Police Car photos ?

[mom2eight]

http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/members/srinaldo86.htmlsrinaldo86, I was a SP in the Air force, its a whole different set of rules. I guess you have to walk in those boots to truly understand. Thanks for what you do!

 

[Shelly1204]

The cops around here drive Chargers... I would love the opportunity to shoot some of them...

I hope if you ever ask them, you phrase it differently!

 

[Dusty Miller]

I was told that taking a photo of a police car was a criminal offense and subject to a fine or 30 days in jail. Has anybody else ever heard of this?

The first question I would ask is, who told you this? The best way to answer this would be to ask a police officer.

WRONG!! Asking an LEO if its OK to photograph a police car is akin to asking a preacher if its illegal to pass gas in his church!! Do try to keep this in mind, the police are generally not well versed in the law beyond their very narrow area of expertise. Also, they'll often just give you the answer that best suits their needs. The police are not any more ethical than the rest of us and they'll feed you a line of jumulka as quick as anybody else.

 

[C-Towner]

I was told that taking a photo of a police car was a criminal offense and subject to a fine or 30 days in jail. Has anybody else ever heard of this?

The first question I would ask is, who told you this? The best way to answer this would be to ask a police officer.

WRONG!! Asking an LEO if its OK to photograph a police car is akin to asking a preacher if its illegal to pass gas in his church!! Do try to keep this in mind, the police are generally not well versed in the law beyond their very narrow area of expertise. Also, they'll often just give you the answer that best suits their needs. The police are not any more ethical than the rest of us and they'll feed you a line of jumulka as quick as anybody else.

+1

I guess the fact that police officers see photographing them as a suspicious act a lot of the time does not make me feel any better. Saying I would ask someone what they were doing looking in the windows of my car is not the same thing. They might be allowed to do it legally, but the level of suspicion involved is an order of magnitude greater than photographing ANYONE in public-that is a protected right. Police officers are afforded no special priveledges or rights against being photographed in public than any other person, despite their best efforts to convince the public otherwise.

 

[Battou]

lol I forgot about some of my police car photos in my initial post in this thread.....they in them selves would have made my point perfectly.


When I got these shot I was surrounded by cops, I even had a ploice department photographer setting up a tripod right over my shoulder. I was shooting handheld.......that makes me better than him right?

http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/photojournalism-sports-gallery/154767-one-car-mva.html

 

[Chopper Duke]

Wow, I'm new here and what a great thread to start off on.

I spent over 5 years in law enforcement and it was that career that really broadend my love of photography. I took courses in Crime Scene Photography, digital imaging, etc.

When I worked the streets, if someone came up and asked to take my picture, or pictures of my car, I let them. I would inquire as to what kind of camera they had, etc. As long as it didn't hinder me from my job, I found it to be another way to interact with my community.

The problem is, there ARE people out there who want to take pictures of cops for nefarious reasons. It only takes one of them to keep a cop on his toes. If I'm dealing with a suspect of any type, I'm not really in the "smile please" mindset.

Respect the crime scene, respect the cop and his boundaries and you're more than likely going to walk away with all of your stuff and sleep in your bed that evening.

Sure, there are jerk cops, but after reading this thread, there are jerk photographers too....

 

[Josh66]

Sure, there are jerk cops, but after reading this thread, there are jerk photographers too....

There are just jerks. They work in every profession, and you will meet them everywhere.

I don't think I'm one, but I'm sure some people do think so...


I think the problem you guys face is that it seems that it only takes a few jerk cops to make people think all cops are jerks. I don't know why the same doesn't apply to photographers (or anything else)... Maybe it does and I just can't see it...

 

[Dusty Miller]

No, you can not be jailed for photographing police vehicles.

That is, unless they just decide to go ahead and do it anyway!!

 

[Dusty Miller]

Someone with a camera taking photos of someone in a profession such as law enforcement is rattling. Officers understand that people are intrigued by law enforcement however we also know that we have the most hated profession on earth (aside from DMV employees.) People taking photos/video could be someone studying our tactics, our equipment, and our over all complacency. Something we're all taught in our training is "Go home alive," so our curiosity of someones actions and motives is part of our training and desire to live.
If you were in our shoes and were unsure of someone watching you, plotting against you, wouldn't you be inquisitive as well?

PARANOIA!!

 

[Dusty Miller]

I don't expect any of you to understand it because you are not provided with the same information and details as law enforcement.

Ah, you are the ONLY ONES knowledgeable enough!!

 

[Dusty Miller]

[/QUOTE]Have you ever had to approach a vehicle on a traffic stop and worry if the driver is going to turn around with a gun?
Respond to a domestic dispute, an intrusion alarm, assault, medical assistance, anything?
Or stand a Marine Corps Base entry point worrying about someone approaching with a gun or even a bomb?[/QUOTE]

And this has exactly WHAT to do with a person in a public place taking photographs? You're awfully good at setting up straw men.

 

[Dusty Miller]

When I worked the streets, if someone came up and asked to take my picture, or pictures of my car, I let them.

WRONG!! You did not "let" them, you in fact had no basis whatsoever to deny them their right to photograph your car!! See, that's it in a nutshell right there Chopper Duke, that's the COP attitude that bugs the live'n s**t out of me and a lot of other people. As a police officer you do not "let" people do what they have a perfect right to be doing!! Do you GET that?

 

[Chopper Duke]

Ya know Dusty, I’m going to quote Jack Nicholson’s character, Colonel Nathan R Jessup, from a Few Good Men:

I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom I provide, then questions the manner in which I provide it.

Besides, you’ve proven my point.

Sure, there are jerk cops, but after reading this thread, there are jerk photographers too....

 

[Plato]

Ya know Dusty, I’m going to quote Jack Nicholson’s character, Colonel Nathan R Jessup, from a Few Good Men:

I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom I provide, then questions the manner in which I provide it.

Besides, you’ve proven my point.

Sure, there are jerk cops, but after reading this thread, there are jerk photographers too....

Your previous post sounded good but this one's way over the line. Quite correctly, Jessup was found guilty. It is my right (and my obligation) to question the manner in which you provide my protection, ESPECIALLY if you do it in such a manner that you're attempting to deny me the rights guaranteed to me by the constitution of the United States of America. You are not above the law.

Are you in a state that legally recognizes the concept of a "professional police officer" or can any two-bit mayor pin a badge on you and declare you to be a cop?

 

[Chopper Duke]

Techincally, the two people on trial were not found guilty, but that's another thread. It was more the statement than the person. I was just giving credit to where it came from rather than trying to pass it off as my own saying. The sentiment of the statement remains the same.

I'm a certified Police Officer through Georgia POST and my last assigment was with a CALEA certified Police Department.