seeking police contacts
Steve Warmowski
Please read the following post from a Northwestern University student.
If you have an advice please e-mail to him (address at bottom of
account).
All things are connected,
Steve Warmowski
IPPA secretary-treasurer
www.medill.nwu.edu/IPPA
photo editor
Jacksonville (Ill.) Journal-Courier
217.245.6121w
o...@csj.net
I have already lost and I know it. I'm dead tired and it's 4:30 AM
but I
don't think I'll be able to sleep until I get this off my chest.
Last night (Saturday), I went to a block on the north side of
downtown
Chicago containing a stretch of bars and clubs to do some night street
scene-
type photography. I had spent about an hour just roving up and down the
same block, staying a few minutes every where along and just waiting for
interesting moments.
A tow truck passed by in the heavy traffic, and a couple guys
were
running alongside it, yelling about their vehicle tied to the back. The
owner
jumps on the step on the passenger side of the cab and is talking to the
driver,
I'm clicking away happily from about four or five yards away.
A police officer comes by and tells the guy to get off the
truck, which
he does. I shoot a frame or two as the man pleads with the officer, but
the
officer just waves him off.
So I figure, okay, that was kind of funny. But the joke turned.
As I turn away, the police officer approaches me and just says
straight out, "Give me the camera."
I tell him no. At this point, I can't believe he's asking, and
I'm running
through all the justifications in my mind. I was outdoors, on a public
sidewalk,
in an open area with plenty of other people around who had seen the same
thing.
He takes me into a corner Kinko's store where they were filling
out
paper work and he grabs at the camera around my neck, repeatedly saying
"Give me the camera, give me the film."
I'm telling him "No, sir, I can't do that sir. I'm sorry sir, I
can't do
that."
I remember saying, "Sir, it's private property, sir. I cannot give it
to you."
To which he replied, "Private property, eh?" and continued fumbling with
the
body.
His partner had arrived by this time, and he was still fumbling,
it was a Leica
M4 and he couldn't find how to open it.
They threatened me with arrest, going so far as to pull out a
pair of
handcuffs and wave them at me. I knew they were bluffing on that, and I
ignored it, but he was still six inches from my face demanding the film.
I asked what I had done wrong. They said it was illegal to take
pictures of
Chicago police officers in the city of Chicago. The second officer said
"They
should've taught you that in photography school." He ignored my
response of
"I don't go to photography school."
Finally, I got the one officer to back off a foot or two and he
goes to talk to
the guy who's car was being towed. The other guy's still demanding the
film
and I tell him I'll rewind it, to which he replied, "We're just going to
keep it
for inventory. Give it to me."
So I rewind it, all the while he's keeping a close eye on me.
The first
officer returns and says, "Oh, you rewound it," grabs it out of my
hand, at
which point I wasn't really resisting; half wanting to believe they'll
keep it,
process it and edit out the offending material.
The police officer places the roll of TMZ 3200 on the ground and
carefully stomps it until the canister opens. He reaches down and pulls
out
the spool and unwinds the film. Then hands it back to me, "There you
go."
I look to his partner, and he shrugs and looks away.
I'm back out on the street, shaking. On my way to my car,
I see an unmarked unit a few blocks away, with uniformed officers and
ask
if I can talk to them. They agree, and I present them with the
situation and
ask, "Is it illegal to take pictures of Chicago police officers in the
city of
Chicago?"
One of the two occupants is a sergeant, but they are with
another
division and don't have anything to do with the officers two blocks over
who
destroyed my film.
They tell me that it is an unwritten rule that taking
photographs of
police is not done, because, the example they gave me, was that some
officers work undercover and some gangs have mug books of police, "Just
like we do of them. So it's just not a good idea."
I explain I am just a private citizen taking pictures on a
public street, is
that illegal. The sergeant asks, "You want to know if you have a
case?" Yes,
that's what I want to know. He says, "Yes, you do." The other officer
in the
car suggests the first thing I do is talk to the supervisor of the
officers
on that
block.
So, I'm back on that block, and see the supervisor a bit later.
I ask
him to pull his vehicle over to talk to him, to which he agrees. I ask
him
if he is the supervisor here, and he says yes. I ask him the same
questions
as I did the other officers, did I do anything wrong. His response,
however, was
dramatically different. He says that I should always ask permission
before
taking their picture, and I said, "Everyone?" To which he clarified, if
someone
asks me not to, then I shouldn't. Well, nobody asked me not to, until
after the
fact and does that give the officers the right to destroy my film? To
which
he replied, "I wasn't present at the scene, so I can't say." Any other
questions
I tried to ask him, he replied, "I've already answered your question."
