Hassled by nosey private security guard.

[calbee]

Leonard,

Just be glad you were'nt taking pictures of skateboarding. I was shooting some skateboarding in Chicago a few years ago and a pig (I'm a skateboarder it's ok) came up behind me and tossed me to the ground and made me drop my fisheye for my Hasselblad, he put his knee in the back of my neck, then asked me if I was with "those guys". Then when I said "yes" he put more weight on my neck and laughed when I asked about my camera being ok. He stayed on the back of my neck for about 10 minutes (to make sure I wouldn't get away?) in that time I started to have an asthma attack, I tried to tell him I needed my meds and once again he laughed at me. I ended up breaking the front element and having a major asthma attack and had to be taken to the hospital. Before I get to off track, fuck the police.

Calbee

[John Kasaian]

So calbee,

Like, how much did you win from your civil suit? Certainly enough for a new 'blad even after the lawyers get thier share, right? And you did file a complaint with Internal Affairs to get that Goon booted off the force(or at least reassigned to the rubber gun squad) like any responsible citizen would. right? I mean, you're paying his salary with your taxes. You have legal recourse if a police officer steps outside the scope of thier authority. You wouldn't let them get away with that, would you?

Our system is one of checks and balances. When the ball is in your court and you stop playing the game, you forfeit your rights and send the goons a silent message that equates to a pat on the back and a hearty "job well done." Maybe the next suspicious photographer who gets taken to emergency won't be as fortunate as you.

Just a thought.

[tim atherton]

"Our system is one of checks and balances. When the ball is in your court and you stop playing the game, you forfeit your rights and send the goons a silent message that equates to a pat on the back and a hearty "job well done." "

Should that be: ours is a system of checks and balances for those who can afford to participate in the game?

Even if you were to try and revert to something like the ACLU in such a case you are likely to find they are far less concerned about free legal support for a "skateboarder dude" photographer, than say a "surgeon" photographer in a similar situation , but who happens to be friends with one of their senior legal council.

Maybe cynical, but unfortuantely that's close to the reality of it.

[John Kasaian]

tim,

There are hoards lawyers on the TV who will happily work for contingency fees. There are also lawyers who have a profound interest in justice who will jump on the chance to "check" abuses. There are DAs and Public Defenders who are on the prowl for any cases that will bring place them in the political spotlight. There are also city attorneys who dread lawsuits that drain government coffers and Union attorneys who represent oficer's associations as well. We've got a heck of a lot of attorneys runing around, most of them under employed. Most of these kinds of cases never get into court, but settlements are made, and the paper trail of legal suits that follows any professional, be it law enforcement, medical, legal, you name it, does have considerable importance. That bottom line is, if you don't put up a fight for your rights using the weapons available(the courts) don't whine about it. If a government truly belongs to the people, it is the people's responsibilty to participate in it(like not shirking the responsibilty of jury duty, voting, paying taxes, etc... but thats another rant.) On the other hand, if what you want is to be a victimized and encourage the powerful to think that oppression is the sincerest form of government, so be it. We deserve the government we get.

"Only a live thing can swim against the current"---Chesteron

Cheers!

[lydia]

I want to thank all of you who wrote in to this story of Leonard's Pictures.
I 'm doing a paper on ethical useage of surveillance cameras and this supports one angle very well. I was born and raised in the 1970's and I remember people lamenting it was not a good time to raise kids, with the drugs and hippies and what not. I have two toddlers and I wish it was as safe as it was in the 1970's versus today to raise them. As a country we have been slowly losing our freedoms under the guise of security for the people.

[ic-racer]

Keep in mind that most people in the world have no idea what a large format camera is, or why someone would use one.

Maybe, but maybe not.

It would make an interesting experiment in semiotics to present this image to the great unwashed and see what the think is going on.

[welly]

Hi karlee here. Wonderful to read all your experiences
guys. I completely agree with your opinion.Security guard
is a person who have a lot of responsibilities. A security guard must be honest.

This is a rather odd comment. I'll eat my hat if I'm wrong but I bet we'll see some spam from young karlee in the none-to-distant future.

[Kevin Crisp]

On a thread that is 8 years old.

[Drew Bedo]

Mods, Please delete.