Police Harassing Timelapse Photographer (Video title)

[NickA]

just because you feel that the cops should have left just because the guy said he wasn't doing anything wrong is laughable.

..and showing an ID also proves what?

They are there to asses the situation.

Proves he may not be the person they are looking for. Or that he has no outstanding warrants. Or he is who he says he is. Or that he has nothing to hide so why not? Or that he doesn't want to cause a scene and waste the time of authorities when they can be out dealing with actual criminals. There are at least two authorities on the scene, right? What a waste of time because this dude decides tonight is the night he wants to be a proud US citizen and stand up for his rights.

Don't you think if he just showed his ID, explained what he was doing they would have just let him be?

 

[jwbryson1]

Don't you think if he just showed his ID, explained what he was doing they would have just let him be?

Let's take this one step further. Let's assume that he DID show his ID and they then continued to press him on what he was doing and asked him to leave. At what point WOULD you stand up for your rights? At what point do the police cross the line?

 

[zcar21]

Don't you think if he just showed his ID, explained what he was doing they would have just let him be?

Let's take this one step further. Let's assume that he DID show his ID and they then continued to press him on what he was doing and asked him to leave. At what point WOULD you stand up for your rights? At what point do the police cross the line?

I understand the guy's reaction. The cop was suspecious of the guy just for taking pictures. Even if he had produced his id right way, the cop would continue harrasing him with questions (imo) because he had his mind set that the guy was doing something wrong. Anyone who has been interrogated by the police without any probable cause knows this.

Here's his work.

 

[NickA]

Don't you think if he just showed his ID, explained what he was doing they would have just let him be?

Let's take this one step further. Let's assume that he DID show his ID and they then continued to press him on what he was doing and asked him to leave. At what point WOULD you stand up for your rights? At what point do the police cross the line?

Good question. I don't know what I would do. I'd show my ID and explain what I was doing. If they still asked me to leave I'd probably just find another spot. It really wouldn't be a big deal to me because I can get that shot anywhere. Like I said; I pick my battles. If the cops do want me on a bridge taking pictures then fine; I'll go somewhere else and take them. If they continue to harass me for no reason then I'd have an issue with that.

 

[o hey tyler]

Don't you think if he just showed his ID, explained what he was doing they would have just let him be?

Let's take this one step further. Let's assume that he DID show his ID and they then continued to press him on what he was doing and asked him to leave. At what point WOULD you stand up for your rights? At what point do the police cross the line?

Good question. I don't know what I would do. I'd show my ID and explain what I was doing. If they still asked me to leave I'd probably just find another spot. It really wouldn't be a big deal to me because I can get that shot anywhere. Like I said; I pick my battles. If the cops do want me on a bridge taking pictures then fine; I'll go somewhere else and take them. If they continue to harass me for no reason then I'd have an issue with that.

...and that's what I was saying about the whole rolling over and not standing up for your rights on public property. You shouldn't have to move and start over if you're not doing anything illegal.

 

[jake337]

this right here just shows how biased you are against anything a cop would do. no, thats not what cops want to do. ive met way more nice cops in my life then ive met asshole cops. this guy was being a pain in the ass to the officers so they were being a pain in the ass back, this isn't about your rights and police brutallity, its just about a guy being an asshole and getting the same thing back he was being given. just because he was there with a camera doesnt make this some big fundamental stand on goverment and rights. its just simple about respect. and the lackthere of.


just because you feel that the cops should have left just because the guy said he wasn't doing anything wrong is laughable.

Officers are like judges, they are not supposed to act indifferently based on an attitude of an individual. The are taught to remain calm and collective even when a "supsect" is not. It would be very, very wrong of an officer to be an "asshole" back.

well then if you guys feel the photographer was being nice, by that defination id have to say the cops were being nice as well. cops are also taught to look at how people responds and when you avoid giving someomeon your name, refuse to show id id imagine they would start thinking this guy could be wanted for something since he's making a big deal out of it.

I actually don't think he was being nice, either was the officer.



There are far too many variables to really have a solid ground to interpret the video.

We do not see the demeanor of the officer or photography pre-video. We really can't see during the video either, mostly just voice. We cannot interpret either person's body language either. Who really knows what is going on.


Anything I've written is just based on my personal experience with officers and not the video in question. One needs to know when to stand their ground and when to let things slide. As do most experienced officers.

 

[imagemaker46]

A. He shows his ID, they ask a few questions, who knows maybe one of them is into photography as well and they start talking about it.

B. He doesn't show his ID, he is hiding something, they become suspicious, he refuses to answer questions, he has a problem.

C. He acts like a jerk, he gets treated like a jerk, he has the constitutional right to be a jerk.

 

[Bossy]

Don't you think if he just showed his ID, explained what he was doing they would have just let him be?

Let's take this one step further. Let's assume that he DID show his ID and they then continued to press him on what he was doing and asked him to leave. At what point WOULD you stand up for your rights? At what point do the police cross the line?

He did show the cop his ID, and the cop continued to harass him. I'm on Tylers side on this one. The cops were assholes. He was there with a tripod and a camera. No pile of cinderblocks or whatever else you're trying to incriminate him with possibly doing.

 

[12sndsgood]

Don't you think if he just showed his ID, explained what he was doing they would have just let him be?

