Award-winning journalist arrested by Charleston cops

[Hoosier Daddy]

Jerry, what is the focus of your rage on this subject?

Is it against Charleston Police?
The mall security?
The assumption that males in this situation are automatically pedophiles until proven otherwise?

I am torn between several different thoughts. On one hand, anyone should be able to enjoy the hobby/livelihood of photography by being able to take pictures in a public place without much restraint. On the other hand, concerned parents who notice an unknown and unidentified person taking pictures of their children do have a right to call this guy out. There are too many stories of creeps and pedophiles out there. Two years ago, police were called to a local swimming pool where an older man was taking pictures outside the fence. Turned out he was a 57 year old registered sex offender with a taste for the 5 and under crowd -- male and female.

As Lester mentioned, I also wonder if this guy provoked this situation intentionally. Could be to make a case for stereotypes against men, or to force an issue about the right to photograph freely in a public place, or to embarass Charleston and West Virginia, or to create a situation where he can sue and win the lottery, or just to make a name for himself. The world is a crazy place, you know.

[CoolBreeze]

My interest is the following: I was a newspaper photographer for 5 years and today I am a freelance photographer. I have 8 Grand tied up in equipment. I'm pretty well versed on the laws governing photographers. I have taken pictures over the years of the Santa scene at the Mall with a much more professional camera than he is using, and (thankfully) no one tried to strong arm me. When I see what goes on in that Mall on any given day, I cant help but to think that their efforts are misdirected in this case.

Swimming pools with old men hanging around snapping pictures SHOULD be a red flag. But Mall Santa scenes are usually a place where everyone takes pictures.... young and old, married and single. It's winter for Gods sake... what are you going to SEE with everyone covered from head to toe? I'll bet there were 10 people taking photos when he was, but HE was the only one without children. He was ALSO on the second floor for crying out loud. He was taking overall shots, not someones precious Snowflake close up. Once it was established by the parent that he was a known photographer, the situation should have ended there. But he went one step further and deleted the photos. That REALLY should have ended the situation.

But no... even all that that, people called the cops on him as though they'd never seen a stranger in Charleston WV in their lives. The rest is history.

It started with parents that should be more concerned with the creepy abusive teachers in their child's classroom http://wvgazettemail.com/News/Putnam/200912090578 than someone taking pictures of Santa FROM THE SECOND FLOOR WITH A POCKET CAMERA. It went too far with the police being called in, and then it appears the police went too far.

As to your last comment: Yea, he came here to "provoke" everyone in town. Look... to begin with, that's MY job. Secondly, he knows the law concerning private property (the Mall) better than most. He wasnt here to make a statement, he was here to SHOP. There are many well known local photographers here who snap photos all day with their pocket cameras and post them to their blogs. Maybe they all should be arrested. Fact is, I'll bet you that every kid who's parents have a computer, has their photo on the Internet right now. From Myspace to Flikker to Blogs, everyone wants their kids faces on the world wide web for some reason. On this local page for instance, you will see local kids all week long: http://www.304blogs.com/indx.php

[Hoosier Daddy]

Swimming pools with old men hanging around snapping pictures SHOULD be a red flag.

Why? Can a grandfather take a picture of their grandchild? What if the picture-taker is a young guy? Or a 30/40-something guy? Why can parents and friends take pictures of their little snowflakes swimming but no one else can? Why doesn't every rule you cited for the mall also apply to the swimming pool? A city-owned outdoor pool is just as much of a public place as a privately owned shopping mall. But the guy I mentioned was still a perv with a pedigree and parents had every right to be concerned. A pedophile could target a shopping mall for the very same reasons. A mall is probably the #1 hangout for 10-15 year old girls. If you are into the pre-teen/early teen crowd, what better place to go to grab a few hundred new pictures then rub one off? Or worse.

I'm just sayin ...

But Mall Santa scenes are usually a place where everyone takes pictures.... young and old, married and single. I'll bet there were 10 people taking photos when he was, but HE was the only one without children. He was ALSO on the second floor for crying out loud.

