Bystanders with Cell phones and taking pictures

[akflightmedic]

From a Canadian perspective, this is not a particularly worrisome prospect. In fact I can't even remember any situations with an aggressive photographer or videographer. Is this a widespread problem in the US?

Not really, but everyone has a camera phone these days....

[kreamer10]

This article may clarify your opinion.

http://news.cnet.com...is-not-a-crime/

That is not true. A man was arrested and they attempted to make it the law but a Federal court threw it out. Stating ""Gathering information about government officials in a form that can readily be disseminated to others serves a cardinal First Amendment interest in protecting and promoting "the free discussion of governmental affairs."

http://www.universalhub.com/2011/court-says-state-law-banning-recording-police-offi

[JPINFV]

That is not true. A man was arrested and they attempted to make it the law but a Federal court threw it out. Stating ""Gathering information about government officials in a form that can readily be disseminated to others serves a cardinal First Amendment interest in protecting and promoting "the free discussion of governmental affairs."

http://www.universal...ing-police-offi

You're making the same point that he is making, which is the same point I made by posting the actual appeals court decision.

[Charlie Clark]

Even though you feel like punching that guy, there is nothing you can do to him without dealing with legal consequences afterwards. This is, of course, unfortunate, but what can you do? I like the hosing part, though. Yes, you should cover up the patient, but law enforcement should be more alert to things like this. In the end, the patient is exposed and when you try to save the patient's life, you do not want to divert your attention to covering her up. People should respect that and move away. The press is very persistent, but there must be something you can do without having to deal with any consequences.

[Bullets]

Really simple... as a cop, i would deal with this in two possible ways, maybe three....have the photographer arrested for either

A.) Trespassing

While the accident may have taken place in the "public" there is a decent shot that in order to get the photos or videos the photographer has to be on private property, and may be charged with tresspassing

B.) Issue a Summons

If the shutterbug is not on private property, say he is standing on the street, then you can pull him aside and issue him a summons for obstructing the flow of traffic or some similar statute. Should take enough time to write the summons and check the guy for wants/warrants for EMS to finish

C.)Seize

If the guy is taking pictures of an accident scene with injuries, then he may capture something that might reveal how the accident occured, perhaps he was on scene before me! If there are injuries then it become a serious accident and gets a investigatory report. Those photos are now my evidence, thank you sir

D.)Stand (by me)

If all else fails, nothing says i can stand in front of the guy and obstruct his view

Dont be a jerk, dont snatch the camera, i know his rights, but an officer who thinks can be a little creative can diffuse the situation. Every bystander is a potential witness, and as such it is my inverstigatory duty to interview them. Lets start with the camera guy and waste time. Nothin illegal about occupying someone attention for 5-10 minutes

[JPINFV]

Really simple... as a cop, i would deal with this in two possible ways, maybe three....have the photographer arrested for either

A.) Trespassing

While the accident may have taken place in the "public" there is a decent shot that in order to get the photos or videos the photographer has to be on private property, and may be charged with tresspassing

At least in California it's only trespassing if it's marked "no trespassing" or once the owner requests the person to leave. It's not a prima facie violation to just stand in someone's front yard.

B.) Issue a Summons

If the shutterbug is not on private property, say he is standing on the street, then you can pull him aside and issue him a summons for obstructing the flow of traffic or some similar statute. Should take enough time to write the summons and check the guy for wants/warrants for EMS to finish

Better be issuing everyone a citation that's watching. Furthermore, what if the person isn't blocking the flow of pedestrian traffic? If I'm standing on a bench, then I'm not blocking anyone's traffic. Furthermore, there's generally going to be a clause about lawful activity, which 1st amendment protected activity definitely is.

C.)Seize

If the guy is taking pictures of an accident scene with injuries, then he may capture something that might reveal how the accident occured, perhaps he was on scene before me! If there are injuries then it become a serious accident and gets a investigatory report. Those photos are now my evidence, thank you sir

Only for a reasonable amount of time necessary to copy the pictures. Deleting them is destruction of property.

D.)Stand (by me)

If all else fails, nothing says i can stand in front of the guy and obstruct his view

Hey, look, we finally have a legal response. It's always amazing that people want to respond to douche bags by acting like douche bags.

