NPPA Objects To Photographer's Treatment At Snow-Bound JFK
DURHAM, NC (December 28, 2010) – The National Press Photographers Association's Advocacy Committee has sent a letter of objection to JetBlue airline officials, and to Port Authority of New York and New Jersey officials, complaining about the treatment photographer Steven Sunshine says he received from authorities Sunday while he was on assignment covering a blizzard-related travel story at New York's John F. Kennedy Airport Terminal #5.
Sunshine, on assignment for the New York Daily News, told the newspaper that Port Authority police refused to take a complaint report from him after he was harassed by JetBlue security personnel. Sunshine claims JetBlue employees ordered him to delete his photographs of a display board that showed cancelled and delayed flight status. JetBlue says the photographer had been photographing passenger check-in display screens that showed their' private data, including names and ID numbers, and that the photographer deleted those images voluntarily.
The Daily News reported that Sunshine, an NPPA member, was "menaced" by JetBlue airline security who told him he was on "private property". JetBlue, like other airlines, leases terminal space from buildings that are owned by the Port Authority. Sunshine claims he was escorted out of the building and when he called Port Authority police they refused to take his report and, he claims, they suggested that they'd confiscate his NYPD press credential if he persisted, according to the Daily News.
NPPA's general counsel, attorney Mickey H. Osterreicher of Buffalo, NY, wrote JetBlue officials and asked if there are any posted rules or regulations they can cite which prohibit photography in the terminal. "I would imagine that passengers take thousands of photographs everyday without incident," Osterreicher wrote. "For Mr. Sunshine, who identified himself as a credential press photographer, to have been singled out is an insult to our profession and our members. The alleged threats and intimidation of Mr. Sunshine by law enforcement should be properly investigated and corrective policies and training implemented," Osterreicher said.
"Photography by itself is not a dangerous or pernicious activity," Osterreicher wrote, "unless it is accompanied by other behavior that gives rise to probable cause or reasonable suspicion that would merit further investigation. Citing this activity as disruptive creates an atmosphere of initial distrust and suspicion which has led to this incident and the inappropriate actions by your officers. Public photography is a First Amendment right of expression limited by reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions. The key word here (as in most cases) being 'reasonable'", Osterreicher said.
NPPA's letter of objection was also sent on Tuesday to Port Authority general counsel Darrell Buchbinder. "NPPA sincerely wishes to work with you to avoid any further incidents regarding photography or interference with people engaged in First Amendment activity," Osterreicher told Buchbinder.
Sunshine is a New York-based corporate and editorial freelancer whose photographs frequently appear in the New York Daily News.
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