Maybe that was the problem. It wasn't his kids. He had no kids. And he was in an out-of-the-way place where someone normally wouldn't stand when innocently photographing a child. If my kids were in a public place and I saw a lone photographer standing in the shadows snapping away, I'd probably confront the person myself AND call the police. Sorry, Jerry. It's just a different world today and parents are smart to look after their unsuspecting and innocent children.

Once it was established by the parent that he was a known photographer, the situation should have ended there. But he went one step further and deleted the photos. That REALLY should have ended the situation.

Maybe. Having the police validate the man's identity and make sure he is who he says he is would still be a good idea. A professional perv could tell a parent anything and be convincing. In God I trust. All others are checked through NCIC.

It started with parents that should be more concerned with the creepy abusive teachers in their child's classroom...

She's being dealt with. Finally.

It went too far with the police being called in, and then it appears the police went too far.

How does calling the police equate to "going too far"? The cops always tell people to "call us first" and "don't take matters into your own hands". The police investigated a complaint. How did they go too far?

[CoolBreeze]

I can see that this is going nowhere, and it's starting to sound like a chapter right out of the soviet handbook of "We Are Watching You". So if that's the way the world is headed, I want no part of it. Seriously, I have taken pictures in former Soviet Russia that would have gotten me killed on the spot not too long ago. Here, you cant even take photos of a power plant (among other things) anymore without the U.S version of the KGB questioning you.

[Hoosier Daddy]

It's not a post going nowhere, Jerry. I just don't feel like parents calling the police was really out of line given today's climate regarding sexual predators. The parents acted in the best interest of their children, which is something I would hope anyone would support.

In my mind, the argument here is the fact that he's a male. If that was a female photographer, I doubt the parents would be concerned enough to call the police, because our society has conditioned almost everyone to think that "women just don't do those kind of things". But a late 50s male, alone, with a camera, taking pictures of children is immediately viewed as a problem. Can you imagine the special interest group outrage if the man was black, or obviously gay, or some other minority with a national speaking voice?

Pedophiles and sex offenders are always portrayed as older white men. That's a stereotype. To take the argument one step further, male physicians and health care providers are usually required to be chaperoned when treating a female patient, because "you never know what a man will do if he was left alone with a woman." The same requirement does not apply to female physicians and health care providers because "women don't do those kind of things". Talk to male elementary school teachers or a qualified male registered nurse who applied for an OB/GYN nursing position and see what they tell you about discrimination.

What if someone made a rule that black people need to be chaperoned at a bank when handling money, because they might steal it if someone wasn't watching? Or a woman in a management position had to kept under the watchful eye of a male, because women get all bitchy and emotional and can't be counted on to make the right decision all the time? If any of these stereotypes were allowed to exist, you'd have the NAACP or NOW screaming at the top of their lungs, drawing national attention to the issue, and threatening to file a lawsuit or twenty. But certain discrimination occurs daily against white men,and it's either sluffed off, ignored, or simply endured. There is no strong voice out there forcing us to challenge those stereotypes.

If there is an argument in your original post, stereotyping the photographer is the strongest case to make.

[CoolBreeze]

It's not a post going nowhere, Jerry. I just don't feel like parents calling the police was really out of line given today's climate regarding sexual predators.

Again... the parents had ALREADY confronted the guy and he deleted his photos. That should have been the end of it. If people start calling the cops every time someone points a camera towards them, we'll need a LOT more cops.

Enjoy!

http://hippiekiller.wordpress.com/

[Hoosier Daddy]

The officer was working off duty in the mall and responded to the complaint. Your buddy wasn't arrested for photographing children or Christmas scenes, he was arrested for taking a swipe at a Charleston police officer and for struggling (resisting) while being arrested. Mall management stated working photographers are supposed to let them know about taking pictures in the mall, but a private citizen can take photos if they want without permission. This guy seems to straddle both sides of the fence to suit his individual situation. He also seems capable of being a professional dickhead if and when he wants to be.

[CoolBreeze]

He was there as a shopper. He was there as a shopper . He was there as a shopper.

I could fill up the post with that but hopefully you get the picture.

