|
Forums >
Photography Talk >
Man Arrested For Unlawful Photography
Who knew you couldn't photograph a cop? Is that really a law in TN? ___________________________________________________________ Man Arrested For Unlawful Photography[TN] WJHL ^ | 11 July 2008 | Nearly everyone carries a cell phone and itâs hard to find one without that camera feature. Itâs convenient when you want to take that impromptu photo, but a Tri-Cities area man ended up behind bars after snapping a shot of a Johnson County sheriffâs deputy during a traffic stop. The cell phone photographer says the arrest was intimidation, but the deputy says he feared for his life. âHereâs a guy who takes me out of the car and arrests me in front of my kids. For what? To take a picture of a police officer?â said Scott Conover. A Johnson County sheriffâs deputy arrested Scott Conover for unlawful photography. âHe says you took a picture of me. Itâs illegal to take a picture of a law enforcement officer,â said Conover. Conover took a picture of a sheriffâs deputy on the side of the road on a traffic stop. Conover was stunned by the charge. âThis is a public highway,â said Conover. And it was not a place where there is a reasonable expectation of privacy as Tennessee code states. The deputy also asked Conover to delete the picture three times. âHe said if you donât give it to me, youâre going to jail,â said Conover. Under the advice of the Johnson County attorney, the sheriff would not comment and the arresting deputy said he didnât want to incriminate himself by talking to us. In an affidavit, the deputy said he saw something black with a red light which he thought was a threat. Conover was also arrested for pointing a laser at a law enforcement officer. âAt no time did I have a laser. I had an iPhone,â said Conover. When you take a picture in the dark with Conoverâs Apple iPhone, there is no flash or any light that comes from the phone that could be mistaken for a laser. In a witness statement by a Mountain City officer, is says the deputy asked about the picture rather than looking for a laser. âIf you arrested me, wouldnât you take the laser? If you arrested me, wouldnât you take the camera?â said Conover. He expects these charges to be dismissed. âThis guy maliciously arrested me, charging me with phony charges that he donât even understand himself,â Conover said. The American Civil Liberties Union would not comment on Conoverâs case without fully reviewing the allegations, but told us there is no law that prohibits anyone from taking photographs in public areas, even of police. Taking photos is protected by the First Amendment. Conover is ordered to appear in a Johnson County court on August 6th. Link: http://static.mgnetwork.com/tri/media_p … idavit.pdf Jul 16 08 09:21 pm Link Common sense as well as the law in most places forbids you from interfering with a police officer. You should never bother the police at a traffic stop, or while arresting someone. However if you keep your distance it should be alright to photograph police, I've done it many times.  Jul 16 08 09:27 pm Link That is just idiotic. To arrest someone just because they took a picture of you. Jul 16 08 09:27 pm Link Throw the book at the officer. "Feared for his life"? Nonsense. That is an excuse cooked up after the officer committed himself to an unconstitutional act. Jul 16 08 09:29 pm Link Monito -- Alan wrote: Maybe the guy was using a camera like this: Jul 16 08 09:33 pm Link I'm not going to say anything negative about cops, although I can think of plenty. There was no reason for the cop to arrest that man and now the police are in "CYA" mode in not wanting to make a statement that would incriminate the department. That's the thing -- when cops do something that is criminal, which in this case is violating someone's civil rights, they should be punished. The cop's IGNORANCE of the law is no excuse (as they always tell us civilians). Jul 16 08 09:35 pm Link I shoot police all the time and one time when they were harassing a guy quite extensively. The cops did form a human barricade around the scene to keep people like me away from theguy they were beating up but there aren't enough cops to keep a telephoto away. After awhile I did get told to move along but since I was outside their human barricade I didn't feel they had a right to tell me to move along. Also, as a member of the press I should have had even more rights to stand right where I was and shoot until I was blue in the face or ran out ot CF cards  Considering they were already illegally beating up one person I didn't feel I wanted to be added to the pile. Lew Jul 16 08 09:39 pm Link Laser aiming devices are fairly inexpensive and available for most handguns these days. I own two. http://www.tactical-gear.biz/laser-sights.shtml Jul 16 08 09:40 pm Link Sam Comer Photography wrote: Please read first before posting. It was a cell phone. Jul 16 08 09:42 pm Link Monito -- Alan wrote: /me sees the airplane flying over your head. Jul 16 08 09:46 pm Link you gotta think of it from the cop side. what if someone you were giving a ticket to took a picture of