Andrews International Guard Assaults Photographer

 

Update: A police report was filed with LAPD.

While photographing the Michael Jackson memorial on Hollywood Boulevard on June 27th, I came upon a scene where an Andrews International private security guard was ordering a guy who was heckling the gathered reporters to leave the public portion of the boulevard. I took one photo and the guard, Vasquez #782, immediately turned his attention to me and told me to stop and that I couldn’t take pictures specifically of him. I refused, being that I was on a public sidewalk and what I was doing was legal (not to mention completely reasonable – I mean, really? There are thousands of cameras on the boulevard on any given day – not including Andrews International’s own cameras that are videotaping us 24/7. After I repeatedly refused and went to take another photo, Vasquez grabbed my camera and pushed it into my face. Then he called his supervisor to report – get this – “I have somebody taking taking pictures of me.”  

Forget for a moment that what I was doing was legal. All of this took place on the public portion of the boulevard, which raises the question: Why are Andrew International’s private security guards patrolling the busiest public sidewalk in Hollywood, acting as though they are LAPD, when they have no police powers or legal authority to do so? Andrews International guards are stationed at Hollywood and Highland to handle incidents that occur on the private property of the entertainment complex. They are not there to take action when something occurs on the public portion of the Boulevard, nor do they have the legal authority to do so.

However, based on the fact that this is my second encounter in a year involving these guards and photography on Hollywood Boulevard, as well as personally witnessing numerous encounters between the guards and other people on the public sidewalk, it’s very apparent that these private guards believe their authority extends well beyond the mall they are paid to patrol.

More important, it seems that city officials don’t have a problem with ceding one of LA’s most popular tourist attractions to a bunch of bullies who couldn’t find a law in a law library. Of course Hollywood Boulevard is going to be photographed – every inch of it has been and will continue to be. And of course a security guard might find himself in someone’s frame, whether he’s detaining someone or just standing there. It’s not his (or her) place to do anything about it. These guards’ job is to only “observe and report,” and that doesn’t involved harassing and assaulting photographers.

Andrews International’s mentality of “observe and take action,” no matter where the incident occurs, has gone unchecked for too long and this type of behavior will continue to happen unless we pressure local officials (namely city councilmembers Eric Garcetti and Tom LaBonge) to put an end to it.

To voice your concerns, we’ve compiled a list of all the relevant officials to send a complaint to, along with a written statement you can cut and paste if you don’t have the time to write your own. 

*****Copy and Paste These Emails Into Your Email*****

councilmember.garcetti@lacity.org, councilmember.labonge@lacity.org, dorothy.perez@lacity.org, mayor@lacity.org, MHarkins@hollywoodandhighlandsecurity.com, randrews@andrewsinternational.com, roger.andrews@andrewsinternational.com, sarman@andrewsinternational.com, rbennyworth@andrewsinternational.com, wbesse@andrewsinternational.com, mhargreaves@andrewsinternational.com, dhoffman@andrewsinternational.com, john.nagy@andrewsinternational.com

*****Copy and Paste This Statement Into The Body of Your Email*****

Subject: Andrews International’s Harrassment of Photographers 

I am writing to object to the treatment of photographers on Hollywood Boulevard. It is well known that Andrews International, the private security force hired to patrol the Hollywood and Highland complex, regularly overstep their authority and harass photographers who are there only to document what is a major Los Angeles tourist attraction. Despite having no legal authority to do so, these security guards harass and even assault photographers, who have every legal right to photograph on public sidewalks.

So these guards are, in effect, attempting to enforce rules by breaking the law. This is troubling, not to mention an abuse of authority and an embarrassment for Andrews International and the city of Hollywood. I strongly encourage you to look into these policies and see that these employees are properly educated about photography in public.

It is troubling that this popular tourist attraction is being marred by bullies who aren’t familiar with laws, or even the parameters of their own jobs. If the intention is to make Hollywood a welcoming, open and mainstream place for tourists and locals to enjoy, these very aggressive and poorly trained officers certainly don’t do well in reinforcing that mission.

I hope you can see the value in rectifying this situation and I would appreciate your timely response to this matter.

Video of encounter here:

http://discarted.wordpress.com/2009/07/07/hollywood-bullyvard/

Sincerely,

YOUR NAME HERE

—–Los Angeles Politicians—–

Eric Garcetti, Los Angeles City Council President
Phone: (323) 957-4500
Email: councilmember.garcetti@lacity.org

Tom LaBonge,  Los Angeles City Councilmember, District 4
Phone: (213) 485-3337 
Email: councilmember.labonge@lacity.org

Dorothy Perez, Executive Assistant to Tom Labonge, District 4
Phone: (213) 485-3337
Email: dorothy.perez@lacity.org

Antonio Villaraigosa, Mayor of Los Angeles
Email: mayor@lacity.org

—–Hollywood and Highland—–

Mike Harkins, Executive Security Director, Hollywood and Highland
Phone: (323) 468-2270
Email: MHarkins@hollywoodandhighlandsecurity.com

