Pixiq

I am afraid that this is going to be a long hot summer for photographers in NY. If this is how NYPD behaves with the operations order imagine how they would behave without one…

They say one thing and do another….and well, there really is no reason for them to change.
mepsipax´s last blog ..Manic Monday

It’s not going to change till they start putting reprimands in their personnel files and not promoting them. That will never happen because it’s too much work. Better hiring standards are a long time are the only things that are going to change this.

The guy in the middle looks like he’s ready for the fat farm, corn fed and stupid. I thought they had physical fitness standards on the NYPD.
Duane Kerzic´s last blog ..2010-03-09 Yahoo Hard At Work

Why should they change just because of an operations order? What will happen to them if they don’t? It’s a joke.

My fear is that this is only the beginning. Here is another incident that occurred recently:

http://www.nycphotorights.com/2010/03/nypd-continues-to-illegally-harass...

I find it interesting that they have not arrested anyone. I suspect that they have understood the subtext of the operations order, “Have your fun, but don’t arrest them, cause THAT is when the city will get sued.”

I re-read the operations order and found bullet # 2 interesting. This ops order won’t stop a cop from seizing your camera claiming you have pictures of criminal activity.

2. When there is probable cause to believe that the camera, film or other media contains evidence of criminal activity, the item may be seized, and a search warrant must be obtained in order to view its contents. In addition, a person who has taken pictures should not be
directed to delete or destroy images stored within the device.

My fear is that it will only get worse over the summer. The MTA is planning major service changes, including the elimination of two routes (the V and W) Hundreds of railfans will be converging on the system to document the final days of these routes – including taking pictures of a V and a W at every station along their respective routes.

It is a conflict waiting to happen. Some will even travel long distances so the phrase that some people like to use such as “come back later” will not be an option.

Expect that hundreds of railfans will be riding and/or chasing the final runs as well which railfans consider a “once in a lifetime event” worthy of documentation – police simply do not understand or care to understand the interest.

Also expect that many railfans will want to ride and document the first M train on its new route on the Monday after the elimination of the V.

This only skims the surface – there are many other changes in both subway and bus routes coming in the months ahead. If the cops don’t back off I can see many more conflicts occurring.
NYCPhotorights´s last blog ..And On the Public Sidewalk NYPD Tries to Harass Photographer

Well, that makes sense to me. Say a railfan is out taking pictures of an incoming train. Say some freak pushes an innocent person in front of the train. That camera is likely to contain evidence of a crime.

It would be reasonable, rather than to get a search warrant and then chase the railfan all over the country to try and get copies, to sieze the camera long enough to get the search warrant, make the copies, and return the camera. Yes, evidence lockers do have a reputation for being black holes, but lets assume that’s due to underpaid, overworked clerks vs true evil.

The important thing with that ruling, over any debate of good idea, bad idea, is it says that photographs are EVIDENCE, and have to be respected as such. A cop cannot order a photo destroyed, because cops don’t have the authority to order evidence destroyed.

Also, it says that a cop cannot view the pictures without a search warrant. Thus, it confirms that a cop can’t order you to “let me see your photos”.

As a lawyer told me once, the more you do what the police ask, the faster they leave, and the less likely you are to end up having a real miserable day. Rights notwithstanding.

And guess what? We now have cops in NYC in full military regalia, including machine guns. How long before a photographer is riddled with bullets?

Whoa. That’s just scary.

Just think how its going to be after the Moscow bombing.

That’s what we are afraid of. Railfans will be out in droves because of service changes and equipment retirements. This summer will be the last chance to get pictures of certain car classes before they are scrapped as well as routes that are going to disappear.

Every railfan knows the law and many are willing to challenge police in order to get a picture before a particular car is scrapped or a route is changed. Expect to be reading about more and frequent conflicts.

On a similar note (that went poof the first time for some reason)

http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2010/03/security_camera_1.html

Security Cameras in the New York City Subways

The New York Times has an article about cameras in the subways. The article is all about how horrible it is that the cameras don’t work:

Moreover, nearly half of the subway system’s 4,313 security cameras that have been installed — in stations and tunnels throughout the system — do not work, because of either shoddy software or construction problems, say officials with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which operates the city’s bus, subway and train system.

=snip= (more at link)
Michaelk42´s last blog ..Better a Bike Pirate

Yup.. and the cops are getting prepared to do battle, http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2010/03/31/2010-03-31_nypd_cops...

Disaster waiting to happen.
Duane Kerzic´s last blog ..2010-03-09 Yahoo Hard At Work

Were they NYC Metro cops or transit police?
When I visited NYC recently, the Metro cops were
extremely polite and were willing to answer all sorts of dumb tourist questions. The Transit cops were a different story: extremely rude with a bad attitude.