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|| SportsShooter.com: Member Message Board
News photographer detained at oil spill: Part 2
Kevin M. Cox, Photographer, Assistant
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Galveston / Houston | TX | US | Posted: 2:42 AM on 07.31.08 |
->> Original thread: http://www.sportsshooter.com/message_display.html?tid=30183
Hey guys, thank you for the support and comments, both here and in the emails I've gotten. Sorry I wasn't able to post a response sooner. Let me double check with my editor and see if it is OK to get into the details of what happened at this point and if so I'll be happy to share them. In the mean time here is the latest article about the incident:
Newspaper blasts detention of photographer
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/5916556.html
Here is where it happened for those into such details:
http://tinyurl.com/6zjyxe (Half a block north of the marker, near the gravel alley mostly. The actual spill was approximately 500 feet south of the marker on the east side of the road.)
To clarify a few points, it wasn't the patrol officer on scene who was the issue, it was the Corporal who (I can only assume) ordered me to be detained and then showed up later. The corporal "who is also the city’s contact with the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force" was obviously calling the shots, not the uniformed officer. His background is available here in case anyone is curious: http://www.ifssexpo.com/conf_profile.asp?ID=66647&trackID=414
The patrol officer on scene who was working the road block when I arrived was obviously unsure what the correct procedure for media was due to the proximity of the refineries. He made several phone calls throughout his interaction with me and I could tell he was only following orders he was given. Up until the point when he told me I was not allowed to leave the scene, he did not prevent me from doing my job. He didn't shadow me or anything and kept doing his own job (directing what little traffic came our way) in between his interactions with me. He was polite and professional the entire time and even confirmed my version of events to his superiors near the end of the incident. I have no problems with his actions whatsoever.
On the respect issue that was raised in the original thread: I am probably one of the most pro-police news photographers you will meet. I have a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice (with an emphasis in Law Enforcement) and have never before had any issues with public safety officials at a news/crime scene. I have had positive and problem free interactions with the Texas City Police (and other area departments) on numerous occasions.
Again, I personally don't mind getting into the details after I get permission from my editors. I hope this post answers a few questions until then. |
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Mark Peters, Photographer
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Highland | IL | USA | Posted: 7:59 AM on 07.31.08 |
->> Kevin,
If it was the official liaison calling the shots, then IMO it is even more inexcusable that he was unaware of what your rights were. His bio says he was responsible for providing the training on how "to identify what suspicious activity or suspicious packages may be, and how to handle each situation."
This trainer needs retrained. |
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Walter Calahan, Photographer
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Westminster | MD | USA | Posted: 7:59 AM on 07.31.08 |
->> It's always the corporal not on the scene who gives the order to round up the usual suspects.
Al-Qaeda is laughing all the way to the bank. They don't have to do another act of terrorism, but they continue to make us waste our tax dollars on photographers simply trying to do their jobs.
Kevin, the good thing about this is you've now got all of Galveston talking about this. Perhaps now your well meaning police department will review their policies and make changes to stop this silliness. |
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Sean Stevens, Photographer
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San Antonio | TX | USA | Posted: 8:44 AM on 07.31.08 |
->> Ha! I've mistakenly driven down that street while lost and trying to get to the dike. Glad I didn't look suspicious. In some places around there it's hard not to be totally surrounded by refineries.
Maybe you should send the Corporal the link to the Google Map.....see if he can detain Google also. |
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