The Failed Pacifist

NYC Cops Detain Photographer

Late last month, Brian Hoberman and a fellow volunteer from the advocacy group Transportation Alternatives were photographing illegally parked vehicles in New York City. When they started photographing an SUV which was partially parked on the sidewalk, they were confronted by the owner, a policeman in plain clothes.

The two were taken into the police station and questioned extensively by a number of officers. The cops tried to establish a link between the two volunteers and other activist groups. A driver's license was taken and held. The photographer was ordered to delete the offending images.

The police repeatedly invoked the Patriot Act, as if that somehow explained their actions. In a reply to a reporter's query, Deputy Chief Michael Collins said he'd find it unusual if they hadn't been detained and questioned.

But Chris Dunn of the New York Civil Liberties Union says the incident is troubling. "There are no prohibitions against photographing in public spaces," Dunn notes. "They can't mandate anyone to destroy photographs. If they said [the volunteers] could be held, that sounds like coercion to me."

via BoingBoing and Declan

posted by Doran @ 7:47 AM