Virginia Woman Escorted Out Of Public Meeting For Taking Photo

June 30, 2011 @ 12:25PM

Virginia Woman Escorted Out Of Public Meeting For Taking Photo

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In another case of public officials not wanting citizens to document their public meetings, a Virginia woman was escorted out the Loudoun County Board of Equalization meeting Tuesday evening after she snapped a photo of two board members conducting official business.

Beverly Bradford, who freelances for a local news site but was not on assignment, was ordered by BOE Chairman Scott Littner to either “turn over or delete the image,” according to the Ashburn Patch.

Bradford refused, stating that she had the right to document the meeting under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act.

That was when a sheriff’s deputy arrived.

Bradford said she attempted to hand over her equipment and purse to the deputy at which point she was asked to step outside to discuss the matter further. She first objected, stating she needed to hear the meeting. However, she relented, feeling she had little choice. Bradford described an intimidating scene with her sitting while BOE Chairman Scott Littner and the deputy stood over her and interrogated her.

The deputy at least had enough sense to inform Littner that he did not have the authority to make her delete the image, but he escorted her from the room anyway.

Bradford was told she needed advance permission to record the meeting, which contradicts state law, according to the Ashburn Patch.

Nevertheless, she had informed a county official earlier that morning that she planned to cover the meeting.

The Board of Equalization is a public body that reviews property assessments.

The BOE’s own administrative procedures grant residents the right to photograph or record meetings: “Any person seeking to photograph, film, record, or otherwise reproduce a portion of a BOE meeting required to be open may do so, as long as the placement of the equipment does not interfere with the meeting,” the procedures read.

However, the bylaws go on to say “The BOE must be notified prior to the commencement of photographing, filming recording or other reproduction of any portion of a meeting.”

Those bylaws seem to overstep state law. The Board of Equalization qualifies as a public body subject to the rules Virginia’s Freedom of Information Act, according a 1984 opinion from the Virginia Attorney General as well as a document on the state’s FOIA Advisory Council website.

Referencing those opinions, Alan Gernhardt, an attorney with the FOIA Advisory Council, said his reading is that the BOE cannot escape the FOIA rules for public bodies. “They’re a public body,” he said.

Comments

hal

10 months ago

dont ya just love it, idiots leading the sheeple! or is it the sheeple leading the idiots, some times i get so confused.

someone needs to inform those jackasses that the drugs they are taking are illegal!
are those meetings empty or are there people that go to them? I think i would be at one of those meetings, and just yell out, WTF do you think your doing? were you all born that stupid or is the drugs your taking that is making you that stupid?

sheeple dont have spines, i googled it and its true!

Elliott

10 months ago

All I can say is cha-ching for that lady.

Indisputeable violation of the open meetings law. And remember ignorance of the law is no excuse.

Rance

10 months ago

I highly doubt she'll see a single red cent over the matter, though I believe that she'll be able to stand her ground better in the future. I also imagine that the chairman will get several angry letters demanding he publicly apologize. Money doubtful, apology likely.

Scott K. York, the chairman of the Board of Supervisors of Loudoun county already called Littner out on it, saying

"That's not right. The only reason one would object to someone coming in and taking pictures is because you’re concerned about the decisions you’re making."

I also found this little bit of shady goings on by the BOE
http://www.publicintegrity.org/investigations/luap/articles/entry/805/

Elliott

10 months ago

She has an absolutely indisputable case of a violation. And an apology is nice but it doesn't make it alright, if she lets it go then she is an idiot. If he says he didn't know about the law or it didn't apply it is the same as ignorance of the law is no excuse, and since that never works for us I am not willing to extend it to him..

joe

10 months ago

A woman using a camera is banned from every Walmart nationwide!!!

Extreme couponing appears to be a growing trend and in the current state of our nation's economy, who can blame coupon lovers for wanting to save money? Apparently WalMart can.

A Boise, Idaho woman claims she has been banned for life from the conglomerate retail chain, WalMart. It wasn't just one store that barred her from shopping there, but every store in the United States. The reason it happened was an argument over coupons.

