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Photographer Arrested at Shooting Scene
Photographer Arrested at Shooting Scene Claims Rights Were Violated BRIANNE DOPART The Herald-Sun (Durham, NC) Oce The wheels of justice are moving too slowly for a freelance photographer who says police violated his rights last month when they arrested him at the scene of a shooting in which a Durham police officer was involved. More than a month after Capt. Dowdy allegedly manhandled and later arrested freelance photographer Julian Harrison while Harrison was attempting to photograph the scene of that shooting, Harrison and his new attorney, Amanda Martin, have met with the Durham Police Department's Internal Affairs Unit. Martin is general counsel for the North Carolina Press Association, which advocates journalists' rights. She has represented Harrison in past cases where she said he was the subject of harassment by Durham police. Harrison, whose work occasionally appears in The Herald-Sun, said he hopes to pursue a civil case against Dowdy if his claims are not taken seriously by Durham police and if police don't take action against Dowdy. While Martin said Friday it's premature to say if Harrison will file suit, she added it's too early to rule such action out, either. In a statement to the Internal Affairs Unit this week, Harrison said Dowdy approached him Nov. 3 while he, Harrison, was standing outside the crime scene tape and that Dowdy told him not to photograph "witnesses" to the shooting or Dowdy would "see that [Harrison] got arrested." Harrison said he told Dowdy, "You're not my photo editor," at which point Dowdy grabbed the photographer's upper arm and began to squeeze. "I said, 'Officer Dowdy you're hurting me. You're assaulting me.' That was when he tackled me backwards like a football tackle," Harrison said. Harrison was taken into custody and driven to the jail where a magistrate refused to charge him on the grounds he had done nothing wrong. Despite that victory, Harrison noted he had already lost the opportunity to fully record the unfolding story of the shooting and the opportunity to get paid for his day's work. Before and after Harrison's arrest, other photographers at the scene of the shooting, including photographer Walt Unks of The Herald-Sun, photographed the shooting scene and witnesses to the shooting. Unks' photographs appeared in The Herald-Sun the following day. Photographer Galen Clarke, who was also working for The Herald-Sun that day, took a photo of Dowdy holding Harrison on the trunk of a car. The fact that others were not threatened with arrest for taking the same pictures Harrison sought is one reason the photographer said he feels he has been unjustly harassed and intimidated by police. Photographers are permitted to record what they can see from public property, Harrison's attorney, Martin, said Friday, as long as that property is not cordoned off by crime scene tape. Harrison, she told The Herald-Sun earlier this month, was on public property and had every right to be at the scene working as a journalist. Since his arrest, Harrison said he can't help but feel anxious as he responds to the many emergency situations he attempts to document each day. "It's a dangerous and chilling situation when a journalist has to wonder if he's going to be assaulted just for going to work," Harrison said. http://www.imaginginfo.com/article/arti … =3&id=2168 Dec 23 06 12:57 am Link I find police (At least in Aus) rarely know the law themselves in regards to photography. Most have a "If I say you can't, you can't" attitude. Regardless of actual law. Dec 23 06 01:14 am Link on the one hand he is a fellow photographer, on the other hand he chases ambulances.. the story suggests he does it a lot.. free speech, free press, but if there's a homicide and the cops want a witness, that guy's photographs might keep someone from testifying.. of course if you are out in the open like that you don't have your 'reasonable expectation of privacy' as they say.. Dec 23 06 01:19 am Link lotusphoto wrote: And he has a past of previous "assaults by police". Dec 23 06 07:11 am Link studio_14 wrote: oh please..if the photographer was on public property and not interfering with a police investigation physically, the police were in the wrong, period! We don't live in a police state (yet), but if we think that the police are always right (remember, they have a self-serving interest to hide their screw-ups...just ask Rodney King), pretty soon you'll be arrested for just about anything THEY don't like, not for what is illegal! Dec 23 06 07:27 am Link Having been a freelance photojournalist for a few papers I used to keep a scanner by my bedside. Although these days the transmissions are scrambled at that time they were not. There were times when I actually beat the police to the scene. I was never harrassed or threatened. But I did know when to stay out of their way after the tape went up. Long lenses are great to get around that! But I also carried a small book in my camera bag.....the Constitution and its Amendments. I did on one occassion point that out to a policeman who was going to issue his own rules. After that, no problem. I find if you are respectful and professional there is never a problem. They have their job, you have yours. It actually got to the point where I had police cards from every surrounding department in my wallet allowing me virtually free access to any scene as long as I stayed out of the way. The one big point I made was NEVER show the police you're a wise-ass! I always maintained a friendly and professional attitude towards any police officer. I became friends with many of them. When ever I got the chance to do a positive story about the police I took it! Like any other business photojournalism depends on the goodwill of those involved so might as well used to it. If this guy has a history of police harrassment I must ask what caused it? We only have one side of the story here. If it's true the police have a problem with him only and not other photojournalists then WHY? Dec 23 06 08:44 am Link FKVPhotoGraphics wrote: You and "Weegee" Fellig..... bet you never rearranged the scene [and occasionally the bodies, too] though, like he did, for a better composition. LOL Dec 23 06 09:45 am Link studio36uk wrote: Did WeeGee really rearrange bodies???...LOL Dec 23 06 10:29 am Link studio36uk wrote: FKVPhotoGraphics wrote: He did. He admitted it too. FKVPhotoGraphics wrote: I did fire scenes... and not a few crispy critters as well. Some, it turned out, were indeed murders. Tough photography problem, shooting black on black. I was shooting evidentiary photos. But a great learning experience. Dec 23 06 11:39 am Link FKVPhotoGraphics wrote: good point, usualy the cops just want to do their jobs and not look over their shoulders for someone... Dec 23 06 11:43 am Link BINGO! We have our winner! Yes, indeed. G'morning to you, Frank! Kathy Jean FKVPhotoGraphics wrote: Dec 23 06 11:49 am Link |
