A Temple University student and his
girlfriend are filing suit in Philadelphia in response to a
completely inappropriate arrest in 2012 for photographing police.
Police were arresting a neighbor, and Ian Van Kuyk, a
photojournalism student, went over to take pictures. Police
arrested him and Meghan Feighan for obstruction of justice and
disorderly conduct.
The arrest became big news because a year before, the
Philadelphia police commissioner, after these tactics were exposed
by the media as common behavior, put out a memo that citizens were
allowed to record the police. The couple was found not guilty of
all charges and is now suing for assault, battery, false arrest and
imprisonment, and malicious prosecution.
The Philadelphia Inquirer notes that even though the
police have gotten firm directives about the policy,
there are still problems:
Mary Catherine Roper, senior staff attorney for the American
Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, said some cops are not
complying with the directive. The ACLU is suing the city in federal
court for allegedly arresting people in retaliation for observing
or photographing officers performing their duties.In January, a police officer ordered a Daily News
reporter to stop photographing an arrest outside a jewelry store at
8th and Chestnut streets. When asked for an explanation, the
officer said that it was “police business” and that photos weren’t
allowed.“We get those complaints,” Roper said. “The department, I think,
is slow to realize that just because they write something down
doesn’t mean all of the officers follow it.”
As always, we recommend folks interested in these kinds of
stories to follow the blog Photography Is Not a
Crime. This month Carlos Miller has documented new incidents of
police abusing citizens and journalists attempting to take pictures
in Massachusetts and Baltimore. And for any newcomers who haven’t
yet read it, our Reason magazine feature on the War on
Cameras from 2011 is available online here.
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