Father's day photo-shoot ends with cops pointing guns, photographer face down on tarmac
A reader writes: "A photographer for Dallas' local alternative weekly was handcuffed and detained while photographing an old B24 Liberator (with permission, mind you) on father's day." (He wandered slightly ahead of the unmarked permitted zone, cops drew guns and rousted him):
Waiting for the plane to take off, I was surprised by the Addison police. An officer unholstered his gun, then handcuffed and held me until Homeland Security cleared my name.How a Heartwarming, Kick-Ass Father's Day Photo Shoot Ended Up Face Down in Handcuffs on the Addison Airport TarmacI was not arrested, but according to Officer Pierce, I did break federal law and a report would be sent to Homeland Security. I will be hearing from them. I apologized to every one involved. The pilot told me the airport was shut down for a short while.
But according to one of the crew, they had ID'd me as one of theirs, and the tower knew and tried to call it off. But once the wheels were set in motion, it could not be stopped. The pilots were pretty much cool and laughed at me and were even willing to escort me to take more shots. One old-timer gruffed under his breath, "It's the U.S.A., not U.S.S.R. -- I didn't fight to protect this shit." One even offered me his seat on a ride.
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Holy crap! There was a fly-in to our airport with a B-25, B-24 and B-17 last year. Didn't know that photographing aircraft of an old and long dead war was putting us into such danger. You wouldn't want those Ruski's viewing my photos online and reverse engineering any of these old bombers. Who knows what kind of mischief they could get up to!
Oh and I was on federal airport land, well on the airport tarmac when I did it so I'd probably better get prepared for the knock on the door in the night.
They had reports someone wanted to take out the Dubuque Shot Tower.
Well, it could be worse. What would have happened if this happened in the U.K.? said the homesick Dallasite.
"It's the U.S.A., not U.S.S.R. -- I didn't fight to protect this shit." This says it all.
Welcome to America- home of the free!*
* Some restrictions may apply. Not applicable in all jurisdictions. Some law enforcement agents may not have a clue.
Imagine if this had happened at Logan International.
Yeah GOLLUX, you may laugh about it, but what if those dastardly Ruskis invent time travel and send the pictures back to 1953?
You could wake up eating borscht for breakfast.
"It's the U.S.A., not U.S.S.R." quote of the year: I hope Obama will take note.
While I question the "threat" involved in taking pictures of a 65 year-old airplane, and while it does seem like an overreaction on the part of the security drones, I WOULD note that the fellow even admits he was standing in an area off-limits to the public. Now, I hasten to add that the CORRECT reaction probably would have been to simply escort the guy out of the "out of bounds" area with an explanation...maybe even a finger-waving scolding. But this whole "Homeland Security is coming to get you!" shtick is just dumb.
If you read the entire article (not just the excerpt posted above), as well as the comments made, you'll discover that he wasn't arrested for taking pictures of the planes, he was arrested for being on the tarmac when he was specifically told he could not be there.
When will we come to our senses and put a stop to this?
I remember a time when a police officer would have said something like, "Sir, you need to move back," before drawing a gun. Every time a story like this comes out Bin Laden must be laughing at his victory. And the founding fathers must be spinning in their graves.
I, for one, am glad our brave... oh, hell, it's not funny anymore.
He is now on The List.
This is being blown way out of proportion. It's not the usual war on photography at all, it's that he was in a secure area without permission--the plane crew didn't have the authority to permit him to be there unescorted.
The last time I was out on the tarmac the only option was to ride in an airport vehicle to get where I was going, walking a few hundred feet was not permitted. The pilot of the plane was another passenger in the same vehicle--he wasn't even allowed to walk out there.
Monogodo...did you actually read the article? I would have thought the same thing as him...
Quote:
I got an early Father's Day surprise from Homeland Security. It seems the public is not allowed on the tarmac. I thought the tarmac was the cement runway, but it's actually a hundred yards or so on each side.
Also...he states he was NOT arrested. Though I would think handcuffs = arrest versus detention.
You mention 'specifically told'. Yes...that he couldn't be on the tarmac...NOT that he couldn't be within 100 yards of the tarmac.
Though...however it ends(he even states that he was in the wrong), it should be noted and explained what the secure area actually is in cases like this... Like I said, I would assume the tarmac was specifically the cement runway...and not an exclusion zone around it. Though SAFETY tells me it's not a good place to be!
The phrase from the article that stands out to me is:
... once the wheels were set in motion, it could not be stopped.
That seems to be a common characteristic of this kind of situation.
While the guy was technically in the wrong, it sounds as if all that was necessary was for one cop to walk out and tell him that he wasn't supposed to be there. Handcuffs, drawn firearms and reports to the DHS? Sounds like someone had been sniffing just a little too much of that heady mixture of bureaucracy and paranoia that's been all the rage lately.
I'm sure that police departments up and down the country spend hundreds of millions annually on 'sensitivity training'. Maybe we should allocate an equal amount to 'common sense training'.
Speaking as someone who lived in Addison for many years, you also can't appreciate how ludicrous this is unless you know the "airport". It is a single strip, flanked mostly by private G4s and other small prop planes. Charter firms mostly.
Just the idea that a terrorist plot would center around such a tiny, ineffectual, municipal airstrip shows how completely off the rails DHS has gotten.
If the terrorists' goal is to affect the lives of tens of people then they're on the right track by targeting "airports" like the one in Addison.
Before 9/11 we would regularly walk onto the Addison Airport runway at night and burn one while imagining horrific crash scenarios as planes landed beside us. I'll probably go straight to Guantanamo for admitting that.
"I didn't fight to protect this shit."
And there is the problem. This "shit" has been building up for the last 8 years, and most "old-timers" like the former military gentleman here mentioned have stood by or forgotten or actively approved of the application of our current police state apparatus without so much as a "heh?!" until now it is too late.
So now that the USA is turned into the "USSR", what the fuck are "they" going to do about it?
And who is this "they" I seem to keep encountering?
"It's the U.S.A., not U.S.S.R. -- I didn't fight to protect this shit." I'd say that sums up the entire last decade. We've become that which we feared.
"This is going on your permanent record, young man."
They were afraid that the terrorists might learn from history:
http://www.withthecommand.com/2002-Jan/NY-empireplane.html
I have lived in Addison for about 12 years... I live walking distance from the airfield and the Cavanaugh Flight museum and have photographed there a number of times.... while the account does sound over zealous.... I'd prefer it if people not demonize the Addison Police Department... compared to Cops in Plano, Farmers Branch, Irving, Richardson...or god forbid Garland... Addison Police are professional, and in almost all cases courteous.
were this story to have happened in any of the other juristicions the Photog would have had to deal with 2-5 patrol cars, and would have ended up in jail...in Garland he'd probably have been tased for no reason... or worse.
Addison Cops... just do their job and do it well... in most cases.
When I lived in Addison, the cops were too busy eating all the free food they get from all the local restaurants. Or maybe they were too comfortable sitting in their cushy new patrol SUVs. They were certainly too busy to respond to domestic abuse calls or finding stolen property.
Protect and serve my ass.
Maybe he was grumpy he had to work in this heat.
Couldn't the officer just have asked the guy to back up? Why do these people have to act like something is always about to happen 5 seconds from now?
"I WOULD note that the fellow even admits he was standing in an area off-limits to the public"
*snip*
The bounds were secret. There is no explaining the bounds without giving up secrets, for your own good of course.
"with permission" was revoked on 12SEP01.