Bigmonstertruck
Member
I was in a downtown area of a city in South Florida. I was walking around during the day looking for good photo ops: people, architecture, the things you find in a city. I caught a reflection in a window of the upper portion of a building, and I stopped to take a photo. I got accosted by a cop. Mind you, I was wearing shorts and a T-shirt, had what was obviously a large camera bag hanging from my shoulder, and a camera around my neck. I was not exactly trying to be inconspicuous or suspicious, and I was not threatening in the least. I happened to notice that there were a handful of cops at the end of the street, and I neither thought anything of it, nor considered that I would be perceived as doing anything wrong.
The cop demanded my drivers license and detained me for 10-15 minutes. He made me stand in one place while he checked me out. He was only a few feet from me, but when I leaned toward him because there was a lot of noise and it was difficult to communicate, he unholstered his gun and began to draw it. He told me to keep my hands out of my pockets, even though that is a natural stance when standing in one place. He would not tell me why he was hassling me, but made up some story that I was standing too close to someone's car and they reported concern about me. Total BS. I asked him if they detain anyone standing near a car just because someone doesn't like a person standing there for 2-3 minutes, and he told me they have to follow up on any report. It seems to me that either he had nothing better to do, or he didn't like that I was photographing one of the buildings (not even a government building, just a run of the mill condo building). I asked him if I could get arrested for taking photographs, and he said no. So I asked him how I was to avoid getting hassled for taking photographs or walking on the sidewalk, and he just told me if he got a complaint that he would have to check it out. I was not afraid to speak my mind, but I was cooperative (and pissed off).
So much for freedom. This is not the America that I served in the US Navy to protect. There is nothing I can do about it, and I was not going to end up in jail over a minor incident. But it was disturbing that this could happen. It was also disturbing that I could have potentially gotten shot because I was stopped without cause and I didn't realize that the cop was afraid of me or that I might have done something inadvertent that the cop may have perceived as a threat. (I am about 50, clean cut, etc.) I did not appreciate being treated like a suspected criminal. Fortunately, he did not ask to search me or my camera bag, and I didn't think it was reasonable for me to withhold my drivers license from the cop, although I suspect I could have. Not worth the risk and possibly the inconvenience that would probably follow.
I would rather take my chances in a truly free America then live with what we have evolved into.
The cop demanded my drivers license and detained me for 10-15 minutes. He made me stand in one place while he checked me out. He was only a few feet from me, but when I leaned toward him because there was a lot of noise and it was difficult to communicate, he unholstered his gun and began to draw it. He told me to keep my hands out of my pockets, even though that is a natural stance when standing in one place. He would not tell me why he was hassling me, but made up some story that I was standing too close to someone's car and they reported concern about me. Total BS. I asked him if they detain anyone standing near a car just because someone doesn't like a person standing there for 2-3 minutes, and he told me they have to follow up on any report. It seems to me that either he had nothing better to do, or he didn't like that I was photographing one of the buildings (not even a government building, just a run of the mill condo building). I asked him if I could get arrested for taking photographs, and he said no. So I asked him how I was to avoid getting hassled for taking photographs or walking on the sidewalk, and he just told me if he got a complaint that he would have to check it out. I was not afraid to speak my mind, but I was cooperative (and pissed off).
So much for freedom. This is not the America that I served in the US Navy to protect. There is nothing I can do about it, and I was not going to end up in jail over a minor incident. But it was disturbing that this could happen. It was also disturbing that I could have potentially gotten shot because I was stopped without cause and I didn't realize that the cop was afraid of me or that I might have done something inadvertent that the cop may have perceived as a threat. (I am about 50, clean cut, etc.) I did not appreciate being treated like a suspected criminal. Fortunately, he did not ask to search me or my camera bag, and I didn't think it was reasonable for me to withhold my drivers license from the cop, although I suspect I could have. Not worth the risk and possibly the inconvenience that would probably follow.
I would rather take my chances in a truly free America then live with what we have evolved into.
