Is the NYPD's policy towards photographers standard operating procedure by other police departments?
By Naomi Gilens:
The day after police evicted Occupy Wall Street protestors from Zuccotti Park last fall, I had some trouble deciphering exactly what had happened. Police had corralled journalists into a "press pen" removed from the park itself, and arrested at least ten people for attempting to take photos or video. When I visited Zuccotti during the following days and weeks to see for myself what was happening, I could only enter through a single access point, guarded by police officers who often filmed me as I walked in. Why could police arrest people for taking video footage of them, and then turn the cameras on those same people for engaging in lawful activity in a public space?
The answer, of course, is that they couldn't—not legally, at least. Under the First Amendment, Americans have the right to observe and record members of the police force in the public discharge of their duties. Conversely, the NYPD’s right to conduct photo and video surveillance on citizens engaging in lawful protest is limited, with very few exceptions, to circumstances in which “it reasonably appears that unlawful conduct is about to occur, is occurring, or has occurred.”
A report released today by the New York Civil Liberties Union (Pdf.) starkly illustrates, though, these rules bear little relation to what is actually happening. Police continue to subject photographers to harassment, injury, and arrest. In July, an activist (and friend of mine) found that videotaping police stop and frisks had landed him on a “Wanted”-style police poster featuring his full name, photograph, and home address. The following week, a photographer attempting to document an arrest was flung violently over a stone bench several times, pinned down by a knee on the back of his neck, and arrested. http://www.nyclu.org/files/free_speech_threat_assessment_report_080712_part5.pdf
Even as they mistreat photographers, police are continuing to subject these same citizens to illegal surveillance. When recordings are made for a purpose other than to record unlawful activity, police are supposed to avoid “close-ups of participants.” Yet peaceful marches are regularly lined with NYPD officers, cameras in hand, zooming in on individual faces. Even more egregiously, there has been at least one case this summer of police filming a protestor receiving medical treatment by EMTs.
From the earliest days of the occupation at Zuccotti Park, a police watchtower carried out round-the-clock surveillance of the protesters below. Almost a full year after the Occupy movement began, the watchtower remains, clearly communicating that “even if you’re not doing anything wrong, we’re watching.”
Under our laws and the Constitution, you have the right to film police without making yourself a target, and to engage in political speech and assembly without police surveillance (see the ACLU’s related resources here). Follow NYCLU’s Facebook and Twitter feeds to learn when they post a new Free Speech Threat Assessment report, and keep an eye out for upcoming reports by the Protest and Assembly Rights Project on the police response to Occupy movements in Boston, Charlotte, Oakland, and San Francisco.
http://www.aclu.org/blog/free-speech-technology-and-liberty/nypds-backwards-policy-photography-occupy-wall-street
DHS propaganda video depicts photographers (private investigators) as terrorists.
What is it with photographers these days? Are they really all terrorists, or does everyone just think they are?
Since 9/11, there has been an increasing war on photography. Photographershavebeenharassed, questioned, detained, arrestedor worse, and declaredtobeunwelcome. We've been repeatedly told to watchoutforphotographers, especially suspiciousones. Clearly any terrorist is going to first photograph his target, so vigilance is required.
This time it is the City of Houston, which has produced a high-budgeted video funded by the Department of Homeland Security.
Starting at 1:45 in the video titled "Make the Call - Terrorism Prevention - The Threat is Real," a male authoritative voice states the following:
Cameras and recording devices have gotten so small, that most of us seem to have one with us all the time. It’s not unusual to see people taking pictures or video almost anywhere.
But surveillance and information gathering is a common practice used by terrorists prior to an attack. If you see someone trying to conceal what they are doing, taking pictures of exits, security or restricted areas, if they hang around for no apparent reason, ask inappropriate questions about schedules or the facility, or if they try to avoid security when approached, make the call.
But the truth is, it is not a common practice for terrorists to take photos or videos of their intended targets as security expert Bruce Schneier stated in his 2008 article, The War on Photography:
The 9/11 terrorists didn't photograph anything. Nor did the London transport bombers, the Madrid subway bombers, or the liquid bombers arrested in 2006. Timothy McVeigh didn't photograph the Oklahoma City Federal Building. The Unabomber didn't photograph anything; neither did shoe-bomber Richard Reid. Photographs aren't being found amongst the papers of Palestinian suicide bombers. The IRA wasn't known for its photography. Even those manufactured terrorist plots that the US government likes to talk about -- the Ft. Dix terrorists, the JFK airport bombers, the Miami 7, the Lackawanna 6 -- no photography.
http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2008/06/the_war_on_phot.html
The video, reminiscent of the 1950s Red Scare government-funded films, was uploaded to a DHS-funded City of Houston website in January 2011, five months after the Department of Homeland Security issued a directive informing federal officers that it is lawful to record federal buildings.
http://www.pixiq.com/article/houston-propaganda-video-depicts-photographers-as-terrorists
Reporters Without Borders press group condemns arrest of NY Times photographer.
Reporters Without Borders, a nonprofit that publishes the Press Freedom Index worldwide rankings, slammed the "brutal arrest" of a New York Times photographer who captured a teenage girl's arrest in the Bronx.
As the United States took a nosedive down to 47th place in the group's rankings earlier this year, leaving it tied with Romania, the group cited the New York City Police Department's clampdown on journalists during the Occupy Wall Street protests as the reason.
Reporters Without Borders saw a continuation of this trend on Saturday, when the NYPD arrested Robert Stolarik, 43, a decade-long Times freelancer who regularly chronicled the Occupy movement.
The morning after his arrest, the Times reported that police beat him, handcuffed him and seized the camera had used to cover a teenage girl's street arrest in the Bronx.
"Mr. Stolarik said he asked for the officers' badge numbers, and the officers then took his cameras and dragged him to the ground; he said that he was kicked in the back and that he received scrapes and bruises to his arms, legs and face," the Times reported.
Although the NYPD released a statement claiming Stolarik violently resisted arrest, another reporter's video showed him to be face down beneath a pile of six officers, the Times reported.
Stolarik faces criminal charges of obstructing government administration and resisting arrest.
Reporters Without Borders urged the court to dismiss the resisting and obstruction charges on Thursday. The group also said that the NYPD should return Stolarik's press credentials and equipment.
Stolarik has said he would not be able to cover the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., at the end of the month in "light of the attack," according to Reporters Without Borders.
"It's hard to go out and feel comfortable doing my job with pending charges," Stolarik said, as quoted in the group's statement.
Reporters Without Borders denounced Stolarik's arrest as the continuation of a trend that they have observed since the beginning of the Occupy Wall Street protests.
"The brutal arrest of Robert Stolarik shows that the police are far from learning the lessons of their numerous attacks on freedom of information during Occupy Wall Street demonstrations," the group said in a statement. "More than 80 journalists suffered police violence and in some cases criminal charges in a dozen cities since September, 2011, These abuses demand serious investigation, as well as better police training, to which journalists can contribute. Recent cases - including that of Robert Stolarik - underline the need for these steps."
Stolarik's court date has been set for Nov. 29, according to the group.
http://www.courthousenews.com/2012/08/10/49161.htm