you. it's more safey then anything else. i wouldn't want some one i'm taking to jail or giving a ticket to take a picture of me. what for? are you gonna try & come and find me offduty. that would bother me so i don't blame that police officer. it's hard to remember faces & when he has a picture of me he can come after me years later & me not knowing who the hell he is. i know in FL you can't take a photo of anyone in uniform. that deals with law, fire & anything else public safely Jul 16 08 09:47 pm Link Monito -- Alan wrote: Read the post. And the other one that was posted 2 days ago about the same story. Jul 16 08 09:48 pm Link Twan Imagery wrote: You "know"? Jul 16 08 09:51 pm Link Monito -- Alan wrote: Is that the "dont taze me bro" guy? Jul 16 08 09:53 pm Link Monito -- Alan wrote: Sam Comer Photography wrote: I read the original post. I don't spend all my time reading MM, so if you want or are able you can link the other thread for us. Jul 16 08 09:53 pm Link Monito -- Alan wrote: they don't look aware of it happening AcmeStudios wrote: that's him Jul 16 08 09:53 pm Link Twan Imagery wrote: Can you link that law? That's the first I've ever heard of it. Jul 16 08 09:56 pm Link Monito -- Alan wrote: Monito -- Alan wrote: I read the original post. I don't spend all my time reading MM, so if you want or are able you can link the other thread for us. Jul 16 08 09:57 pm Link Twan Imagery wrote: Care to post a link to the specifics of that "law"....... Jul 16 08 09:57 pm Link It is a misdemeanor to photograph, film or observe a person without consent where there is a reasonable expectation of privacy, when the photographing, filming or viewing "would offend or embarrass an ordinary person" and is done for sexual purposes. Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 39-13-605 As long as you had no "sexual purpose", sounds like Mr. Lawman will have fun trying to explain himself. It is absolutely the right of a public citizen to document roadside stops for the protection of the community. Good thing you didn't catch them doing something wrong, the consequences could have been much worse. Jul 16 08 09:57 pm Link Twan Imagery wrote: I don't think you have a clue. Jul 16 08 10:00 pm Link Monito -- Alan wrote: I believe he was being sarcastic..... Jul 16 08 10:06 pm Link you can take pictures of police officers. the may not like it but you can, like said above, as long as you aren't in their way. Now in my younger days, I was at a concert and I took a photos of some cops with my disposable camera, they came and took it from me and smashed it. I wish I would have been smarter then. I would have caused some sort of ruckus. Jul 16 08 10:08 pm Link Jul 16 08 10:08 pm Link Twan Imagery wrote: Bull. I shot news for a Florida TV station many years ago. There is no such law. You are free to shoot anything and anyone you want, including cops, kids, firemen, etc as long as you're on public property where the subject can't expect any privacy and you're not interfering with anyone doing their job. Jul 16 08 10:17 pm Link Brian Marrs Photography wrote: Ditto! Jul 16 08 10:19 pm Link Brandon Vincent wrote: As my ex-girlfriend the "Evil Bitch Attack Lawyer" used to tell me, cops pretty much have a get out of jail free card when it comes to violating your rights. If you give them crap for taking your camera and violating due process, they'll just arrest you for disturbing the peace. It's really not in your best interest to pull out your copy of the Constitution to "put them in their place." They'll still bust you. You go to jail, then to court where you tell the judge what happened. The judge sends you home because your rights were violated and you were arrested under false pretenses. You feel vindicated because you were right all along, but when it all comes down to it, that cop still put your ass in jail. Jul 16 08 10:23 pm Link i'll pull it up Jul 16 08 10:24 pm Link Twan Imagery wrote: So what would the difference be if later in the day someone snapped a picture of the cop using a telephoto and the cop never knew his/her pic was taken? Jul 16 08 10:26 pm Link Sam Comer Photography wrote: EXACTLY!! Jul 16 08 10:40 pm Link Monito -- Alan wrote: What I don't like about this PSA is that it makes boar-hunting sound trivial and cruel. Jul 16 08 10:42 pm Link I have done many times, but never met any problems.    Jul 16 08 10:56 pm Link i've been looking at statutes for an hour. though i can't find it in there. i went on a shoot at the beach & i asked a really cool lifeguard to get in the picture with the model, he said i can't. i'm in uniform. i can't find it in the statute as a penalty but i strongly believe they are not supposed to until i see in writing it's fine. it may be in there hand book not so much in the statue. Jul 16 08 11:00 pm Link Sam Comer Photography wrote: Very cool Jul 16 08 11:01 pm Link Brian Marrs Photography wrote: T E N N E S S E E ... nuff siad Jul 16 08 11:03 pm Link FemmeArt wrote: YEah. Good to have when you want to run up to the president sometime and say, "Hey! Mr. President! Check out this cool camera I got!" Jul 16 08 11:03 pm Link |
