Thanks to Adrian who posted this in the forum- I heard about this case, but did’t know the status. Im attaching the link to the article, as well as another website which has documented cases of photographers being arrested. Apparently, Anthony Graber was show-boating on his motorcycle, and he was also wearing an on helmet video camera. He was pulled over by an plain clothes police officer who drew his weapon. This video is posted all over the internet. Anthony is now facing up to 16 years in prison for violating Maryland wiretap laws.
I have a tremendous amount of respect for law enforcement officers who put their lives on the line everyday, and I would say the very vast majority of them know the rules and follow them themselves. However, when I hear of cases of people being arrested for videotaping or photography in public places, where there is not a “reasonable expectation of privacy” it really upsets me. While it doesn’t happen often, and every circumstance is different, I believe many of these cases are clear violations of a person’s 1st Amendment Rights. The article sums it up best: If the Officer is acting legally, he shouldn’t have to worry about being videotaped in the first place. Additionally, different states have different rules, so it also depends on where it happens.
I will say this, there are times and places where it is absolutely illegal to photograph or videotape someone, especially when they have an “expectation of privacy”. While I am not a fan of Paparazzi’s, I understand why they are allowed to essentially harass movie stars, I just wish they would do it from a distance and just have some basic human courtesy.
Having got a ticket myself from a freaking security guard for photography sakes- there is no question in my mind photographers’ rights are violated on a regular basis.
I do believe it will eventually come to a “Tipping Point” , and the time is getting close (impossible to say when, 5-10 years maybe?). Technology is getting smaller and smaller, more and more people are carrying cameras and video cameras (cell phones) and it is becoming more and more difficult to even know when and if you are being recorded. Eventually, all of these cumulative events of photographers being arrested, combined with the evolution of technology will lead to a major change in our society, I just hope it will be in favor of 1st Amendment Rights, rather than taking them away.
Ken- What state are you in?
IN
I myself am a state trooper. I viewed the video. The headlines said, "Gun-Wielding Cop", which is a ridiculous headline created to sell newspapers. First I will address the "gun-wielding cop"
98% of the public is in a state of denial as to the evil that is in our society – I don’t blame the trooper at all for safely having the gun to his side with his trigger finger alonside the barrel, as we are trained to do. As soon as the motorcycylist put his hands in view, the trooper put his weapon in its holster. the trooper doesn’t know what he is walking up on…
On that same note: the troopers made a mistake, that being the plain clothes officer approaching first. Why would he do that when a uniformed officer is 10 second away. My department trains us to always use a uniformed officer to initiate any type of traffic stop. The plain clothes trooper should be there strictly for back up.
As far as the camera goes – I don’t see anything wrong with it. They train us to act as if we are being videotaped no matter what we are doing.
Do I like being video taped….absolutely not, but it’s something I have to accept. I don’t like it because if I have to make a split second decision that is video taped……the VERMIN in the media will Monday Morning Quarterback us all day.
to matt, I quote" the trooper doesn’t know what he is walking up on". how about the damn guy riding the bike, he sees some plane clothes guy jumping out of his car with a damn glock in his hand,,,hence the "Gun Wielding Cop"….everything these troopers did was wrong and now they are suing this guy….disgraceful
Good insight and comments and I see both sides of it. From Law Enforcements side, these guys never know what may happen to them when they pull someone over, they are expected to fight, shoot and sometimes kill people within the rights of the law to protect themselves and others. I can imagine it can be pretty stressful From the motorcyclists perspective, yes, seeing a plain clothed person with a gun coming at you is an extremely dangerous situation, especially if he didnt ID himself as a cop. All of that set aside, my beef is really about the lawsuit for the photography. I don’t really care about the dude breaking the law by speeding, or the cop drawing his gun- what ticks me off is the reason for the lawsuit- he was recording it. It’s quite outrageous. I am anxious to see how it plays out.
matthew griffin: did you not read what I wrote: I said the troopers did it wrong, the plain clothes trooper should have never approached the man on the bike, it should have been the uniformed trooper. had the uniformed trooper approached first, we would not be talking about this right now…..
this is what EVERYONE forgets: had the motorcyclist not been acting like an idiot, riding on one wheel on a busy interstate, at high speeds, and PUTTING OTHER PEOPLE’S lives in danger, this WOULD HAVE NEVER HAPPENED. that’s okay though, we need to forget about that (sarcasm):
In addition to this: you only see 46 seconds of this video, what was the motorcyclist doing before the cops came into contact with him. He must have been riding like a real idiot and it’s safe to say that other motorist were calling into 911 about an erratic driver.
Again, it’s okay for him to drive in a reckless manner and put everyone’s lives into danger. are you that naive to think that he was only doing 82 mph…..he only uploaded to YouTube what he wanted the world to see. I bet when this goes to court, and the whole video is showed that was seized during the search warrant, opinions will change.
Michael: As a police officer and photographer, I agree with you 100% – it’s absurd that he was prosecuted….I have researched this a little and it seems that most people do not get convicted of anything.
I totaly see why Anthony would start backing his bike up as soon as the man jumped out of the car with a gun and told him to get off his bike… before he ever identified himself. I too would have thought I was being jacked!
This case is active and HAS NOT been prosecuted. It is scheduled for trial later this year. There are some hearings to occur first but as of this morning they have not been scheduled.
Mayrland is a " two party" consent state in that both parties have to give consent to be voice recorded. ( video is OK ).
The State Trooper asked if he was being recorded and the biker clearly said NO, then the video shows up on YouTube.
The biker was wrong in so many ways it is not funny.
I live in the Maryland county where this occured so I may have a little more info than most.
The video you have seen shows the bikers helmet cam perspective, you have not seen the video from the marked State Police Cruisers following from behind.
Gary, I was intersted to see your astory. I,m from Australia and photographers here are more and more being faced with fines for taking pictures in public places. To such an extent that a public rally has been organised on 29 th August at Bondi Beach in Sydney Australia called "I’m a photographer not a Criminal" This has been organised by Australia’s premier Landscape photographer Ken Duncan. He is so incensed about being prevented from taking pictures in National Parks and Public places such as the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge etc that he has organised this rally. I understand that many high profile International photographers will be attending this rally to highlight what appears to be an increasing world wide problem for photographers.