Can I be arrested for this?????

You could be arrested for anything, if you go against what a police officer tells you they could arrest you basicly for arguing, However you would likely win the case or not even have it taken to court. In this case he is in an unmarked police vehicle so i highly doubt he would be keen on you taking any photos of that unless you have explicit permision before hand. Ive had that trouble before (See my website) with many threats for arrest by officers if i dont take pics down etc.

I agree that you should be able to photograph what you want and that this cop was probably on a power trip etc. One concern though... no sidewalks, were you standing in the middle of the road? Not the 'obstruction of justice' claimed by the police officer, sure, but on such a dangerous road maybe he just wanted you out of there. Hey, I wasn't there so if I'm way off ignore my point.

Well, as has already been stated, I don't think you were violating any laws at all as long as you were not "in the way". Unfortunately, many cops don't really care about "the law", let alone an individual's rights and they will often use their position of authority as a way to intimidate others. Also unfortunate is that "cops protect other cops", so simply reporting this incident to his superiors probably would not have achieved anything.

I had shot pictures of one of my neighbors being abused by local cops. Now I will say here that my neighbor had in fact been drunk and more over had been mixing alcohol with medications he takes for a severe head trauma he had suffered sometime earlier. When the man didn't comply with the cops orders to step away from his garage (where there were yard tools that apparently the cops considered as "weapons"), one of the officers grabbed my neighbor and physically threw him to the ground face first. Further the cops had tazzored this poor many -6- times AFTER he was already on the ground and in cuffs. Again, my neighbor is recovering from severe head trauma...most days this man can barely stand and walk, let alone "resist arrest"...in other words, my 72 year old mother could have easily detained this man without any violence. I was of course threatened with "inciting to riot" but as I was shooting with a 300mm lens, I still managed to get over 100 shots of the incident.

Now here's where this get's even more interesting. I not only filed a report against the cops over the incindent (along with a number of the man's family), but I also contacted one of the local news stations and they put 5 of my images on the 6:00 news. In this case I was later interviewed by a supervisor and then after a so-called "investigation" was informed that the officers in question "conformed with local policy and procedures"...in other words, the cops got off scott free. I would also add that of the many complaints I've filed against the Lorain Police Department that this was the -ONLY- time one of my complaints was ever responded too...probably because of Channel 19 news.

Cops protect other cops regardless of the law...it's as simple as that. My suggestion to you would be to get a local news agency involved with this...newspaper, television, etc.. Provide them with the images of the accident, -why- you were taking those images in regards to the the local traffic situation and the images of the cop who harassed you. Make a PUBLIC issue out of this. I can't say that it will make a big difference...at least it didn't in my case...but at least it won't get quietly shoved under the table either.

Lastly, I would also get a copy of your local laws in regards to this situation and print out a copy of the pages others have referred you too and have those available! Know your legal rights!

Good Luck!
Jim

Any cop who threatens you falsely with any law should be charged with something himself, IMO. Damn bullies.

Power corrupts and all that.

gary88 wrote in post #6044530
As long as you're not interfering with anything, you have every right to take photos on a public street. I'm surprised that officer would rather worry about chasing you away that sorting out the accident.

This is absolutely not true given the situation described by the OP. When police arrive at the scene of a crime or accident they make the law for that scene. If they tell you to leave and you don't they can arrest you. If they tell you to stay and you try to leave they can arrest you. If they tell you to stop taking pictures and you don't, they can arrest you.

You can try to sue, later, for what you think are infringements on your rights. But judges understand the special circumstances of crime and accident scenes.

Looks like a pretty routine "crime scene" there to be honest with you. Was there another car? Was the road busy with traffic? Did it just happen? A lot of things could factor into all this.

Sounds to me like the officer was a little too over-anxious about what you were doing over there. Still, was his action enough that you would "take it up with his superiors"? Probably not.

Sure, you can print out that silly photographer's rights document, keep it handy in the back pocket. Have fun showing it to the officer.

"Ooooh....Oooooh...Off​icer, Officer...I need to show you.......THIS!".

I am sure he'll smile and say "Well what do you know...you are right sir. I apologize". Maybe in your dreams...

Can't we all just get along? Probably not either.

It's called photojournalism.

Where was the driver?

This happened here locally...

I can't wait till they burn the cops ass and I hope the guy sues.

http://www.tricities.c​om …lawful_photogra​phy/11576/

Probably was chasing the OP alongside the cop.

dekalbSTEEL wrote in post #6053412
Where was the driver?

Really?

I wonder who pays for all that...

I have to admit, that was pretty stupid behaviour by the deputy, given the facts in this article.

cbr929rrerion wrote in post #6053446
This happened here locally...

I can't wait till they burn the cops ass and I hope the guy sues.

http://www.tricities.c​om …lawful_photogra​phy/11576/

I understand the county will have to pay, I work in law enforcement and I have to say a lot of officers do NOT know the law and use citizens legal ignorance to get them to do what they ask.

The county should have hired better qualified and educated officers, we live in a world of being compensated for others mistakes and ignorance.

Given that most people have no idea what their rights are, I think a lot of cops just assume that people don't mind having them trampled. For instance, there are very strict rules about police entering your home, searching your vehicle, and etc., but guess how many people know that? Most people probably don't even realize that "No" is an acceptable answer to the question if an officer asks to enter a home or search something.

Anyways, if it happens again, I suggest taking a video camera and making sure that any conversation that occurs is recorded. Trying to get the police and prosecutor to bring the cop up on criminal charges will probably be just about impossible, but getting a lawyer to file a civil suit, not so much...

The direct answer of your question is yes, you can be arrested for obstruction of justice if you fail to follow the lawful directions of a police officer in the performance of his/her duties.

So then the next question would be, was the direction that he gave you to stop photographing the scene and leave the area lawful? While that would seem to be a simple question to answer, it may not always be so. This could have been a simple traffic accident or an accident involving an impaired driver. The vehicle could have previously been involved in a crime that you're not aware of. If the officer is the only officer on the scene, his responsibility is to protect any evidence that may be collected to be used in court. Knowing the specific sequence and timing of events would be helpful.

In one of your shots, it looks as if your camera is pointing down at the vehicle. This leads me to believe that you had approached the car and were very close to it. There is no sidewalk where the car is. How did you approach the scene? Did you walk in the street? Do you have a vehicle that is illegally stopped near the scene? When other drivers approach the scene of an accident, quite often, their attention is attracted to the incident and not where they're going. Secondary accidents frequently occur with bystanders and emergency service personnel getting injured in the second event.

As others have already pointed out, even if you're completely in the right, if the police officer arrests you, it will costs you time and money whether or not your case goes to trial. Yes, you could sue after the event but the award could be inconsequential to the efforts expended.

You could make an appointment to speak with the chief of police to see how your photography could be useful to the police department in improving traffic safety. Developing a partnership at a high level could help you accomplish your goals and facilitate your actions. In conversation, you could mention this incident if the opportunity arises.

I have worked both as a photojournalist in San Franciso, CA and as an emergency service worker in different capacities in law enforcement and the fire department. I found that whichever hat I was wearing, confrontation rarely accomplished my goals but mutual respect and cooperation worked wonders. If the officer you dealt with was as bullheaded as you imply, there's nothing you could have done to "win" in that situation. Get out of there!

---woof!

To clear up a few comments, I live 3 houses away from the accident. The speed limit on the street is 15 MPH. The street was not blocked off and traffic was moving through so it was not a clean "crime scene". Obviously, the driver was not going 15 MPH. We've had 6 incidents on the same area of the street over the past 18 months. Here's another, almost the same spot.