Posted on 08/06/2009 11:35:29 PM PDT by PanzerKardinal
Seconds after BART police officer Johannes Mehserle shot and killed Oscar Grant, police immediately began confiscating cell phones containing videos that have yet to see the light of day.
[...]
But the truth is, police had no legal right to confiscate a single camera.
Cops may be entitled to ask for peoples names and addresses and may even go as far as subpoenaing the video tape, but as far as confiscating the camera on the spot, no, said Marc Randazza, A First Amendment attorney based out of Florida and a Photography is Not a Crime reader.
Bert P. Krages II, the Oregon attorney who drafted the widely distributed The Photographers Rights guide, responded to my inquiry with the following e-mail message:
In general, police cannot confiscate cameras or media without some sort of court order. One exception is when a camera is actually being used in the commission of crime (e.g., child pornography, counterfeiting, upskirting).
(Excerpt) Read more at carlosmiller.com ...
When I had my latest range war with the commies next door, I saw him using some antique 35 mm to document his precious weeds, that is not to throw off on 35s. I kind of miss using one. Anyway, I did some of my own photos about the same area and was using my Canon 50D. The old commie saw me out there and asked if I needed film for my camera. He is such an irratating old fool.
It is appreciated by this sometimes pro. Thank you.
The police don't care about your rights
Another thing I would like to point out is that the police are not Voted into office.
A point that many need to contemplate and keep in mind.
If someone is an ass, they'll always be an ass no matter which side they're on.
No, you get a device that saves to a SD card or memory stick, and always keep a spare with you to swap in and replace the one you were recording on. Or just pull the card/stick out, most units have small internal storage.
Yes. The police aren’t going to get into a discussion of rights or not, that’s not their function. They aren’t judges or lawyers. They aren’t going to debate crap. If you know more than they do you can sometimes get out of things but you don’t want to engage that way unless absolutely necessary.
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