—–Andrews International—–

Randy Andrews, Chairmand and Cheif Executive Officer
Email: randrews@andrewsinternational.com

Roger Andrews, Executive Vice President
Email:roger.andrews@andrewsinternational.com

Susan Arman, Vice President
Email: sarman@andrewsinternational.com

Robin Bennyworth, Executive Director
Email: rbennyworth@andrewsinternational.com

William Besse, Executive Director of Consulting and Investigations
Email: wbesse@andrewsinternational.com

Mike Hargreaves, Regional Director, Southern California
Email: mhargreaves@andrewsinternational.com

Dan Hoffman, Senior Vice President, Legal Affairs, Quality Control and HR
Email: dhoffman@andrewsinternational.com

John Nagy, Senior Vice President, Southern California/Arizona Region
Email: john.nagy@andrewsinternational.com

First Amendment Travesty: Michigan Reporter Sentenced

Photo from the Michigan Citizen

It was Michigan Citizen reporter Diane Bukowski’s rotten luck that her sentencing came on the day that GM announced it was filing for bankruptcy. Already this story wouldn’t have gotten much play in Detroit, but now it’s as good as done.

Bukowski was sentenced to 200 hours of community service and ordered to pay a $4,000 fine today for two counts of resisting and obstructing an officer at a crime scene in November. Of course the story is as shady as a big oak tree. It was a police car chase that ended in the death of two men. Bukowski is well known for reporting on police corruption. The officer in question manhandled Bukowski, deleting all of her photos – and the jurors saw the raw Fox 2 news footage that substantiates that she never crossed the police tape. Nevertheless, the cops have friends in high places and now Bukowski will pay.

She is appealing the ruling.

Watch the original Fox 2 news report here.

Article from the Detroit Free Press

I’d Hate to Be This Guy’s Lawyer

Photo by Jeremy Brooks

This is from an old post on flickr, but still great.

Photographer Jeremy Brooks came upon this angry guy yelling at a homeless man on a corner in San Francisco. He went over to investigate, camera in hand, and the angry man soon turned on him. Mr. Angry Overreaction Man, as Brooks dubbed him, screamed and yelled, threatened him, bumped him with his chest, and told him if the picture ended up on the internet he’d call his lawyer. Brooks stood his ground and got this shot, which fittingly, is now on the internet. 

Brooks says: 

So, Mr. Angry Overreaction Man, your photo is now on the internet. Call your lawyer. Tell him somebody on a public sidewalk took your photo while you were on a public sidewalk. Then tell him you physically assaulted the photographer. See what he says.

Read the whole post on Jeremy Brooks’ flickr page.

Newark Officer: “I can do whatever I want!”

Images from WCBS-TV

A Newark police officer has been suspended after a nasty altercation with a WCBS-TV photographer on Sunday which resulted in the photographer’s arrest. Cameraman Jim Quodomine was filming a peaceful demonstration from a public sidewalk when Special Officer Brian Sharif approached Quodomine, ordered him to stop filming, then lunged at him and grabbed his camera. Sharif then put Quodomine in a choke hold and lead him to a squad car. It’s unclear why Officer Sharif felt filming the march was a problem.

On the footage, a woman’s voice can be heard saying “You can’t arrest him!” To which Officer Sharif responds, “I can do whatever I want!” That is a perfect example of the sort of unchecked egoism of certain police officers that leads to incidents like this.

Understandably, there was public outcry, with Newark Mayor Cory Booker saying he was “very dismayed about what happened.” (Mayor Booker is well known for trying to clean up the corruption and reputation of the troubled city.)

Wait, but here’s the kicker:

The officer, Brian Sharif, has been the source of controversy in the past. Last year, he made news after giving a 75-year-old woman four tickets — including one for careless driving — after she pulled out of a funeral home and accidentally went down a one-way street.

This guy not only needs anger management classes, he needs to not be on the police force.

Article via Newark Star-Ledger

They Do Not Mess Around in Greece

You do not want to get caught taking unauthorized photos in Greece.

Olivier Jobard, an award-winning French photographer working for SIPA Press agency, was arrested and beaten on July 4 for taking photos of a port in the Greek town of Patras. He was working on a story about immigration and didn’t have a permit to photograph the port, which is required by Greek law, although he had been shooting the previous day – and had been stopped twice by guards and allowed to continue.

From the Reporters Without Borders release:

When Jobard was unable to produce a permit, the guard escorted him to a public toilet, pushed him inside, handcuffed him and hit him several times in the face. He then pulled out a knife, cut the strap of Jobard’s camera, threw the camera to the ground and smashed it with his foot.

Reporters Without Borders fully acknowledges Jobard’s need for a permit but condemns the use of violence. Agreed … anyone with half a brain would say it sounds excessive and unnecessary.

Jobard has filed a complaint against the police for assault and battery, meanwhile the Greek media has apparently come out against Jobard, criticizing him while only relaying the “official” (i.e., government) version of the story.

