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#1
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Another Camera Seized
Edmonton Journal
(2009-04-06) News Journalist's camera seized by police Vancouver police shot a man Sunday -- and seized a newspaper photographer's camera as he took pictures at the scene. The man was driving a large black pickup truck when police boxed him in. The man was taken away by ambulance. No further information on the shooting was available by press time. When Province photographer Jason Payne arrived at the scene just moments later, the man was lying on the street as more police arrived. As he was taking photographs, "a constable pushed me away. Another officer ran up and pushed me back into the street," said the veteran photographer. Payne said he identified himself as a news photographer, but the police demanded his camera. "They said I was obstructing justice and they were going to confiscate my camera as evidence. They ended up taking my camera from me. It was either that or be arrested," he said. "They were manhandling me." - End of Article - While I normally would give the benefit of the doubt to the cops, it seems some are getting a bit grabby when it comes to sezing cameras which could contain damning evidence. Perhaps it's time for photographers to contact their legislators and demand more clarification / protection. Or, maybe it'll take a photog with the guts to say, "Keep your hands off my camera!" and, do a bit of cell time to prove the point. Take Care, Dudley |
#2
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Another Camera Seized
"Dudley Hanks" wrote Or, maybe it'll take a photog with the guts to say, "Keep your hands off my camera!" and, do a bit of cell time to prove the point. In all cases like these, the first question that comes to my mind is, why seize the camera? Or are cops too dumb to know that the images are on a tiny card, not the camera itself? Maybe they haven't heard yet that film has been superseded... Paul |
#3
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Another Camera Seized
"Paul Bartram" paul.bartram AT OR NEAR lizzy.com.au wrote in message ... "Dudley Hanks" wrote Or, maybe it'll take a photog with the guts to say, "Keep your hands off my camera!" and, do a bit of cell time to prove the point. In all cases like these, the first question that comes to my mind is, why seize the camera? Or are cops too dumb to know that the images are on a tiny card, not the camera itself? Maybe they haven't heard yet that film has been superseded... Paul I'm just surprised that this guy didn't go the distance. He's a professional journalist, and he should know his rights. So, maybe he spends a couple of hours in lockup; the company lawyers would have him out in quick time, and there'd be hell to pay if the cops were out of line -- which it sounds like they were. Take Care, Dudley |
#4
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Another Camera Seized
"Dudley Hanks" wrote in message news:ZRBCl.20472$Db2.15294@edtnps83... "Paul Bartram" paul.bartram AT OR NEAR lizzy.com.au wrote in message ... "Dudley Hanks" wrote Or, maybe it'll take a photog with the guts to say, "Keep your hands off my camera!" and, do a bit of cell time to prove the point. In all cases like these, the first question that comes to my mind is, why seize the camera? Or are cops too dumb to know that the images are on a tiny card, not the camera itself? Maybe they haven't heard yet that film has been superseded... Paul I'm just surprised that this guy didn't go the distance. He's a professional journalist, and he should know his rights. So, maybe he spends a couple of hours in lockup; the company lawyers would have him out in quick time, and there'd be hell to pay if the cops were out of line -- which it sounds like they were. Take Care, Dudley All he had to do is say I will delete the shots, de;ete them in front of them and then undelete later, mind you the cops are overstepping the mark and should be bought to account. |
#5
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Another Camera Seized
Pete D wrote:
"Dudley Hanks" wrote in message news:ZRBCl.20472$Db2.15294@edtnps83... "Paul Bartram" paul.bartram AT OR NEAR lizzy.com.au wrote in message ... "Dudley Hanks" wrote Or, maybe it'll take a photog with the guts to say, "Keep your hands off my camera!" and, do a bit of cell time to prove the point. In all cases like these, the first question that comes to my mind is, why seize the camera? Or are cops too dumb to know that the images are on a tiny card, not the camera itself? Maybe they haven't heard yet that film has been superseded... Paul I'm just surprised that this guy didn't go the distance. He's a professional journalist, and he should know his rights. So, maybe he spends a couple of hours in lockup; the company lawyers would have him out in quick time, and there'd be hell to pay if the cops were out of line -- which it sounds like they were. Take Care, Dudley All he had to do is say I will delete the shots, de;ete them in front of them and then undelete later, mind you the cops are overstepping the mark and should be bought to account. Whoa! BAD advice. The cop didn't say he wanted the shots deleted, he said that he was seizing the camera as evidence. I don't know the Vancouver laws but in Connecticut tampering with evidence can get you 5 years in the slammer, and deleting images right in front of a cop who has just told you that he needed them as evidence is pretty much asking him to arrest you on that charge. Best thing to do if he want it as evidence IMO is ask the cop if you can just give him the card rather than the camera, and make sure you get a receipt from him detailing what was seized, the case number, and his badge number, and make sure that he's got your contact information correctly so that you have a chance of getting the camera back once the investigation is over. He should have a form for this--often there's a tear-off receipt form on the evidence tag. |
