Seattle Cops James Pitts and David Toner Pwned After Trying to Take Photographer's Camera
Photo by Bogdan Mohora.
PopPhoto Flash: The Crime of Photography: Rewarded! Pop Photo blogs about the case of amateur photographer Bogdan Mohora who was jailed in Seattle last year after he took photos of police that they didn't want him to take during an arrest.
Although Mohora was only briefly detained he pushed the issue and worked with the ACLU to get an $8,000 settlement for his arrest. The two officers involved in the incident James Pitts and David Toner, pictured above, were discilplined with written reprimands for a lack of professionalism and poor exercise of discretion.
Photography, even of the police, is not a crime. Think about this the next time a cop tells you that you cannot take a photograph. The police should know better than this and I'm glad that Mohara is $8,000 richer after being harrased by them.
The sad thing is that the police get away with telling photographers not to shoot probably 99% of the time. It's only when photographers really push the issue and insist on their First Ammendment rights that we see this stuff in the press.
More from the Seattle Times here. And more from the Seattle PI here.
Seattle Cops James Pitts and David Toner Pwned After Trying to Take Photographer's Camera
Photo by Bogdan Mohora.
PopPhoto Flash: The Crime of Photography: Rewarded! Pop Photo blogs about the case of amateur photographer Bogdan Mohora who was jailed in Seattle last year after he took photos of police that they didn't want him to take during an arrest.
Although Mohora was only briefly detained he pushed the issue and worked with the ACLU to get an $8,000 settlement for his arrest. The two officers involved in the incident James Pitts and David Toner, pictured above, were discilplined with written reprimands for a lack of professionalism and poor exercise of discretion.
Photography, even of the police, is not a crime. Think about this the next time a cop tells you that you cannot take a photograph. The police should know better than this and I'm glad that Mohara is $8,000 richer after being harrased by them.
The sad thing is that the police get away with telling photographers not to shoot probably 99% of the time. It's only when photographers really push the issue and insist on their First Ammendment rights that we see this stuff in the press.
More from the Seattle Times here. And more from the Seattle PI here.