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Photographer Maced by Police in Pittsburgh

Posted in December 29th, 2007

by admin in Photography and the Law

A very disturbing story is told here by a photographer/tourist who was abused by a police officer for taking pictures in Pittsburgh:

According to the photographer:

I was snapping some photos of a few of the buildings with an older camera at the time and a security guard came up and said I couldn’t take pictures of the buildings. I thought that it was pretty obvious that I was a photographer and not a terrorist.

So I asked him if it would be okay if I switched to my zoom lens and took them from my hotel window. He pulled out his little can of mace and asked me if I was being smart with him. I said, “No,” like an idiot and then said, “That would imply we had something in common.”
He sprayed me in the face and hauled me into his little squad car where I sat while we waited for the police. The police actually erased my photos off the camera while I was in the squad car. I wasn’t charged with anything.

So, to spite them, after I recovered and was allowed to go back to my hotel room, I set my camera up at the window and took some shots of the buildings. lol

But mace sure does suck. I found that putting vaseline around my eyes helped tremendously. Water only pushes the crap on other parts of your face.

Not only did the police violate the photographer’s right to take pictures on public property, they deleted his pictures which constitutes an illegal search and confiscation of property and then violated his freedom of speech by macing him simply for making a comment. OUTRAGEOUS ABUSE OF POWER!!!

In one fell swoop the cops violated the first, fourth and fifth amendments of the Constitution of the United States of America