April Cuevas, who has taken up the appropriately-titled hobby of "extreme couponing" in order to save money, stated that she was informed WalMart's policy known as "Ad Match" had undergone changes the previous week. As such, she took it upon herself to discuss these matters with one of the store managers and see if she could get a better grasp on the concept.

She also decided to video record it all on her iPhone - from which an argument transpired...

http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/308315

Elliott

10 months ago

While I think that a nationwide ban is overkill, I do doubt that unless I get a letter from corporate, it is just that store. I doubt that a store manager is vested with enough power to ban someone nationwide..

The other point is that the can certainly tell you not to video or take pictures in their store, but just like any other private property the can tell you to stop and then to leave. And you can't be required to provide them any identity information provided you leave when they ask. If they prevent you from leaving I would consider it a kidnapping and take any action I deem necessary to end my kidnapping.

MikeP

10 months ago

How in the world could you be banned from every Wal-Mart in the world? There is no way they have the surveillance to watch for people that have been banned. I am sure that most (if not all) do not have facial recognition systems as part of their minimal surveillance systems.

They can ban me from one of the local Wal-Mart stores and I bet I could walk into another one an hour later and no one will approach me. After a week or so I could probably go back into the Wal-Mart that banned me and no one will approach me.

Duane Kerzic

10 months ago

If that part of VA is anything like the part of PA that I live in I can understand how the BOE is having some trouble. I'm working on getting the assessed value of my house reduced from $72,900 (currently $12,900 a year in property taxes) where it was set in 2004 to $37,800 today. As far as I'm concerned the assessed value had nothing to do with what the house sold for in 2004 and the new assessed value has nothing to do with what the house will sell for now. The last time they did a county wide assessment here was back in the early 80's and the prices are fixed to some point before that. It's so confusing how they set these assessed values that no one without a math degree can understand it and even then there is a chance you won't understand it. The funny part is they claim it's fair and it's anythig but fair.

There are houses in the county that are older than mine (built before 1980), bigger than mine, more proptery than mine that pay less than $3,000 in taxes. These people have no interest in getting the their houses re-valued.

Frank

10 months ago

Too bad the VA FOIA has no criminal penalties.

Me, I would have stood my ground and forced the deputy to arrest me. Then I would have all three of them charged with kidnapping and conspiracy.

Roger Krueger

10 months ago

The more obscure the government entity the more likely there are shenanigans, incompetence and arrogance.

What exactly are you afraid of Mr. Littner?

hal

10 months ago

@roger:

like those other vampires sitting up there with him, they want our blood, and is afraid of the sunshine! need i say more!
If there were about ten or even 30 or more people there with video cameras, maybe he would have kept his damn mouth shut, and maybe even acted like a human being!

gobbly

10 months ago

Need more lawyers to start looking for these cases and make waves!

hal

10 months ago

gobbly:
that will only happen if the money is there, otherwise not many "lawyers" will do a damn thing. one lawyer wont make much of a difference.

looking for lawyers to do this sort of thing is a waste of time, if most of them were even decent i do not think we would have this sort of problem in the first place. what a lot of people do not know, for whatever reason, do not know lawyers[Officers of the Court] are part of the problem and not the solution.

NON-lawyers are the answer to what gov. is doing to us. the judges, lawyers, the system as a whole. Do not like NON-LAWYERS, and attempt to stop them however, whenever they can.
stupid laws no one can understand is what they produce and they do not want US to question them or their stupid laws!

Eugen Smithsonn

6 months ago

As usual none of you checked the Code of Virginia that states local boards may adopt specific rules. Loudouns rules are posted on the web site as well as County regulations that state any person causing a du=isturbance at a public hearing will be removed from said hearing/ The group of you sound like the Wall Street Mob without any direction. Look at Loudoun's system Its set up specificall to screw the taxpayer How you ask? Easy Just follow my directions. First you get your assessment in early February. The BOS sets the budget in May. If you tax bill goes up due to a higher assessment or tax rate you generally don't hear about it until your bank does an escrow analysis following receipt of your tax bill which is June 5. The cut off date to appeal in Loudoun is June 1 Guess what You are screwed Ops Too late Bend over