Joey Boots 'Harassed', Ticketed For Filming Officer (VIDEO)

Joey Boots, a Howard Stern regular and local videographer with an extensive YouTube channel, had a run-in with some nasty cops at Penn Station this week.

As he explains in the video, he started to film what he thought was an increased security presence at the entrance for the Long Island Railroad, focusing in on an armed soldier who asked not to be filmed. Undeterred, Boots continued filming, at which point two of New York's finest step in and aren't so nice.

"Don't be a creep...now you're harassing him...Is that how you treat another guy in uniform?" One officer says, referring to Boots being a veteran.

Later, the officer makes the accusation that Boot's camera might be a weapon.: "Don’t point that camera at me again I don’t know if it’s a real camera or not…put that thing back in your pocket."

The cops detain him for a while, threatening to cite him for breaking the non-existent law of taking photos of a cop. The dialogue escalates from there.

Gothatmist talked to Boots this morning, discovering some more details:

Eventually, he was told to stand against a wall, surrounded by seven MTA cops and five armed soldiers, who were waiting to hear back on the radio what they could charge him with. He says they were disparaging him all the while—mocking his Italian heritage, calling him "special"—and when they found out he couldn't be charged for the photos, he was given a summons for disrupting traffic.

And although Boots was probably looking for a fight ( he's kind of a jerk) the cops seem blatantly out of line on this one. The NYCLU confirms there is no law against taking photos of cops, saying in a letter, "there is no requirement for a permit, no requirement for advance notice to the MTA, and no requirement for insurance" and Boots is right to stick up for some pretty basic First Amendment rights.

Boots has a criminal court date on August 3rd, according to Gothamist. He plans to fight the charges and use the opportunity to raise awareness of photogrpher's rights.

Video's below. Really gets going around the 1:30 mark and a lot of it is just sound, no picture, as Boots was instructed to keep the camera in his pocket.

Comments

[Bruce Negron]

01:05 PM on 07/03/2011

I put on a uniform (NAVY)to protect this nation and never used it to my advantage or to brandish "power" or special favor. These guys need to learn to respect the uniform they wear and act properly. Cops, MTA anyone in uniform has to remember they are hired to protect and to serve...they are public servants and not above the law. They don't get any perks or special treatment. I don't remember the day I walked by a police officer and got a good morning or any polite gesture. You say good morning or anything to an officer in New Jersey or New York and you get a smart answer or negative comment, they are very unapproachable. Who teaches the public relations to these guys at the academy? They get to make illegal u-turns, block traffic, stop in the middle of the street to chat with their buds and god forbid you say something. I am glad this is all getting into the public eye and being addressed in the nations courts it's out of control.

[josie klapper]

09:23 AM on 06/09/2011

Welcome to the Police States of America, brought to you curtsy of 9/11, the shrub, the so called "Patriot Act" and now, our latest presenter, Obama who extended said act...

[MikeyJaii]

10:44 PM on 05/30/2011

Everyone has the right to record and take pictures in public. But there is a point where you can't cross, if someone acknowledge you and tells you to not take pictures/record of her/him then you don't do it.

[RobertFromMN]

07:40 AM on 06/09/2011

You may regard it as rude manners if they continue, but if it's in public they are well within their rights to do so.

[mm3264]

10:21 PM on 05/30/2011

He was being an ass. If someone asks you not to take their picture you don't. Especially someone in uniform

[RobertFromMN]

07:44 AM on 06/09/2011

He is free to be "an ass". It's not illegal to be "an ass", and this "especially someone in uniform" nonsense is absurd.

[bccmeteorites]

08:44 PM on 05/30/2011

The officers have a quasi-new lingering condition called Civil Servant Hyper Hero Syndrome. CSHHS transforms ordinarily arrogant people with mild SM tendencies into extraordinarily abusive civil servants with certain autocratically endowed rights. This is conduct-behavior characterized by the false impression that they are special members of a class, not members of a special class, more important and more significant than others and enjoy a false sense of specialness status in the overall scheme of society. Recognition with free doughnuts, food, free baseball game and professional sports events tickets, loud obnoxious standing ovations and recognition by thousands of people at sporting events and live television. The hero worship of CSHHS afflicted officers extends to others including boys and girl scouts troops children's groups brought to gether by cancer, leukemia, special Olympics children's groups who place love and adoration of the CSHHS above anything else, whole churches and congregations in massive numbers recognize and worship these pseudo-heroes. Awaiting the CSHHS at the end of their worship cycle are elaborate funeral processions with lights, sirens, hundreds of motorcycles and limousines shutting down entire towns who demand such worship or face the consequences on the streets. These are elaborate funeral processions normally reserved for Presidents and heads of State. No significant authority is above these CSHHS members. They have established their own oversight boards and unions so no outside authority can hold them accountable for their behavior.

[PG812]

01:33 AM on 06/01/2011

Sounds like Alan Harper's diagnosis of "massive mammary syndrome" on 2 1/2 Men.

