Photog Arrested For Taking Pictures
He says he complied, but then moments later, Rensberger says police officers approached asking why he was taking photos of kids.The argument got heated when police say Rensberger started taking photos of the officers, who then arrested him.Rensberger is now facing battery, resisting arrest and obstructing justice.”American’s gone nuts. We can’t take pictures anymore,” said Rensberger.He continued, “Two gentlemen walked into the store and they asked me if I took a picture of Santa and I said yes I did. And they said, my daughter, my child was on his lap, could you delete that picture? And I said, oh, sure.””These officers approached me, one in particular, and asked me, he said, why are you taking pictures of kids? And I was shocked by that,” Rensberger said.”I snapped off a picture of the officers questioning him and at the same time he grabbed my camera, and I reached up with my left hand to catch the camera from hitting the floor and he said don’t you touch me,” he continued.
Don’t you love the way they trump up endless extra charges against people. Battery? Yeah, right.
#14 Yeah I hated the police state stuff under Chaney just as much as I hate the same police state stuff under Obama.
I thought he might improve things on that front but no way. I guess I should have known better.
I’m becoming ever more convinced that once your liberties are gone they stay gone.
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/andrewkantor/2005-12-29-camera-laws_x.htm
Here is a cop that probably gets his food spit in, his donuts drug down ass cracks and a future candidate to get wasted because of shit like this.
I like how the news video has images of kids sitting on Santa’s lap. Uh… arrest the news crew too? FIRE ALL THOSE “OFFICERS”!
Just a few days ago some wacko mental case actually did take out his frustrations on four police officers. How many of you mighty nimrods were trash talking cops then?
#22, coolismo,
You’re a jerk. If your kid happens to get into my shot, too effen bad. If you want to have your fist meet my jaw, you better make it a damn good one. It will probably be your last one.
Should have said he was taking pictures of all the hot MILFS. Some would probably pose for him then.
Yep, #32 said it all. Once your liberties are gone they stay gone. And we Americans seem to willfully give more of them up every year. Of course Obama was going to extend the Patriot Act again. Disney will succeed in extending copyright terms again too. American society will continue to suffer with fewer freedoms. American culture will suffer as fewer works of creativity enter public domain. Just one right allowed to be downgraded to a privilege is one more lost liberty. The powers that be will never stop trying to scare or force you into giving up more. I am afraid unless the populace succumbs to reason rather than fear there will be no end to this. Those who protest in silence need to speak up now ! Not just turn a cheek and seal the fate of liberty doomed.
The guy defended himself, asking if we are going to arrest everybody taking photos with their cell phones.
Not a bad start!
Seriously, I had all the picture taking with cellphones.
I used to work at a camera store in a mall when I was in high school, and some of the promotional posters for different sales included pictures of children because that’s what a lot of people buy cameras to take pictures of. One summer there was a picture of a little girl lying on some hay in a sun dress, and one was a bare-bottomed baby pushing a plastic lawnmower down a hallway. They were exactly the kinds of pictures that are in every family’s albums.
Well one little old lady who used to always walk past our store would go out of her way to come inside and scream at us because we were “exploiting children” and our advertising material was “pornographic.” We always just laughed her out of the store, but it always struck me at how miserable her life must be to find something perverted in _any_ photograph that included children. To me it was far more disturbing that this woman saw prurience in innocent snapshots of children than anything the photos themselves contained. The same is true about anyone who automatically assumes ill-intent because a photo includes a child. Creepy.
Question for all:
I realize that it is perfect legal to take pictures of people in public. My question is do places like malls count as “the public”. As far as I understand malls are private property, does this mean mall owners have the right to disallow picture taking? What about other ‘private property’ places (i.e. grocery stores) as well?
Would love to know if anyone knows the legality behind this.
Surely the wrong approach about this kind of thing. Is there, or is there not, a regulation or two regarding what a policeman is allowed to do, or not allowed to do.
In the UK there are Police Acts. There are also regulations on ‘Misuse of Authority’. Charges can be brought (disciplinary charges) for misuse.
Or, is it the case that a policeman operates under no rules whatsoever? Our police have a Warrant, without the warrant, no authority in law (that is, no ‘Police’ Authority). There are also rules on what a citizen can, and cannot do – legally.
I don’t know. I’m asking the question.
Outrage over any matter is useless, non-productive, doesn’t actually result in anything other than heart attacks.
Surely there are now enough cases to ask questions such as mine. Just what IS the law? What are the limits of any policemans authority to act, to prevent, to arrest, to inspect a camera, to insist on deletions.
A policeman is NOT a Court of Law. He has limits on what he can, or cannot do – surely?
In my pretty long experience Courts take a dim view of individuals, whether in uniform or not, usurping a Court function.
Love a definitive answer to my questions. NOT some layman PLEASE, someone with knowledge of the law, Federal or State.
This is better- put his corrupt actions on YouTube. People LOVE bad cop videos! That’s what I do now. I keep the camera with me wherever I go.
I like the comment about security cameras and the observation that possibility some of those using them could be using them for less than stellar means. Never really thought of that and it needs to be demanded by the public that those cameras which are now making us insecure be removed from everywhere for that reason if anyone is ever going to be asked to remove their cameras from publicly accessed areas, otherwise everyone has the right to photograph, just call your actions security and surveillance.
@41, zombie,
As you pointed out, it is perfectly legal to take pictures any time you are in public. Private property is subject to the whim of the owner as to who may take pictures, when, how, and of whom. Even publicly owned buildings, such as a courthouse may restrict cameras. Public areas of police stations, city council chambers, and lobbies are generally open to cameras as are all streets, sidewalks, parks, Amtrack Train Stations, subways, etc.
However, if you are in a Mall, store, or other privately owned public place, you do not have any expectation of privacy. That is a public place. If the Mall asks you to leave, they may and you do have to. That is the private property part.
In public, you may photograph anything visible. That includes trains, cars, dock facilities, police stations, and billboards as well as people. You may use that picture for anything you like as long as you do not violate the commercial rights of the holder(s). So you may take a picture of a Ford Truck but not to use in an advertising selling Chevy trucks, or a runner with Nike shoes but not in an advertising promoting Adidas.
It seems that the police today, are nothing more than a gang. They use the same tactics, and follow the same rules as those that they claim to be “protecting” you from.
It’s INSANE! Not to mention a little creepy…
OK, so your local neighborhood pedophile is out snapping pictures of the kiddo’s on Santa’s lap. So here come the cops wanting to know why he’s doing it and the weirdo takes the cops picture! So the cops over react like the usually do in unusual circumstances and arrest ol’ Uncle Creepy. But I ask: What LAW was broken? Don’t you want to allow pedophiles to take pictures in public so that you can more easily identify WHO these pedophiles ARE?!
Same goes for dope smokers. Don’t you want to make it legal so that you can easily identify who the stupid people are? Because right now these dope smokers are out driving your buses, flying your planes and probably driving right next to you — RIGHT NOW!
# 17 Father:
“Maybe we should have a law that all children in public should wear a body-hiding robe that only exposes their eyes.”
Yes. And then women, and then the rest of us.
Doctor Who got it wrong — THIS is how the Daleks got started!
EXTERMINATE!!! EXTERMINATE!!! EXTERMINATE!!!