Vancouver police roughed up a photographer with the Province newspaper and briefly confiscated his camera ….
Vancouver police roughed up a photographer with the Province newspaper
and briefly confiscated his camera on the weekend. Jason Payne had been
photographing the police take-down — and non-fatal shooting — of an
alleged auto thief. The newspaper reported that as Payne took photos ““a constable pushed me away. Another officer ran up and pushed me back into the street.”
“Payne
said he identified himself as a news photographer, but the police
demanded his camera. “They said I was obstructing justice and they were
going to confiscate my camera as evidence. They ended up taking my
camera from me. It was either that or be arrested,” he said.”
Police
returned Payne’s camera after about an hour and apologized, saying it
was not police policy to confiscate cameras from the media.
The
Province story quoted a film crew worker who saw the police altercation
with Payne: ““He was assaulted by the police. They had him in a
lockhold and [Payne] had his foot on his camera,” trying to stop it
from being taken.”
The Province site has photos of a policeman talking to Payne and later carrying Payne’s camera.
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Vancouver police seize journalist’s camera
Vancouver police roughed up a photographer with the Province newspaper and briefly confiscated his camera ….
Vancouver police roughed up a photographer with the Province newspaper
and briefly confiscated his camera on the weekend. Jason Payne had been
photographing the police take-down — and non-fatal shooting — of an
alleged auto thief. The newspaper reported that as Payne took photos ““a constable pushed me away. Another officer ran up and pushed me back into the street.”
“Payne
said he identified himself as a news photographer, but the police
demanded his camera. “They said I was obstructing justice and they were
going to confiscate my camera as evidence. They ended up taking my
camera from me. It was either that or be arrested,” he said.”
Police
returned Payne’s camera after about an hour and apologized, saying it
was not police policy to confiscate cameras from the media.
The
Province story quoted a film crew worker who saw the police altercation
with Payne: ““He was assaulted by the police. They had him in a
lockhold and [Payne] had his foot on his camera,” trying to stop it
from being taken.”
The Province site has photos of a policeman talking to Payne and later carrying Payne’s camera.
[node:ad]Deborah Jones
April 6, 2009
We dealt with a similar issue
We dealt with a similar issue up at UBC a few months ago (http://www.ubyssey.ca/?p=3958).
May 7, 2009
On many occasions the police
On many occasions the police have searched my camera. In Vancouver I had to physically wrestle for my camera with a cop who then forced me to erase an image. In Victoria, the police ripped my camera out of my hands and deleted images.
Here’s what the Police Complaints Commissioner had to say:
“Although Cst. Hynes had the power to seize Dean’s entire camera, it appears that he inconvenienced Dean less by simply deleting the images in question and then returning the camera to him.”
(Police Complaints Commission)
Here’s what the BCCLA had to say about my case:
“Your complaint and the outcome is a classic example of why we have no faith in the police complaints system in B.C.”
(David Eby, Executive Director of the BC Civil Liberties Association)
May 13, 2009
Bruce, a sincere question:
Bruce, a sincere question: exactly how did the policeman force you to erase an image? Verbal threat? Physical force? Any kind of “either, or?” And did he do this after you showed him credentials? And did he show you his?
June 17, 2009
They forced me through
They forced me through coercion – threats of jail, threats of confiscation. In the middle of this, the officer tried to grab my camera out of my hands and we wrestled, tugging and twisting, trying to cause each other to fall and/or let go. I wouldn’t – but he wasn’t gonna let this go – especially after losing the wrestling match with this old gimp.
I’d been through too much with the Victoria Police before this, and so this time I was gonna go all the way. I was sick of police hassling me.
He was in uniform, but showed no credentials. I asked for a card, but he said he had none. He wouldn’t let me take a photo of him for I.D.