Follow-up: Police hate photography

This is a follow up to a video I shot June 14, 2017 of an encounter with Officer Ryan Garrett of the Des Moines Police Department. WHO MADE IT ABUNDENTLY CLEAR HE DOESN'T APPRECIATE BEING FILMED.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6GGaEZsXyU

The video has gotten a lot of attention lately … to the tune of 50-some thousand views … and several of you were asking how this turned out, and whether I filed a complaint. I did.

I’ll review the incident, show you some of the raw video, then go through the complaint and disposition.

FROM THE ORIGINAL VIDEO...

Photo-journalists working in Des Moines should beware; they may just get an earful from the local police for pointing cameras their way.

A former soldier and past news director was confronted by a police officer for filming a "serious situation" from across the street, some 50 yards away, and was accused of trespassing.

Des Moines police officer Ryan Garrett asked, "What's your... what's the problem? You just go around listening to the radio and trying to catch us doing something wrong, or what?"

Several officers, with assistance from animal control, apprehended a criminal suspect where a pitbull was thought to be at the suspect's address. After the wanted person was transported, Garrett drove his police car down the street to where the photographer was situated and confronted him to express his discomfort with the bystander's presence.

"I'm just letting you know I don't appreciate, when we're dealing with something that's a serious situation, when you're just sitting filming us!"

Garrett's reasoning for his objection was that he didn't know what the photographer was doing "over here," in this day & age. "I don't know what you're doing, especially with what's been going on lately." However, moments before, he had made it very clear that he knew exactly what was going on, "just sitting filming us," and he obviously didn't like it one bit.

The police officer's accusations didn't seem to strike a cord with the photographer, so he tried another tactic.

"Well, you're on private property," Garrett exclaimed, apparently attempting to frame the trespassing offence.

Iowa's trespass law (IA Code § 716.7) requires notice of trespass or an intent to commit an offence, neither of which elements had occurred.

LAYING THE BRAVERY CARD ON A SOLDIER
Garrett, who, along with his colleagues, were purportedly putting their lives on the line, "dealing with a serious situation," scolded the retired Army N.C.O. for filming from a publicly accessible area, at a great distance from any action.

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