Video: Stopped for taking photos of white house

prodigy2k7

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Note: THIS IS NOT ME!!! But I would like to see some comments by the TPF guys on here about this video...
Basically a 25 year old male was stopped for taking suspicious photos of the police and the area. (white house in background?). They talk to him and write down info from his ID for nearly 15 minutes.

I guess my only comment is he should have said "Am I free to go?"

In the beginning the SS said they were going to detain him, but never did, just wanted to ask questions...



Sorry if this video has already been posted.
 
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I think in guy holding the video camera handled that well, didn't back down or escalate the situation. He really shouldn't have been profiled and questioned for taking a photo but this is the world we live in.
 
He should have refused to give them his ID. This isn't Nazi Germany. We're not required to have our "papers" on us at all times.
 
He should have refused to give them his ID. This isn't Nazi Germany. We're not required to have our "papers" on us at all times.

Considering the OP mentions that the SS were going to detain him. We might very well be!

...In the beginning the SS said they were going to detain him, but never did, just wanted to ask questions...
 
He should have refused to give them his ID. This isn't Nazi Germany. We're not required to have our "papers" on us at all times.

ORLY?????

Ask Arizona state police about that!
I(everyone) was stopped on I-10 in New Mexico. They asked me if I am a US citizen. I said no. He then told me to pull aside to "see my papers". Luckily I was actually leaving the country from another state and had everything in my car. All of this was happening while every other car with non-English speaking Mexicans were let through saying that they are US citizens.
 
There are some things it is illegal to photograph and those have increased since 9/11. Reasoning is obvious. However... if some terrorist organization wants the photographs of the ss and the whitehouse goings and doings? This sure as hell isn't going to prevent them from taking them. All it does is harass the law abiding citizens. Considering terrorism is about as far from law abiding as you can get... just what do they think they are stopping????
 
He should have refused to give them his ID. This isn't Nazi Germany. We're not required to have our "papers" on us at all times.

ORLY?????

Ask Arizona state police about that!
I(everyone) was stopped on I-10 in New Mexico. They asked me if I am a US citizen. I said no. He then told me to pull aside to "see my papers". Luckily I was actually leaving the country from another state and had everything in my car. All of this was happening while every other car with non-English speaking Mexicans were let through saying that they are US citizens.

Different situation. You have to have a valid driver's license when driving or you're breaking the law. If you're walking down the street and get stopped, a cop can't require you to show ID. He can ask you for your name and if you lie, you can get in trouble for that, but you're not required to carry an ID. I know when I go mountain biking, running, or whatever, I'm not alway with my wallet. Not everyone carries an ID everywhere with them.
 
NWA said it best: "**** the police"
 
IMO this person was there to bait the SS officers. They showed great restriant in not hauling his butt in for further questioning. Me, I would have tazered his smartass and hauled him in.
 
secret service were allot more polite then i would have thought they would be.

the guy had apparently been talked to before and was back doing the same thing. i almost got the impression that the reason the guy was there was to get into it with the secret service. like when he said he was calling the police id expect him to call the pricinct or something, but instead he calls his friend whom i'm assuming is a cop. just left me with the impression that he went there with the sole pourpose of causing it.
 
This guy is just looking for a fight. The police don't need any kind of excuse to question someone, just like how I don't need an excuse to talk to someone. A "hows it going" would have sufficed followed up with a "am I free to go" if they're getting a bit too nosy - and then STFU. There is no reason to set things off on teh wrong foot.

I tend to think of the police as anyone else until I'm detained. I wouldn't let some random guy touch me, I wouldn't let some random person look through my stuff. But I would tell a random person if I'm a tourist.
 
I wasn't talking about driver's license. I was talking about passport, visa papers etc. It's ridiculous to ask a foreigner, living or working in the country, to carry around such important documents all the time. BTW the "visa" isn't a convenient piece of card. It's literally letter sized papers, many pieces of them. These documents belong to the safe, not your wallet.


How would you feel if you are required to have your car title deed with you ALL the time while you are driving the car?

In my previous job, I interact with different law enforcement agencies and study the way they do their jobs. While some stay on the job because they understand its true value, most are there because of the pay check, or because they get to kick asses legally. Put it this way, 99% of the time, they have a reeeaaallllyyy boring job. Sometimes, if excitement doesn't come to them, they create some for themselves.
 
I agree with the comments above. I watched the video and from the beginning was ready to take sides with the photographers, but about halfway though I found myself thinking that the guy was smarmy and kind of an ass, and ultimately sided with the cops.
 

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