Chelsea police in MA, force photographer to delete pictures.

A photographer who was taking pictures from a public park in Chelsea was surrounded by two patrol cars and intimidated into showing his pictures to the police officers and delete them. According to the story in the Bostonist:

Last Thursday morning, Joe, a local photographer, stopped at Mary O’Malley park in Chelsea for a few pictures of the Tobin Bridge and the surrounding area (boats, docks, etc). After about 10 minutes he decided to get back on the road, but two patrol cars arrived and blocked him in. Joe says that the two officers got out of their patrol cars and began questioning him aggressively about what he was doing. Joe explained the situation to the officers. The officer explained to him that he was being stopped for taking photos and that the area is “under heavy surveillance” and that “photographing was not allowed” since it is a “protected area”.

Since when is a public park a “protected area”? That very statement on the part of those police officers was an outright LIE! There are NO LAWS that prohibit photography of or from the Mary O’Malley park regardless of what you are photographing. Furthermore the fact that the officers questioned the photographer and made him feel that he had no choice but to delete his pictures constitutes INTIMIDATION and COERSION, which is unacceptable. The Chelsea police need to respect both the rule of law and the constitution of the United States.

Link: http://www.nycphotorights.com/wordpress/

"There are no laws, including the Patriot Act, that forbid photography in public parks. Public parks are by their very nature, public and therefore are not a “protected area.” Joe explained that he was a photographer and that he took pictures around Chelsea all the time without incident. The officers asked for his ID, and some credentials to prove he was a photographer. Photography is a constitutionally protected form of free speech in the US, as the US Supreme Court has ruled many times over.
The police officers ran their standard license and vehicle registration checks and then told Joe that he could not photograph in the area, take pictures of the bridge, or the LNG (liquefied natural gas) area. Joe again explained that he wasn’t doing anything wrong and was just putting together images for a stock photography site. One officer asked to see the pictures, and then told Joe he had to delete them, and then show him the review to confirm deletion. They also questioned him about other photos on his camera from a previous night.
Although Joe agrees that the police officer did ask, and not demand, he let them see his photos, he didn’t feel that he could refuse. Joe was under no obligation to let the officer see the pictures without a court order. An officer cannot force you to delete photos on a digital camera or ruin a roll of film in a film camera without a court order. "

Link: http://bostonist.com/2009/04/01/america_land_of_the_free.php