As far as we can tell, he didn't take a swipe at anyone. Try to grab MY camera and I'll show you what a swipe is.

You made the point: He wasn't arrested for taken photos. Case closed.

Dealing with cops, now that's another matter. While I'm normally always on the cops side, I never do that blindly. I've run into some cops with serious bad attitudes. Most people have. And had it been anyone else, this episode wouldn't have gone any further because most people would just want to avoid a bad situation. They simply messed with the wrong guy this time.

Seriously, do you really think the federal government is going to hire some hot headed out of control person to shoot possibly sensitive government photos? Bet this guy could get into places neither one of us could on our best day.

[Hoosier Daddy]

I still don't understand your point other than (#1) you're also photographer and (#2) you hate the Charleston cops.

[CoolBreeze]

Wrong again. I spent most of 5 years defending Charleston cops on my radio show. They will tell you that. I'm ALWAYS on the cops side... unless something just doesn't seem right. In this case it didn't.

All I know is that this shouldn't have happened. Something went wrong. Somebody was having a bad day.

My POINT is that people in general are becoming too paranoid. Hell, I am aware of everything that goes on around me, but I use a little common sense when I feel something may need to be dealt with.

[fearpeddler]

it should be from the town center, not charleston.....

[CoolBreeze]

http://entertainment.webshots.com/photo ... 7509FcNopq

[Hoosier Daddy]

All I know is that this shouldn't have happened. Something went wrong. Somebody was having a bad day.

Maybe it was your picture taking friend who had the bad day. Don't you think Charleston Police's internal affairs people are better qualified to look at this situation, including possible security tapes, witness statements, interviewing everyone involved, etc. than you are?

[genlock]

Seattle Times 1995:

With his own money, KIRO-TV journalist Scott Rensberger last year sued the nation's richest man and Hawaii's giant Dole Food Co. after his arrest on public property the day Microsoft chairman Bill Gates was married.

In an out-of-court settlement announced yesterday, Rensberger has a lot to show for it:

• Undisclosed monetary compensation from Gates and Dole's Lanai Co., which owns most of the island of Lanai and the resort where the wedding took place.

Big payday running out, need more bucks from lawsuit?

[CoolBreeze]

Ummm... did you miss the first page? I posted all that there.

Any photographer who has been illegally arrested for taking legal photos SHOULD sue. That's very important to freedom of the press, and I will let you take that up with them.

As far as the "internal investigation", I honestly hope that the cop was right, because I hate it when they are wrong. On the other other hand, my POINT stands.... we're too damned paranoid today.

[Bar Rat]

It's paranoia gone mad. I got accused of taking pictures with my iPhone of some guy's kid while I was at the Huntington Mall sitting in Big Loafer waiting on food. Only problem is that I don't have any pictures of humans on the phone -- some cat macros, but nothing human. So I told the jerk to go get a warrant or a cop and I'd talk to them... yeah, probably lucky I didn't get my ass kicked, but ya know, it's not a crime to sit there holding a phone and checking email, which is what I was doing.

[Lester]

Ummm... did you miss the first page? I posted all that there.Any photographer who has been illegally arrested for taking legal photos SHOULD sue. That's very important to freedom of the press, and I will let you take that up with them.

So Hallburn has been right all these years...

Suing over a legitimate violation of ones rights is one thing, to intentionally go out and stir up trouble is something else. I'm rather shocked that you've been sucked into his game... esp. since it looks like he's going after money for this... MONEY. Not some noble cause, but MONEY.

Secondly, I highly doubt that you and your PROFESSIONAL photography gear would have been called out by the mall cops or CPD for the same behavior.

[CoolBreeze]

The guy wasn't "stirring up trouble". He was shopping. With the popularity of cameras these days... everyone shoots photos everywhere they go. As far as your second comment: There are cheap cameras that easily resemble mine... from a distance.

[genlock]

He quickly deleted the pictures when requested.......
I wonder if he quickly deleted others before the cops arrived....
He is, or claims to be, media.
I don't trust him.

[CoolBreeze]

I don't trust him.

Obviously!