Donis Posted February 14, 2009 Share #1 Posted February 14, 2009 MTA worker arrested by NYPD for photographing subway trains February 13th, 2009 · 1 Comment By Carlos Miller Robert Taylor probably knows the rules of the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority better than most people. The 30-year-old has been working for the MTA for more than three years. But that didn’t stop a trio of New York City transit cops from handcuffing him, throwing him in the back of a car and locking him in a holding cell for more than an hour after he photographed an incoming train inside the Freeman Street subway station in the Bronx Thursday afternoon. He was charged with “unauthorized photography,” “unreasonable voice/discon” and “impeding traffic.” Taylor, who works as a station agent at other subway stations, was off-duty at the time. He posted his story on Subchat where it got picked up by War on Photography, a New York City photographers’ rights website. “I take pictures of the trains because I use them as wallpaper on my computer,” Taylor said in a phone interview with Photography is Not a Crime Friday afternoon. He was using a Nikon D80 with a 70-200 lens and was about to hop on a train when an NYPD transit cop ordered him over. The cop told him to delete the images. “I explained to him that I was allowed to take images, but he said, ‘no, not here’,” Taylor said. Taylor even cited section 1050.9 of the MTA Rules of Conduct which clearly state that photography is allowed under certain conditions, which were all met by Taylor. Photography, filming or video recording in any facility or conveyance is permitted except that ancillary equipment such as lights, reflectors or tripods may not be used. Members of the press holding valid identification issued by the New York City Police Department are hereby authorized to use necessary ancillary equipment. All photographic activity must be conducted in accordance with the provisions of this Part. The two men debated the issue for a few minutes before another cop arrived. And the debate continued until a third cop arrived, a sergeant who presided over the two other officers. “I had told them to call their boss, so they did,” Taylor said. After more than 30 minutes of debating the issue with the cops, they handcuffed him and walked him out to their patrol car, where they transported him to a transit precinct. He was placed in a cell for 90 minutes with about six other detainees who had been arrested for jumping fares. “They removed my shoelaces, my belt and then they checked for warrants,” he said. And when it became evident that he was not a wanted man, they released him with a summons citing the three charges above. “I will probably file a complaint with the (Civilian Complaint Review Board),” he said. “And then I will look at my other options.” link: http://carlosmiller.com/2009/02/13/mta-worker-arrested-by-nypd-for-photographing-subway-trains/ Subchat: http://www.subchat.com/read.asp?Id=743327 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel The Cool Posted February 14, 2009 Share #2 Posted February 14, 2009 The cops don't care about the MTA rules. Thats just sad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brighton Local Posted February 14, 2009 Share #3 Posted February 14, 2009 These cops should really layoff already.. Especially to a Transit Worker! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattTrain Posted February 14, 2009 Share #4 Posted February 14, 2009 That's awful, I can't believe New York City Transit workers are getting the brunt with the confusion of photography rules. You can take photos of the subway and bus, that's LEGAL! It's not fair, and I hope no officer confuses City Transit workers, rail fans, or other commuters for suspicious individuals doing mischief. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
error46146 Posted February 14, 2009 Share #5 Posted February 14, 2009 this is SAD. you have cops here who think their above the law and can do whatever they want.. and absolutely instead of laying off teachers and other innocent people they should fire every police who dares to enforce his own law instead of our law, we don't need bs like this in our society Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlushingExpress Posted February 14, 2009 Share #6 Posted February 14, 2009 STUPID COPS!!!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark1447 Posted February 14, 2009 Share #7 Posted February 14, 2009 This is why it is very important to carry your MTA rules of coduct, and not just a postion of it, the Entire withe MTA logo, and URL to the direct source (+date/time). The NYPD thing they are all that only becuz they hve gun on them. They should know the rules, also he shouldnt be charged at all , i would change the damn cops. I belive these cops are form the R180th Transit center on the WP line? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan05979 Posted February 14, 2009 Share #8 Posted February 14, 2009 whats the deal, you cannot take pictures of trains now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UlmerPark B6 Posted February 14, 2009 Share #9 Posted February 14, 2009 Those cops, think they have to say something when every they see something, just so tehy can kepp thier jobs. Sad fags. It is there job to protect us, but there are limits to their power. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duelingdragons Posted February 14, 2009 Share #10 Posted February 14, 2009 I would totally sue. These cops need to learn their own damn rules before they go around throwing what little authority they actually have around. Unbelievable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaback9 Posted February 14, 2009 Share #11 Posted February 14, 2009 The cops were wrong, but here is the catch while most employees should no the rules they are often kept in the dark. That said, they should have stopped once he cited the rule. He was right and there was no reason for his arrest. Geez what happen to the days when I could sit by the tracks with a camera and no one would worry about it. I don't think he should sue because that blows thing out of proportion but there should at least be some kind of apology other than a letter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave160 Posted February 14, 2009 Share #12 Posted February 14, 2009 This is just like wow. It seems that dont give about the MTA rules. I would have reported them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7LineFan Posted February 14, 2009 Share #13 Posted February 14, 2009 Just read the story on SubChat... he said that he cited the TA rules of conduct, and the cop said that those rules and the TA rules were different... what an idiot. This is frankly sad... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark1447 Posted February 14, 2009 Share #14 Posted February 14, 2009 6. Section 1050.9 Catwalks and emergency stairs would be added to the list of areas contained in the prohibition against entering areas not open to the public. [section 1050.9(a)] In order to further enhance passenger security and safety, photography and videotaping would be prohibited except for members of the press holding valid identification cards issued by the New York City Police Department or where written authorization has been provided by NYCT. [section 1050.9©] http://www.mta.info/nyct/rules/staffsummary.htm Edit: I see its from 2004, but dunno if NYPD finds it current lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SevenEleven Posted February 14, 2009 Share #15 Posted February 14, 2009 This is just pathetic. It's retarded that every cop is acting like everyone with a camera in their hands just exercising their hobbies/rights is automatically wrong. If they become more tight when it comes to adhering to the proper rules, it seems like soon enough they will start becoming afraid of their own damn shadows. - Just because they act the way in which they do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeystoneRegional Posted February 15, 2009 Share #16 Posted February 15, 2009 Please, watch the Nazi Banksters Crimes Ripple Effect at http://jforjustice.co.uk/banksters Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forest Glen Posted February 15, 2009 Share #17 Posted February 15, 2009 I read his post at Subchat. I didn't know he was a MTA employee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metsfan Posted February 15, 2009 Share #18 Posted February 15, 2009 Fail. As i've stated before, the few times people approached me about my photography most were very polite and i continued doing my thing. One time at new brunswick NJ state police officer asked me about it and was very professional. If anyone has ever been to new brunswick you know it's a place where you just can't stop getting interesting shots. I let a train go that i could have hopped on just to see what else i could get. Point is, police are not all the same in knowledge, professionalism, personal interaction skills, or patience. They may wear a uniform, but they are all individuals and vary as individuals do. The part that gets my goat, is they looked for outstanding warrants.... How insulting can you get. :mad::tdown: This guy absolutely has a case and will likely result in either proper education of law enforcement officers, some kind of settlement, or both. Hopefully both. - A Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7LineFan Posted February 15, 2009 Share #19 Posted February 15, 2009 I read his post at Subchat. I didn't know he was a MTA employee. But then again, it doesn't matter whether he's an employee or not. It's still allowed by the rules. The fact that he is makes it even worse for the cops. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DOB2RTO Posted February 15, 2009 Share #20 Posted February 15, 2009 He was given a summons, so it will play out in court. Since what he did was legal, it most likely will get tossed out, and he can have a great case to sue for being arrested unlawfully. He is an employee (hopefully he had his I.D. to prove this), and when he told them this, and stated the rules, they should have went about their business. MTA wants to cater to the public and shoves that in our faces daily, so they should cater to them and have a huge poster with the rules of conduct for photography put up. That way it is there for all to see. It should be written so big, that the blind could see it........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYtransit Posted February 15, 2009 Share #21 Posted February 15, 2009 man this guy is totally gonna be rich once he sue's those damn cops. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
error46146 Posted February 15, 2009 Share #22 Posted February 15, 2009 Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPod; U; CPU iPhone OS 2_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/525.18.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.1.1 Mobile/5H11a Safari/525.20) http://www.mta.info/nyct/rules/staffsummary.htm Edit: I see its from 2004, but dunno if NYPD finds it current lol That says WOULD BE prohibited they didn't explicitly say it is remember they threw out that plan since nobody liked it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R44 5278 Posted February 15, 2009 Share #23 Posted February 15, 2009 Cops are only here to make America WORSE. So what if 9/11 occurred, they have nothing better to do than to ruin peoples' lives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fan Railer Posted February 16, 2009 Share #24 Posted February 16, 2009 how far is this going to go? are they actually going to start shooting people on the spot for taking pictures? my god! someone call Bloomberg, or Kelly. this is really getting out of hand... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MTR Admiralty Posted February 16, 2009 Share #25 Posted February 16, 2009 The cops really need to know the difference between a good guy and a trouble maker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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