Charges Dropped In Albequerque Case

KOB.com is reporting that charges were dismissed against Rick Foley, an Albequerque NBC news photographer who was arrested  by APD Officer Daniel Guzman after exchanging words at a crime scene. We posted about this story in the beginning of June – viewing the tape of the incident, most would conclude that the officer’s behavior was egregiously aggressive and an inappropriate response.

The Albequerque Journal reported today that Judge Benjamin Chavez said the charge of failure to obey an officer wasn’t viable because the citation didn’t provide sufficient information detailing the crime that took place that night.

Officer Guzman is on paid leave and his disciplinary hearing is scheduled for next week. This incident has prompted Police Chief Ray Schultz to review the way his department handles the media at crime scenes.

Sometimes things are handled correctly, and this is good development for journalists’ rights.

Via KOB.com

Andrews International Execs Remain Silent Over Guards’ Aggressive Behavior

Photo by discarted
NOTE: This guard did not have anything to do with the incident.

Dear Mr. Andrews:

I wanted to write again regarding an incident with your security personnel because it seems as if you didn’t receive my last letter. At the very minimum, this is a customer service issue, and it’s shocking that you wouldn’t want to address, much less acknowledge, a situation where your security team’s actions have been questioned.

I am referring to what happened between myself and your security guards at the Hollywood and Highland Metro station where I was harassed, threatened with arrest and cursed at for taking photographs. In case you are unaware, Andrews International security are notorious for overstepping the limits of their authority and harassing people in Hollywood. There are extremely few laws that restrict photography in public places, and they’re mostly relating to military installations or people with an expectation of privacy (i.e., in their homes). National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) attorneys have issued a memorandum on the subject that says in part:

+ There is no federal law that would prohibit photography in public places or restrict photography of public places and/or structures.

+ Any restrictions that the government does impose would need to have supporting evidence that it was essential for public safety. The burden is on the government;

Presumably you are thinking that the issue will just go away, but I’d like you to know that photographers will continue to shoot in public spaces in and around Hollywood since it is our legal right to do so. What’s more, now that we have a small movement going, this issue is on the radar, and it’s more than likely that your guards will unnecessarily and inappropriately detain photographers in the future. So my suggestion to you is to train your security force on the laws so that a situation doesn’t escalate unnecessarily.

Sincerely,
Shawn Nee

To contact Andrews International executives regarding this incident click here.

Paparazzi vs. Surfers: Bedlam on the Beach

A pack of surfers that attacked paparazzi (twice) on a Malibu beach, in defense of Matthew McConaughey no less, has gotten a lot of buzz over the last day or so, with reactions ranging from “What intrusive, blood-sucking scumbags” to “Beaches are public places and don’t go to Malibu for seclusion and privacy.”

In my view, the photographers should be able to shoot on public property if they’re not breaking any laws. Driving like lunatics, chasing celebs, trespassing, etc., they should be fined or arrested. But I’m on the paps’ side on this one. It’s basically a photographers’ rights issue. And not all paps suck. The surfers were acting like a bunch of thugs, and Malibu locals/surfers are known for doing this to any outsider on “their” beach. I mean, the surfers walked the entire length of the beach to start a fight with them. They were the aggressors and should be arrested.

To view it from a different angle, how would you feel if you were on Hollywood Blvd. and a bunch of guys walked the entire block and jumped you because they didn’t like you taking a photo of somebody they were hanging out with?

 

Day Two of the Paps vs. Surfers:

 

 

 

Charges Dropped for Nose Bump

Photo by discarted

UPDATE: Charges were dropped today against Tony Overman, the Olympian photographer who was arrested for bumping a cop with his nose during a heated back-and-forth at a crime scene.

 

It seems that cooler heads thankfully prevailed, but of course there were commenters on the Olympian site who didn’t agree. One in particular said: “This kind of lawlessness is what drives investors out of our fair city.”

 

Lawlessness is WAY overstating things. Did this person even read the original story? In no way was there anything close to lawlessness going on.

 

Talk about hyperbole! This was a case of two tempers that got out of hand and they both probably acted out of line, but to call Overman a “rioter” or say this constituted an “assault on an officer” is so off base.

 

There is actually real crime out there that needs addressing. Tying up the court system with a case like this would have been a gross waste of taxpayer dollars.

 

Article from The Olympian. 

Update: APD to Undergo Training

We posted on this story earlier, about Albuquerque police officer Daniel Guzman attacking a local NBC news videographer after exchanging some unpleasantries, and it looks like changes are afoot at the APD. It was all caught on tape, and Officer Guzman’s aggression was pretty shocking.

According to the Albuquerque Journal, Police Chief Ray Schultz reviewed the tape and determined mistakes were made. Now, the entire police department will undergo training so that they know how to appropriately respond in such situations.

Lesson #1: Don’t attack journalists while a camera is rolling.

Article via KOB.com New Mexico.