I said,
"Thank you sir for your time."
I apologize for the length of this message, I just wanted to get
everything down as accurately as I remember it, and present all the
facts to
see if there really was something I had done wrong.
I guess my questions now are what can I do about it? The film
is,
obviously, irreplaceable, and I had shot almost the entire roll, the
only
roll that
night. Who do I go see about this? Their immediate supervisor
basically
waved me off, do I have any other option of recourse?
I don't have a huge desire to turn every officer in Chicago
against me,
but this action just seems so basically wrong, that I don't feel I can
just
let it
go.
I remember reading about a photographer in News Photographer
Magazine who was arrested for not relinquishing his film. I think his
paper
successfully defended his actions in court. I didn't see getting
arrested as
a possibility at first given I had committed no offense, but on the
other hand,
if they were confronting me the way they were, were trumped-up charges
too
far to go?
I'm a college student, I am not professionally employed by
anyone at
this time, certainly not a gang member and I was shooting for my self.
I have
no motive to conjure any of this up, but I just don't know what to do.
I
couldn't
exactly call for help, or rush to the nearest pay phone and offer a
description
of the offenders.
Any recommendations on a course of action (or none at all) would
be
greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
Chris Lee
Northwestern University
NPPA Student Member #32594
cbl...@nwu.edu
Mark Loundy
Chri,
Nowhere in the U.S. is it illegal to photograph ANYBODY in a public place.
The police officers acted illegally and it sounds like they violated your
constitutional rights, which carries a very heavy federal rap.
You need to decide if it's worth it to you to pursue this legally. It can
be very expensive and there is no guarantee that you will prevail.
You might start by visiting the police station and talking about it with
the precinct captain. If you have a friend or relative who is an attorney,
or if you've got the cash, you might consult with them. You might also call
your local ACLU.
Mark Loundy Speaking only for myself
Forums Manager, GeoCities Read and listen to the A-List
http://www.geocities.com/ http://www.geocities.com/features/alist/
Donna Riley-Lein
The e-mail address from the Chicago Police Dep't website is:
Donna Riley-Lein
donn...@ma.ultranet.com
http://www.geocities.com/soho/gallery/6439
toni hopper
Ok posting to hear others thoughts on this and to check my own accuracies--
first --sounds like number one police officer was in uniform therefore not
"undercover" as the dept. tried to depict? correct?
also isn't this a violation of rights?
and three hey, I would go back into Kinkos and get statements if employees
are willing to acknowledge the event.
and if nothing else, hindsight is a great thing, my first reaction had it
been me, would have been arrest me, get my lawyer and then see what comes
of it all.
My film, camera, etc is just that MINE!
Toni
>
>
Steven Frischling
Chris,
I think most of us have faced this. While on the USCG base the night
TWA Flight 800 crashed an over zealous Suffolk County Detective,who had
no offical power, as he was ona federal military base, where I was a
guest, ripped the film from my camera, he was escortd from the base, and
the base X.O. filed a complaint against him.
Up in Farmington , CT, my 2nd day in CT, I was at a fatal car wreck
where I was told by a Police-Paramedic that it was against the law to
photograph fatal accidents in the state. I told him to arrest me and
take me to his boss and explian why I was arrested while on a public
street photographing an acceident in plain sight , and why he as a
paramedic ignored the 2nd victim while he arrested me........he called
me a few foul words and walked away....I won that battle,but kept my
film , and made an enemy in the department............know your rights.
If you are in the right, I say , get arrested and get released. In NY I
have a few times told a cop to arrest me,and they have always walked
away. Most cops are not familiar with state, local and federal laws,
and I think they should be educated. Always address them as Sir and
Ma'am, always stay polite, but never reliquish your film. I do hope
that you got the cops bage number and name, as well as his precinct. I
suggest you contact his boss at the precinct, as well as the C.P.D.
P.I.O, or Media Affairs Office and advise them of the situation and give
them the cops name and badge number.
Steven E. Frischling
Freelance News Photographer
Metro Hartford Area, Connecticut
1(860)585-9215 - Phone
1(800)662-5306 - Text Pager
http://www.frischling.com/steven
-
Photo Agency : 911 Pictures http://www.911pictures.com
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-The Mississippi's mighty, but it starts in Minnesota at a place where you could
walk across with 5 steps down, & I guess that's how it started like a pinprick
to my heart but at this point you rush right through me & I start to drown
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