#6
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Another Camera Seized
Paul Bartram wrote:
"Dudley Hanks" wrote Or, maybe it'll take a photog with the guts to say, "Keep your hands off my camera!" and, do a bit of cell time to prove the point. In all cases like these, the first question that comes to my mind is, why seize the camera? Or are cops too dumb to know that the images are on a tiny card, not the camera itself? Maybe they haven't heard yet that film has been superseded... So you're saying that there are no film cameras left anywhere in the world? And that there are no cameras that store information only as internal memory, not on a card? Or are you saying that all cops are experts on identifying cameras and the type of storage media they use? There's nothing wrong with asking the cop, politely, if the memory card from the camera will suffice. |
#7
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Another Camera Seized
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#8
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Another Camera Seized
Dudley Hanks wrote:
"Paul Bartram" paul.bartram AT OR NEAR lizzy.com.au wrote in message ... "Dudley Hanks" wrote Or, maybe it'll take a photog with the guts to say, "Keep your hands off my camera!" and, do a bit of cell time to prove the point. In all cases like these, the first question that comes to my mind is, why seize the camera? Or are cops too dumb to know that the images are on a tiny card, not the camera itself? Maybe they haven't heard yet that film has been superseded... Paul I'm just surprised that this guy didn't go the distance. He's a professional journalist, and he should know his rights. So, maybe he spends a couple of hours in lockup; the company lawyers would have him out in quick time, and there'd be hell to pay if the cops were out of line -- which it sounds like they were. The cops have the right to ask for evidence. If you're a reasonable person then you should be willing to provide it, after all, somebody is _dead_ and the person responsible needs to be brought to justice. That being the case, anything that you can do to help the investigation is worthwhile. Don't get so caught up in defending your rights that you lose sight of the big picture. If you absolutely positively don't want to give up control of the images, then tell the cop that you're perfectly willing to let the department make a copy as long as you don't give up control, and if he's not sure of the procedure for that then ask him to call his supervisor. They should either be able to make a copy on scene or at the station. Remember also that they have a responsibility to maintain the chain of evidence--that means that the images have to be under their control from the time they became aware of them on--that means that if they don't have the camera in their possession then they need to have you with the camera in their possession until the copies are made. As a working journalist you also have a responsibility to maintain control of _your_ chain of evidence--put it in those terms and any cop should be able to understand the problem. Also note that what the cops can and cannot seize depends on the applicable statutes which vary from state to state and outside the US from country to country. |
#9
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Another Camera Seized
On Tue, 07 Apr 2009 05:51:53 GMT, "Dudley Hanks"
wrote: "Paul Bartram" paul.bartram AT OR NEAR lizzy.com.au wrote in message ... "Dudley Hanks" wrote Or, maybe it'll take a photog with the guts to say, "Keep your hands off my camera!" and, do a bit of cell time to prove the point. In all cases like these, the first question that comes to my mind is, why seize the camera? Or are cops too dumb to know that the images are on a tiny card, not the camera itself? Maybe they haven't heard yet that film has been superseded... Paul I'm just surprised that this guy didn't go the distance. He's a professional journalist, and he should know his rights. So, maybe he spends a couple of hours in lockup; That would have worked to the police's advantage. If he was locked-up, his personal effects - including his camera - would have been taken from him and held. I could have been to the photographer's disadvantage. He would not know if particular images had been deleted while the camera was out of his possession. -- Tony Cooper - Orlando, Florida |
#10
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Another Camera Seized
"bugbear" wrote in message et... http://www.theprovince.com/news/Stat...754/story.html BugBear Linked Info: http://www.theprovince.com/news/Cops...479/story.html Take Care, Dudley |
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