Cell Phone Picture Called Obstruction Of Justice

[adrian]

The family of Neftaly Cruz said police had no right to come onto their property and arrest their 21-year-old son simply because he was using his cell phone's camera. They told their story to Harry Hairston and the NBC 10 Investigators.

"I was humiliated. I was embarrassed, you know," Cruz said.

Cruz, 21, told the NBC 10 Investigators that police arrested him last Wednesday for taking a picture of police activity with his cell phone.

Police at the 35th district said they were in Cruz's neighborhood that night arresting a drug dealer.
read more at the source (http://www.nbc10.com/news/9574663/detail.html)


So, I guess cell phone providers will have to put a warning on the phones their selling because of this?

[dick]

Getting arrested for taking photographs is not unheard of.

It's also not legal. For the most part.

Whether it's a cell phone camera, or a digital SLR, it's perfectly legal to take photos of anything on public property. Be it cops arresting people or whatever.

From the guy's story, it sounds pretty wacky.

Of course there are two sides to every story...

It seems a bit odd that police would notice some dude on a doorstep, away from a crime scene, with a cell phone. It also seems odd that they would even care. Often, photo-related arrests come when a photographer disregards an order from a police officer to leave an area. This, to me, seems more plausible.

But who knows...

[helen]

Cruz said police told him that he broke a new law that prohibits people from taking pictures of police with cell phones
So if he had taken the same photo with a digital camera or with a 35mm (or APS) camera he would not have broken the law?

Kind of whacky law if you ask me.

[Vanguard]

Did the guy's pic he was arrested for look anything like this?

http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/4415/vlcsnap428974fk0.png

Props to anyone who can figure out what show this pic came from :P

[Moto]

One thing I can think of is if one of more of the officers were undercover and taking a picture of them and publishing them would result in their cover being blown and possibly jeopardizing other cases or even endangering their lives. But the question is, is it illegal?