Let's take this one step further. Let's assume that he DID show his ID and they then continued to press him on what he was doing and asked him to leave. At what point WOULD you stand up for your rights? At what point do the police cross the line?

He did show the cop his ID, and the cop continued to harass him. I'm on Tylers side on this one. The cops were assholes. He was there with a tripod and a camera. No pile of cinderblocks or whatever else you're trying to incriminate him with possibly doing.

jake hit on it above. we dont know that. you dont know that. nobody in this forum knows that. all you know is the brief scene your shown. people are quick to say this guy was innocent and doing nothing illegal, nothing wrong but they have no idea where this guy is, no idea what he was doing before he started filming but they have allready decided in there minds that just because he said he is innocent then he obviously must be.

im not trying to incriminate him. im saying we don't know. and the cops didnt know so they were trying to find out.

 

[Bossy]

jake hit on it above. we dont know that. you dont know that. nobody in this forum knows that. all you know is the brief scene your shown. people are quick to say this guy was innocent and doing nothing illegal, nothing wrong but they have no idea where this guy is, no idea what he was doing before he started filming but they have allready decided in there minds that just because he said he is innocent then he obviously must be.

im not trying to incriminate him. im saying we don't know. and the cops didnt know so they were trying to find out.

We don't know what?? That theres not a pile of bricks next to him? You don't think that would be the first thing the cops said?? No, they asked him what he was doing, what he was taking pictures of. You can clearly see the camera/tripod, he even pans around and you don't see anything else. What exactly are you making up here?

I'm baffled as to how this is even debatable. The guy can be an ass within his rights all he wants, the cops need to be professional and they weren't. They asked what he was doing, he explained, happily, and the cops still bothered him. Its pretty basic.

 

[Buckster]

Strobist had a blog post on this topic just the other day, but not about the specific video at the top of this thread. Anyway, it's interesting in context of the topic: Strobist: How to Avoid Dealing With the Police When Shooting in Public

 

[NickA]

jake hit on it above. we dont know that. you dont know that. nobody in this forum knows that. all you know is the brief scene your shown. people are quick to say this guy was innocent and doing nothing illegal, nothing wrong but they have no idea where this guy is, no idea what he was doing before he started filming but they have allready decided in there minds that just because he said he is innocent then he obviously must be.

im not trying to incriminate him. im saying we don't know. and the cops didnt know so they were trying to find out.

We don't know what?? That theres not a pile of bricks next to him? You don't think that would be the first thing the cops said?? No, they asked him what he was doing, what he was taking pictures of. You can clearly see the camera/tripod, he even pans around and you don't see anything else. What exactly are you making up here?

I'm baffled as to how this is even debatable. The guy can be an ass within his rights all he wants, the cops need to be professional and they weren't. They asked what he was doing, he explained, happily, and the cops still bothered him. Its pretty basic.

We don't know that there weren't signs posted. We don't know if maybe the cops were looking for someone that matches this guys description. Cops tend to be cautious, which is how they are trained. If you talk to a cop like this dude did, then you will get treated that way every time. I mean really, was this the time to be an a-hole about your rights to take a picture? Yeah, a picture. Pack up your gear, go home and call a lawyer. Call the chief of police. Call the newspaper.

Or, stand there and waste the time of authorities when they have better things to do. Like protect you. What if your house was being robbed while you were in it while this dude whines to the cops about wanting to take a picture of cars?

 

[480sparky]

Strobist had a blog post on this topic just the other day, but not about the specific video at the top of this thread. Anyway, it's interesting in context of the topic: Strobist: How to Avoid Dealing With the Police When Shooting in Public

Hint: Copy & paste the article to your word processor.... it's white text on a dark gray background. I HATE people who do that crap!

 

[NickA]

Strobist had a blog post on this topic just the other day, but not about the specific video at the top of this thread. Anyway, it's interesting in context of the topic: Strobist: How to Avoid Dealing With the Police When Shooting in Public

Hint: Copy & paste the article to your word processor.... it's white text on a dark gray background. I HATE people who do that crap!

Me too, that is the worst. I will leave a site immediately if I see the white on black.

 

[Bossy]

We don't know that there weren't signs posted. We don't know if maybe the cops were looking for someone that matches this guys description. Cops tend to be cautious, which is how they are trained. If you talk to a cop like this dude did, then you will get treated that way every time. I mean really, was this the time to be an a-hole about your rights to take a picture? Yeah, a picture. Pack up your gear, go home and call a lawyer. Call the chief of police. Call the newspaper.

Or, stand there and waste the time of authorities when they have better things to do. Like protect you. What if your house was being robbed while you were in it while this dude whines to the cops about wanting to take a picture of cars?

I'm not going to go into "what if" lala land with you. From what I saw of the video, the cops were wrong to continue to harass him. The photographer had nothing wrong with his tone until after the cop kept insisting on his ID and basically acting like an asshole. When the photographer tried to assert his rights, that he didn't have to show him his ID because 1, he was on public property, which the cop didn't dispute, and 2, he wasn't doing anything wrong, which the cop again didn't dispute, the cop called in backup and was even more of an ass. I don't even have an ID on me most of the time. That's my right.
And when is it not a time to be an A hole about your rights? I didn't serve in the Navy so people had to bend over and take it here in the US.