Miami Police Handcuff Photographer, Take Camera and Phone for Attempting to Take Pictures at Accident Scene

Miami Police Handcuff Photographer, Take Camera and Phone for Attempting to Take Pictures at Accident Scene

On May 25, a Miami photographer was handcuffed and had his equipment seized when he attempted to take photos of an accident scene. 

The photographer, Jacob Katel, was driving to Miami Beach, when he came across a motorcycle crash. Katel then parked his car and got out to photograph the scene (Katel has been a freelance media photographer for a decade). Within seconds of exiting his car, Katel says an officer began approaching and yelling at him and after a brief conversation, handcuffed him and took his phone and camera. 

Katel says he complied with the officers and was polite throughout the interactions. He further says that when he originally arrived, an officer told him he could photograph from the sidewalk, but soon after that, he was approached by a second officer who handcuffed him and ignored him when he explained that he was a professional photographer and had been given permission to be there. Katel says he even offered to leave the scene at that point, but was instead detained and questioned, before being eventually released, though police kept his phone and camera as "evidence," which he only got back days later. 

As described by Katel, the incident violates both Miami Police Department policy and the First Amendment. He has filed complaints with both Internal Affairs and the Civilian Investigative Panel. In his complaint, he says he wanted to show the police helping:

If the officers intend to have a good standing in the community, they should be proud for the public to see them at work. And if they are doing nothing wrong, they should be OK with a reasonable curiosity toward their activities.

Lead image via Pixabay.

Alex Cooke's picture

Alex Cooke is a Cleveland-based portrait, events, and landscape photographer. He holds an M.S. in Applied Mathematics and a doctorate in Music Composition. He is also an avid equestrian.

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Do you mean David Love guitarist for Iron Butterfly in the late 70's ? :-)

No, I think that guy has better things to do than type gibberish concerning expectations of privacy in public in regards to photography. maybe "our" cosplay dave is a fan of the guitarist and is paying homage to the guitarist.

From the article: "As described by Katel, the incident violates both Miami Police Department policy and the First Amendment."

First Amendment and Fourth Amendment (illegal search and seizure). He didn't need permission to "photograph from the sidewalk". He didn't need to be an established member of the media to photograph. The media doesn't have special rights that the public doesn't have.

Eventually, after these cities lose enough lawsuits against photographers who are exercising their constitutional rights, they will train their officers to understand the law.

This happens a lot in NYC where officers attempt to restrict media access in areas where the public is already gathering. Just the other day a member of the media was asked to produce his press ID as he stood with members of the public at the scene of an accident.

Sounds like the photographer did nothing wrong but we might not have the complete story. I’m glad he filed a complaint against the officer if in fact his account is correct. Also with all do respect Mr. Love you sound like a complete a-hole!

Miami police wear body cameras I would be very interested in seeing the video. There has to be more to this story than what is in this article. I have never seen any who is polite and complies get handcuffed. Also, what is considered polite by one person may not be polite to another.

I too would like to see more information, but being rude to the police isn't against the law. Not complying, even if it's a civil rights violation can get you detained. You have to choose your battles and so do they. You're never going to take a good photo while you're handcuffed in the back of a police car, but if you know your rights and they are clearly being violated you have a good chance of winning a lawsuit.

http://gothamist.com/2015/10/15/nypd_officer_of_lying_about_arrest.php

This is why I have a go-pro running if i cover any sort of incident where my word might not be enought.

Actually the supreme court has ruled they can arrest you. This is not good for a lot reasons. a truly split decision. https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/05/supreme-court-nieves-police-...

Link to actual opinion: https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/18pdf/17-1174_m5o1.pdf

Wow! I hadn't heard about this. Thanks for the info.

the ruling came out Tuesday 28MAY19.

There is obviously a lot more to this STORY than has been divulged in this clip. After ALL the facts have been released, we’ll let the chips fall where they may.

Photographing an accident from a vantage point that hasn’t been closed off is not illegal. However, entering an area of investigation and disturbing debris/evidence is. How far did he go? What exactly did he do...

That is why there is more to this story... and that is not covered. We should know all the facts.

Hello, I just stumbled upon this site-
First of all, I am the mother of the motorcycle victim. I really don’t appreciate that this photographer, who claims they are a professional feels it’s so important to have the right to photograph my son in a tragic situation. What newspaper was this for?
Secondly, I am a professional fashion photographer. I don’t take pictures of people who are hurting for a living, but rather fashion editorials & campaigns for magazines like People, Maxim, and celebrities.
I just don’t see how this photographer made it such an issue that his rights were violated when he wanted to invade my teenage sons very tragic, personal accident. The photographers rights are that important that there is an article made about him-so people should feel for his rights?
Sounds ridiculous in my opinion. But hey, it’s only my opinion-whatever makes people sleep well at night I suppose. I personally couldn’t “work” off taking advantage of people’s pain.