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How much should you charge for a photograph?White House Photog Wrongfully Arrested Considering Suing After Being Banned From WH
For two decades, photojournalist Mannie Garcia had access to the White House, photographing several terms of Bushes and Clintons and now Obama.
The Vietnam veteran also photographed the fall of the Berlin Wall, genocide in Rwanda and the war in the Balkans.
But one of his worst experiences occurred as he stepped out of a restaurant in Maryland last year and saw police officers detaining two young men.
He pulled out a video camera and stood on the sidewalk recording.
Seconds later, a Montgomery County police officer walked up to him.
He ended up beaten up and jailed on a disorderly conduct charge.
This is how it was explained by Donald Winslow, editor of News Photographer, the official magazine of the National Press Photographers Association:
Garcia, 58, wasn't physically close to the police, the suspects, or the cars. "I was across the street and about half a block up the street, toward the street light," he says. "When an officer came up to me, I let the camera go, I opened up my hands, and I said, 'I'm Mannie Garcia, and I'm with the press.' Then two things happened at about the same time: he grabbed me by the neck and says, 'That's it, you're under arrest'; and he pulled my arm behind me, put me in a choke hold, and started dragging me across the street. That's about the time I hollered out, 'Vicki!'"
The MCP officer accosting Garcia was C. P. Malouf. "He had me by the neck and he overwhelmed me," Garcia said. The photographer says he offered no resistance. "The camera was around my neck, he could see there's nothing in my hands, but he went for my neck, and by the neck he dragged me across the street. He assaulted me. He hit me, grabbed me, and while he did it he kept moving across the street. When I got to the police cruiser, I was shoved up against the cruiser a couple of times. I was handcuffed, and he kicked my right foot out from under me."
Garcia says when the police picked him up off the ground, "they were laughing and he [Malouf] said, 'Will you quit trying to hurt yourself?'"
The photojournalist says that his wife was approaching closer at that time, and one of the other officers yelled, "If that fucking bitch takes one more step I'm going to arrest her ass." Garcia remembers that he shouted to his wife to step back. "And that's when I got my head slammed into the car."
When the police cruiser with Garcia got to the 4th District Station, he saw Malouf fiddle with the camera and then while they were parked in the station's parking lot saw the officer figure out how to open it at the bottom.
"I saw him take the chip out," Garcia said. Although he would eventually get his camera back, the memory chip was never accounted for.
In their police report, police claimed Garcia "threw himself to the ground, attempting to injure himself,” then threw himself against the car in an attempt to injure himself.
They claimed that in order to save Garcia from himself, they had to use force on him.
The case was delayed several times before it went to trial.
Meanwhile, Garcia’s press credentials expired, requiring him to reapply, which prompted the Secret Service to deny his request because he was immersed in a pending legal matter.
But as Winslow points out, the White House had essentially convicted him before he even went to trial, a clear violation of his Constitutional rights.
And this is the guy who snapped that famous photo of Obama that ended up being used by an artist in that pre-election Hope poster, which resulted in its own legal drama.
Many of us had hope that Obama would abide by the Constitution back then. But now many of us have lost hope.
A judge dismissed the charge against Garcia during a trial in December, not finding any credibility in the officers’ testimony, especially that part, I imagine, where he was throwing himself to the ground to hurt himself.
Garcia eventually got his White House press credentials renewed, but that doesn’t make up for the lost wages he suffered during the months he was not allowed back into the White House.
That is why he is now looking into filing a civil suit against the Montgomery Police Department.
Please send stories, tips and videos to carlosmiller@magiccitymedia.com
Comments
"In their police report, police claimed Garcia "threw himself to the ground, attempting to injure himself," then threw himself against the car in an attempt to injure himself.
They claimed that in order to save Garcia from himself, they had to use force on him."
Lol, glad the judge didn't buy that one! Reminds me of a police report a paper published years ago that went like this
"The suspect repeatedly smashed his head on to the hood of my cruiser, despite me doing everything I could to prevent it."
Cellphone cam with Qik seems the best way to go, piggy can smash phone, delete photos, steal memory card, it won't matter - video already uploaded!
Sounds to me like a pretty clear cut case against the police, but that there should probably be some liability for the secret service as well, given that they did act as if he had been convicted based on charges yet to go to trial and at that charges with, according to the freaking ruling, no factual basis.
And what exactly would the liability of the Secret Service be? Sounds like pretty basic beginners playbook when it comes to protecting one of the most visible people and properties in the world. Their whole bread and butter is to mitigate risk and I'm sure plenty of people have gotten denied access for a lot less.
Now the police on the other hand should probably get their check book out.
Carlos is usually pretty spot on, but calling the Secret Service denying his credentials for pretty obvious security reasons a violation of his Constitutional rights is pretty far over the top. They were not convicting him or accusing him of anything.
Unbelievable - I have no idea as to what has happened to my country....
I have no problem with restricting access of those on trial but not convicted yet. They are innocent but at the same time certain occupations require extra precautions. Working at the White House would be one of those. I wouldn't want my children taught by a teacher who is on trial for molestation. I realize that this causes extra hardship on the accused, but as this case clearly shows, the system works and those found innocent should be entitled to a clean slate. Maybe he can sue the cops for lost wages on top of everything else.
