Long Island cops pay $200K for playing news editor & arresting photographer

You may recall seeing the video above when STATter911.com posted it with a series of similar videos on July 31, 2011. The lengthy title of the post was “What country is this? A look at some recent incidents where the police become news editors & decide what is & isn’t okay for us to see.”

The good news is that I finally got my answer yesterday (Tuesday). It’s nice to know it really is the United States and thankfully the First Amendment is still alive and kicking. I’ve used this same video of Suffolk County Police Department Sergeant Michael Milton in social media classes for the last few years, so I’m pleased to be able to report a resolution of this matter.

First, some history of the event. In the video, Sergeant Milton made very clear that he didn’t like that freelance videographer Phillip Datz was shooting a crime scene in his county. Sgt. Milton threatened and chased Datz away from the scene telling him to “Go away! Just go away!”

It also didn’t please the sergeant that no matter how far back he pushed Datz, the videographer kept shooting video.

Sgt. Milton so disliked the fact that Datz questioned his self-appointed role of editor-in-chief, deciding for the press and public what is newsworthy in Suffolk County, that he took the next logical step when you defy the authority of the law. He arrested Phillip Datz.

Within a few days we were able to report that some people in Suffolk County had a problem with Sgt. Milton’s dual role as cop and news editor. The charges were dropped. But as has been happening around the country in similar cases, it didn’t end there. A number of organizations are attempting to make sure that photography is not a crime by filing lawsuits on behalf of some of those who have their rights violated.

In this case it was the NPPA, the National Press Photographers Association, that took up the case of Phillip Datz. This is from yesterday’s press release (read entire release here):

NPPA member Phillip Datz today won a major settlement from the Suffolk County Police Department in a civil rights suit stemming from Datz’s arrest while filming law enforcement activity on a public street. Under the terms of the settlement, Suffolk County agreed to pay Datz $200,000, implement a new training program (including a training video), and create a Police-Media Relations Committee.

Rather than take the case to trial, SCPD agreed to the settlement payment, and a series of relief measures aimed at educating its officers on the rights of the public and press to observe and record police activity. As part of these measures, SCPD officers will now be annually required to watch a training video explaining these rights. In addition, a newly created Police-Media Relations Committee consisting of representatives of SCPD and local media will be charged with promoting better relations between press and the police and will address complaints regarding police-media relations. Its membership will include a commanding officer in the SCPD, the executive officer of the SCPD’s Public Information Bureau, and members of local print and broadcast media outlets, as well as a freelance videographer or photographer. The SCPD also revised its rules to instruct officers that “members of the media cannot be restricted from entering and/or producing recorded media from areas that are open to the public, regardless of subject matter.”

I bring all of this to you (and Suffolk County’s training video below) in an effort to remind everyone in public safety that it doesn’t matter what your personal opinion is about the press or even the public with cameras. It’s never your job to censor or even decide if something in public view is appropriate for picture taking. Just remember the example of Sgt. Milton. Being pissed off at a man with a camera cost his department $200,000.

As upsetting as it can be at times, you really should be happy our Constitution does not give such power to the government, to include police, fire and EMS. There are plenty of places around the world where this isn’t the case and the government is also the news editor. To me, that’s almost as bad an idea as places where they make police officers become firefighters too.