Usually we hear stories about photographers getting harassed or arrested for taking pictures, but this one is about a photographer that got arrested for not letting the police see them. Photographer in Lacey Township, Philadelphia was arrested and detained for a few hours after recording an accident for 45 minutes and not handing over his camera to the police.
The photographer, Flinchbaugh, who considers himself an independent member of the media (and is a contributor to a local news site), was one of the first to arrive at the scene which got him access. But as he was going to leave, he was confronted by a detective who demanded Flinchbaugh to hand over his camera so the video could be reviewed for potential evidence. When Flinchbaugh refused he was handcuffed and arrested for obstructing administration of law, despite the fact that he was willing to provide a copy of the video to the police.
Flinchbaugh (and his camera) were released a few hours later, and in a phone interview with NBC Philadelphia local Sheriff said they will probably dismissing the charges. Sheriff also said that they would have never looked at the video without a warrant.
Lastly, the sheriff told NBC that this issue will be included in future training for law enforcement members. Time will tell if this is helping photographers in the county.
[nbcphiladelphia via reddit]
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