Molestation is a little more serious than disorderly conduct.
You would think the SS would have the intelligence to see that.
Yes, molestation is more serious than disorderly conduct, but the analogy is still valid, you're talking about access to the president.
How exactly would the secret service have the intelligence to see the 'facts' of the situation. That same type of clairvoyance when used by officers against photographers is exactly what you protest against here on your blog, it's not fair to say they should use it to the benefit of the photographer either, especially in a secure site like the white house.
Police (and Secret Service) should rely on law and facts only, not a gut feeling of what is right and wrong. Until the matter is settled legally, it's not something they should make a call on, and if there's a question about anybody, their access should be prevented.
Agreed. I'm not sure what article in the Constitution states that one has the right to join the White House Press Corp. That is a privilege that can be revoked at any time for any reason,
I wish Carlos would lay off the sensationalism and stick to the even handed analysis of these situations. Nothing worse then crying wolf to often to have a negative impact on the tons of legit Constitutional violations.
Disorderly conduct is a charge that the police use when they think a crime has been committed, but the accused hasn't actually done anything that matches an existing crime. If the accused had been caught doing something illegal, he'd have been charged with that instead of disorderly conduct. Given how many things are illegal these days, it's extremely improbable that a crime has been committed if the only charge a cop can come up with is disorderly conduct. People have been convicted of suspicion of resisting arrest (not actually doing it mind you, the cop merely suspected they might resist) with no other charges in places where unsubstantiated arrests are illegal!
Jaywalking is a more serious offense than disorderly conduct, because in a jaywalking case, the cop can actually point to the law that was broken. Would you seriously suggest that the Secret Service should prevent access to the White House because of jaywalking too? Suddenly no one from NYC would ever be able to go near the White House...
We all know that the Obama White House is deeply concerned about constitutional rights.
In other news, Ron Paul did quite well in New Hampshire today.
Montgomery County PD is full of assholes.
It doesn't hit much closer to home than that. I suppose Pete Souza would be the only photographer closer to Obama. It would have been great for the president to get personally involved or at least direct someone to dish out some justice. Some sort of presidential decree or something to get the police in this country to respect photographers' first amendment rights. Every single step Obama makes is met with rabid yapping no matter what he does, but what could be more American than defending the Constitution?
Speechless but not surprised!
My blood pressure rockets whenever I read something like this. Watching these videos is even worse.
Meanwhile, the New Year dawned with Garcia once again able to work at the White House after his press credential was approved on December 29, 2011 although he continues to recover from his physical injuries.
"Ron Sachs [White House News Photographers Association president] and Doug Mills [White House Correspondents' Association board member] were instrumental in getting it back," Garcia told News Photographer today.
"They walked it through with the White House upper press office and press assistant Antoinette Rangle, the 'gatekeeper' of the passes. They were able to explain to her, in person, what happened to me, and to get the paperwork through the Secret Service. Only with that prompting, along with the not guilty verdict, was the White House able to grant the pass right away."
The judge should have ordered the officer(s) be placed into custody immedieatly for their crimes against humanity. Tried for treason as the way I see it, attacking someone for taking a photo is tantamount to levying war. I garuntee, a few treason convictions for arresting or attacking someone for exercising a right, word will get out and no officer will be willing to violate rights knowing they will be charged and convicted with treason.
The Judge certainly should have done this immediately. The Police clearly committed a grievous crime under color of law, and should spend time in jail, and their names plastered everywhere as a warning to other thugs...errr. cops, that this conduct will not be tolerated-ever-anywhere. I don't know about 'treason', but surely this is a very serious crime on the part of the 'Police'.
However, in this best-of-all-possible worlds, we are second-class citizens; the cops are the final arbiters of what is right, proper, and allowed. How it became this way is evident, if you know where to look.
I hope Mannie gets a HUGE settlement.
It very well should be treason, think about it, it is the same as taking up arms against the people of this country, they are effecting their force with the threat of violence. They won't think twice if you dare resist their illegal actions to shoot you. The fact that they are going against the people for exercising their rights should be looked at as levying war, they took an oath to defend the constitution and they are attacking it, which is treason. Sorry, but you can't change my mind of this.
You are correct, it is very hard to change the mind who takes an extreme position or something. It may seem logical to you, but not to many others. There are certainly grievous crimes being committed here but by any reasonable definition treason is not one of them.
The officers need to be charged with assult, filing false reports and tried. If half of this is true they would be convicted.
Thinking that perhaps Freedom Fighter is correct, I Googled 'treason', and the only references were to betrayal of one's country. But I think we're talking semantics here; the fact is we are all appalled by behavior such as this by those who are supposed to be defending our freedoms.
Technically, I think it IS Treason, because they ARE violating the Constitution, but I also think this is a stretch for the average person, who, as we know, is famously poor at using the Dog-given instrument named, "Imagination".
And I wonder how "Johnny (Cops Can Do NO Wrong) Law" will play this one out..!!..?
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