NPPA Protests Miami Police Harassment Of Photographers

 

DURHAM, NC (July 2, 2010) – NPPA's general counsel has sent a letter of protest to the Miami-Dade Police Department's media relations bureau objecting to the behavior of officers, who were backing up private security guards, for their "unconstitutional infringement of the First Amendment rights" of NPPA member Charles Ledford as he tried to take photographs in and around the Douglas Road Metro stop.

Ledford, in a blog posting, detailed how transit guards from 50 State Security, backed up by Metro-Dade police, obstructed him from taking pictures and barred his entry into the Metro system despite the fact he had purchased a ticket. He says that one person in the group who confronted him identified themselves as an employee of the Department of Homeland Security. Another NPPA member and photojournalist, Carlos Miller, who writes the blog "Photography Is Not A Crime," was with Ledford at the time.

Ledford says that guards, officers, and transit system employees justified their actions by invoking concerns about "terrorism" and claimed that it was "against the law" for him to take photographs at the station.

In the letter of protest NPPA's lawyer, Mickey H. Osterreicher, pointed out to the police that their own Miami-Dade County Code of Ordinances spells out clearly that photography is not prohibited.

"While I appreciate your concerns for public safety I would hope that you can understand that photography and videography by itself is not a dangerous or pernicious activity unless accompanied by other behavior giving rise to probable cause or reasonable suspicion that would merit further investigation," Osterreicher wrote.

"Equating this activity with terrorism creates an atmosphere of initial distrust and suspicion, which has led to this incident and the unconstitutional actions by Miami-Dade County law enforcement. Public photography and videography is a protected First Amendment right of expression limited by reasonable time, place and manner restrictions."

Similar letters of protest from NPPA will go to the Miami-Dade Transit Authority and the Miami Police Department because their officers were also involved in confronting Ledford at the train station.

This is not the first time that NPPA has dealt with this kind of issue. In 2005 NPPA successfully opposed a Metropolitan Transit Authority proposed rule change that would have banned photography and videotaping in its subways and bus systems, and in 2009 Osterreicher worked with the Amtrak Police General Counsel to revise their photography guidelines and police general order.

Ledford, who has worked on assignment in many countries and taught at the Art School of Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, is currently working a masters degree in multimedia journalism at the University of Miami School of Communication.

 

NPPA Marketplace

Join the NPPA

NPPA members receive a wide range of benefits, from educational opportunities to mentoring, exclusive discounts, insurance options, business tips, and much more.