Following on another photographer being arrested for taking photos of New York City trains, Robert Taylor, an employee of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) was arrested by police. He was also ordered to delete his photos, which is wholly unlawful in U.S. law, and detained for several hours. Needless to say, he was later released without charges.
Mr. Taylor is now suing the City of New York for $2 million in compensation and punitive damages. More about this case over at New York Daily News.
This follows an ugly trend of police officers overstepping their authority around amateur and professional photographers both in America and the United Kingdom. Recently in England, a new law made it potentially illegal to photograph police officers in public spaces and an architecture fan was harassed to delete his photos of Vauxhall Tube station in London.
There are so many stories flying around about this that I'm really worried about the future impact for tourists who also happen to be photography buffs. Are we now going to be able to pursue our passion without always looking over our shoulders? It would be sad indeed if we had to check for police before snapping a photo of anything more interesting than an old boring statue...
What are your thoughts about being hassled by police when going about your legal business taking photos?
You should follow me on twitter here.
It has absolutely nothing to do with security. Taking pictures of targets, etc. in this manner only happens in the movies.
Besides, it's virtually impossible to enforce. How easy is it to snap a picture with a cell phone these days and not be noticed?
Anil on 02 July, 2009