A couple years ago I had a couple of different confrontations. I was working at a security job, and one morning after I got done working I had some errands to do, but had to wait a bit for the stores to open, so was walking around near Burlington City Hall, and unexpectedly came upon an "Occupy Vermont" protest. I of course was carrying around my camera in case I saw anything interesting while walking around. I didn't actually take any photo's of the event, but I did pull my camera up to read a sign across the park using my lens at 200mm. I then see this guy with a little girl who is no more than 5 years old come running across the park up to me. He starts getting in my face calling me a pervert for photographing his daughter, and that he and the other people there are not their to be gawked at and photographed by people. I politely told him what I was doing, and said that I had no interest in taking photographs of him or anyone else. He of course didn't believe me, and demanded that I erase all the photo's I've taken of them in front of him so he could verify that they were in fact deleted. I again told him, that I did not take any photo's, and if I had they could not be deleted as I had my film camera with me. He then made an attempt to grab my camera and I pulled it away and backed up a couple of steps telling him to back off before he got in to some serious trouble. By this time we had gathered a small audience of 5-6 people. He then asked me sarcastically what I was going to do to him, and he made another attempt to come to me to grab my camera. I of course still had my uniform on, but had on a regular jacket to cover it as that was company policy when we weren't on duty. Our uniforms were nearly identical in appearance to the Burlington City Police, and since I covered several accounts in that area, I had a good working relationship with all of the officers. I stepped back when he advanced toward me, and unzipped my jacket a bit, and pulled it aside showing my uniform and badge, and he stopped dead in his tracks with the widest eyes I had ever seen. I then asked him if he wanted to continue the conversation. He was totally speechless at that point. I then told him to turn around and go back to his business or I would have the Burlington Police down there arresting him for harassment. He turned around, and walked away.
Another incident I had was also after work doing security. I got out of work one morning, and it was my day off so usually I would stay up all day, and go to bed at night. I went to the Airport as I enjoy photographing airplanes. Specifically I wanted to get the F-16's at the Air National Guard when they departed. I was outside the perimeter fence along side the city street where everyone stands to take pictures. about that time an Air National Guard security vehicle comes around the taxiway and see's me along the fence with my camera. He then comes barreling across the grass to the fence, and quickly jumps out of the truck with his M-16 and starts demanding that I tell him what I'm doing there. This time I was not in uniform as I had changed clothes after clocking out. I explained to him that I had just got done work, and was just an aviation enthusiast taking photo's of the aircraft as the landed and departed. He then told me that I was not allowed to do so, and that I needed to delete any and all photo's taken. I explained to him that I had just got there less than two minutes before he drove up, and didn't have any photo's. He then took my name, and all of my information including the company I worked for, and told me to leave. Rather than push the issue I just decided to go home. Two weeks later I was approached by my supervisor at work being reprimanded for this incident. I asked them how they even knew that I was there, and why I was being written up for something that had nothing to do with work in any way. It turns out that the General Manager of the company I worked for, and the base commander were very close friends, and they lied saying that I was there in uniform attempting to gain illegal access to the airport to take photo's. I refused to sign their write up, and was eventually fired from my job.
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