Dont be a jerk, dont snatch the camera, i know his rights, but an officer who thinks can be a little creative can diffuse the situation. Every bystander is a potential witness, and as such it is my inverstigatory duty to interview them. Lets start with the camera guy and waste time. Nothin illegal about occupying someone attention for 5-10 minutes

"Am I being detained? No? Bye.

[Bullets]

At least in California it's only trespassing if it's marked "no trespassing" or once the owner requests the person to leave. It's not a prima facie violation to just stand in someone's front yard.

Depends on the situation in NJ but there are a few factors that determine if the person is trespassing. However it is not required that there be an actual sign.

Better be issuing everyone a citation that's watching. Furthermore, what if the person isn't blocking the flow of pedestrian traffic? If I'm standing on a bench, then I'm not blocking anyone's traffic. Furthermore, there's generally going to be a clause about lawful activity, which 1st amendment protected activity definitely is

Why? I can issue anyone i want, its called officer discretion, i just didnt have enough time to write everyone, sorry. I do it every day, issue someone a ticket and not the next guy. I specifically stated that the person was standing in the street and could be blocking traffic, vehicular traffic. And obstructing the flow of traffic is not a lawful activity. Also, in NJ the beach is not always owned by the municipality, so then laws regarding use and access are a little different. In my town the beach is owned by a private organization who can close the beach and make everyone leave whenever they want. WHich is what we do when we have bad water rescues, we have them close the beach and throw everyone off

.

Only for a reasonable amount of time necessary to copy the pictures. Deleting them is destruction of property.

Yes, but that means i have to go back to Headquarters and download the photos, which could take at least an hour to do the paperwork

Hey, look, we finally have a legal response. It's always amazing that people want to respond to douche bags by acting like douche bags.

Just expanding on all the legal, non-violent repsonibilities. If i saw an EMT strike a photographer, you better believe that EMT is in cuffs

"Am I being detained? No? Bye

Ok have a nice day, be safe

[paramedicmike]

I'd like to note the irony of our friend Bullets using an avatar picture of CPR in action.

That is all.

[JPINFV]

Depends on the situation in NJ but there are a few factors that determine if the person is trespassing. However it is not required that there be an actual sign.

True, but I was limiting it to unfenced areas, which I should have mentioned. There's no need for a sign if the area is fenced, but if it's unfenced...

Why? I can issue anyone i want, its called officer discretion, i just didnt have enough time to write everyone, sorry. I do it every day, issue someone a ticket and not the next guy. I specifically stated that the person was standing in the street and could be blocking traffic, vehicular traffic. And obstructing the flow of traffic is not a lawful activity. Also, in NJ the beach is not always owned by the municipality, so then laws regarding use and access are a little different. In my town the beach is owned by a private organization who can close the beach and make everyone leave whenever they want. WHich is what we do when we have bad water rescues, we have them close the beach and throw everyone off

Once you start targeting certain people for engaging in otherwise legal action you're going to run into problems if it can be shown. What's different between targeting someone only because they are using a constitutional right and targeting someone because they're black? This is the sort of "discretion" that leads to lawsuits.

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Yes, but that means i have to go back to Headquarters and download the photos, which could take at least an hour to do the paperwork

Your superiors is going to be happy that you're taking an hour to process a camera that you took because you didn't like what the photographer was taking pictures of? Don't police officers generally carry cameras for processing crime scenes?

[Bullets]

Once you start targeting certain people for engaging in otherwise legal action you're going to run into problems if it can be shown. What's different between targeting someone only because they are using a constitutional right and targeting someone because they're black? This is the sort of "discretion" that leads to lawsuits.

It is a fine line, which is why your local friendly law enforcement agent has been trained to use his discretion

Your superiors is going to be happy that you're taking an hour to process a camera that you took because you didn't like what the photographer was taking pictures of? Don't police officers generally carry cameras for processing crime scenes?

To ensure that i do a proper report involving an accident with serious injuries? Your damn straight he is. But you might not know that an average accident report takes about 30-45 minutes to write if its a simple fender bender. Once you start having patients who would require full trauma naked assessments and transports to a trauma hospital, im most likely shutting the road down as it is.

While we do carry cameras, we only can capture what happened after we arrive. If there is a bystander with a camera they may have caught something before PD shows up, which could influence our decisions