students whose photo shoot was ruined by the LIARS:

I retreated to higher ground, so that I could get a signal on my phone and pull up the MBTA website. Just as Skip was coming down the stairs. I told him what I saw, my classmate being talked to by an employee, and he immediately went to her. Once the page loaded, I joined him, where he was having a polite but clearly heated discussion with said employee.

As we were talking, another MBTA employee caught another one of our group taking photos, and pulled him towards us. Eventually, I got around to showing each employee (by now, there were three of them gathering us together) what their own website said.

They seemed shocked by this. The woman we initially encountered had already called dispatch, and was in the middle of telling us that three years ago, she underwent training that told her that all photographic activity on MBTA property was strictly prohibited.

If you were harassed for taking pictures in the Washington, DC area, Washington Post reporter Annys Shin wants to hear from you.

Write to her at shina AT washpost.com

This story is not about the “War on Photography”, but it piqued our interest because of the misinformation that is being perpetuated and is now creating an urban legend of sorts. CNET recently ran an article about the Secrets of Grand Central Terminal in New York City.

The article contains a very interesting and colorful story about a secret track that contains a car that once part of a train belonging to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR). The article explains:

The secret train car was armor-clad, and had bullet-proof glass, which in those days meant little more than many, many layers of glass, Brucker said. In addition, a series of vents along the top of the train car were actually gun ports, and it featured unique wheel assemblies that allowed no lateral movement. That was because any such movement would have shaken FDR out of his wheelchair.

Today, the train car is sitting on a track in the secret train station. The FDR Museum wants it back, but moving it from the tunnels below Grand Central would be an astronomically expensive task, given that it would likely need to be taken apart, piece by piece. So until the museum ponies up, it sits hidden away in New York City.

Very dramatic, very mysterious, very colorful and VERY FALSE!

First of all the track itself and the so-called secret station is about as secret as the location of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, underneath which the platform is located. The true story of the platform and its history can actually be found here:

The wide “Waldorf platform” is just under the ST. lettering in 50 St, and the elevator is next to the black spot located on the upper side of 49 St. To the right can be seen the other wide platform, formerly used for Adams Express. The Waldorf platform is between tracks 61 and 63 (there is no 62). For orientation, it is just past station platforms 11-13 and 14-15 (there is also no track 12), but it is separated from them by the ladder track. There are no station platforms at tracks 1 to 10, but they do exist; 1 and 2 are the return from the loop, and 3 to 10 are sidings. The best view from a train to the Waldorf platform would be from the right side of a train departing tracks 38 to 42 by way of the loop and thus passing into track 1 or 2 and up the ladder past the entrance to 61..

Of course leave it to railfans to reveal the true origin of the so-called FDR car. We spotted the following information in a chat room:

The Car itself is an ex Pennsylvania Railroad (Penn Central) baggage car that was sold to Metro North when Metro North was founded in 1983. The car is loaded with equipment that belongs to Crane NYC1 that is now at the Danbury RAILROAD museum in Connecticut. Perhaps that is the museum that wants the car, not the FDR museum. Of course this isn’t as exiting as calling it the FDR car…

Here are some pictures we found posted on the web of the car in question – click on the thumbnail to be directed to the photographer’s site:

Now we return you to our regular stories about the “War on Photography”……

In spite of the fact that the city of Beaverton, Oregon recently settled a lawsuit for arresting a man who recorded their officers, an unapologetic Chief overtly threatened anyone trying to photograph or record his officers:

If you pull out your cell phone or digital camera and record the voice of a Beaverton police officer, odds are you won’t be arrested.
But, just know, you also could be handcuffed and taken to jail. It’s up to the officer and his or her interpretation of the law.

So what this petty dictator is saying is that it does not matter what the law states, he is giving carte blanche permission to his officers to harass, detain, torment, and intimidate photographers into giving up their rights under the law and the first amendment of the Constitution of the United States.

Story here

A photojournalist was detained, questioned and ILLEGALLY FORCED to show his pictures without a search warrant to police and DHS because he took pictures of the BP refinery FROM A PUBLIC STREET. The police and DHS then demanded his personal information including his date of birth and Social Security number which they turned over to BP Security. Now anyone can use them to steal his identity if they so choose.

Story here

According to Rosenfield, the officers said they had a right to look at photos taken near secured areas of the refinery, even if they were shot from public property. Rosenfield said he was told he would be “taken in” if he declined to comply

BP’s PATHETIC response is extremely disturbing:

“BP Security followed the industry practice that is required by federal law. The photographer was released with his photographs after those photos were viewed by a representative of the Joint Terrorism Task Force who determined that the photographer’s actions did not pose a threat to public safety.”

What FEDERAL LAW? There is NO FEDERAL LAW banning or in any way restricting photography from public space. BP is NOT a military base. The LYING needs to stop!

Reporter and photo rights advocate Carlos Miller was harassed by Metrorail security. Click on the Photography is Not a Crime site for the details,