[Carol Tappen]

10:41 AM on 05/30/2011

I don't like to have my picture taken by strangers. You never know what they are going to do with it. People are so quick to call lawyers. How about mind your business and have respect for others.

[holyghostie]

09:57 PM on 05/30/2011

I don't like when strange cops film me as I go about my day, but I can't curse at them...make fun of their ethnicity and call into HQ to see if we can trump a charge to lock them up.

[RobertFromMN]

07:47 AM on 06/09/2011

Good point. When the CCTV cameras are removed from city streets and public areas, and when law enforcement stops recording protests and marches, maybe then I'll listen to their whining about having their pictures taken. ...Maybe.

[bccmeteorites]

01:42 PM on 06/01/2011

Police are not strangers but are instruments or whether they like it or not 'tools" of civil society who are required have a higher standard of conduct than ordinary citizens. So they must be held accountable.

[Pete Wood]

11:07 AM on 07/03/2011

The reason the object is because they pushed the boundries

[rosecrazy1948]

10:41 AM on 05/30/2011

I love the fact that they cite him for obstructing traffic when they are the ones who created the obstruction.

[t and star]

01:04 PM on 05/29/2011

this is not out of the ordinary for the nypd. pretty much the norm. they have an emotion and run with it because they know they got the upper hand in court. destroy evidence. intimidate witnesses. falsify police reports.

[MMRDO]

01:50 PM on 05/29/2011

This is MTA not NYPD.

[Pete Wood]

11:08 AM on 07/03/2011

Same mentality

[flaconoire]

08:13 AM on 05/29/2011

they always thought they were above the law

[butchcliff]

07:06 AM on 05/29/2011

(Again comment cut short) Don't tease the dog you might get bit. Is that what he wanted?

[butchcliff]

07:02 AM on 05/29/2011

Maybe his agenda was to harass the cops

[alex4anw]

01:10 PM on 05/29/2011

Yet the cops did not say he was harassing them. Filming in a public space is legal; if the cops don't like it, that's really too bad. As long as he was abiding by the law (and since all they ticketed him for was disrupting traffic, then he wasn't harassing or causing a scene) they should really move on to crime.

[MMRDO]

01:51 PM on 05/29/2011

Certain transportation areas are marked as prohibiting camera use, this wasn't one of them though.

[pyradius]

09:15 PM on 05/28/2011

I hope he does more than just fight the ticket and sues them for harassment. Send them a message via their pocketbook and maybe they'll teach these uniformed thugs about how the law works in this country.

[The Enforcer]

11:28 PM on 05/28/2011

How about this, smart stuff. How about I follow you all around all day, filming your every move?? While I'm sure someone like you would appreciate the fact that anyone cared about what you do I'm sure your dear mother would not want photos and movies of her basement and the yellow Cheetos stained keys of your computer keyboard.

[The Enforcer]

11:39 PM on 05/28/2011

..."to be seen". --- was cut off?!

[flaconoire]

08:14 AM on 05/29/2011

They already do that.

[RichardWad]

08:17 PM on 05/28/2011

This guy was ASKING for it. The guy was harassing the cops with his camera, period. This video is proof of that.

[forestnfama]

09:19 AM on 05/29/2011

Bullshit! the guy was irritated that a citizen would not respond to his authority..... taking pictures are not against the law and these cops have no reason to harrass him. I have experienced the same thing years ago..

[MrComments]

07:48 PM on 05/30/2011

I find someone taking stalking me and taking photos to be harassment. This guy is just some attention starved loser clown. I have no sympathies for people who think that just because their life sucks they have to make sure everyone else is unhappy too.

[mariusvinchi]

07:17 PM on 05/28/2011

This isn't something limited to the NYPD. Instances of this type of reaction abound. Police officers have become somewhat hypervigilant where cameras are concerned largely because they realize their actions while being filmed is incredibly hard to dispute. Prior to the ubiquitous camera phone, it was the officers word against the accused, and juries almost always agreed with the officers version of events. Several instances of arrested photog's who fail to obey the order to cease filming for obstruction of justice abound.
Some states have actually passed laws banning the filming of officers in the course of their duties without consent. A motorcyclist is currently facing criminal charges arising from a helmet cam that captured a stop. http://www.autoblog.com/2010/04/19/motorcyclist-arrested-for-recording-cop-brandishing-gun-with-hel/
Until a case reaches the SCOTUS, police agencies will push the envelope.

[yetiwatcher]

04:44 PM on 05/28/2011

Later, the officer makes the accusation that Boot's camera might be a weapon.: "Don’t point that camera at me again I don’t know if it’s a real camera or not…put that thing back in your pocket."

Police telling pathetic lies... surprise!

They cannot be bothered to know the first thing about the actual law - about the first amendment, or anything else - knowledge needed to perform their day to day duties on the force. In any other setting it would be called incompetence - behind the shield it is called par for the course.