Innocent Photographer Surrounded After Woman Calls Cops on Him: Why It's Your Fault and the Media's

A man with a camera and a smartphone was questioned for twenty minutes in his own neighborhood after a woman called the cops, fearing he was taking photographs of children in the park across the street. It turned out he was just a guy who lives nearby and has been photographing his neighborhood for three decades. Was this a little embarrassing for the woman? She might feel that way, but there are two sides to this story.

Essentially, the Internet (of photographers, perhaps) seems annoyed that another human being was concerned with someone taking photographs. Neither the fact that six policemen arrived to question the man for 20 minutes while looking through photographs on his phone to confirm he had not taken photos with that device either, as had been suggested, nor the fact that the man hadn't even actually taken any photographs yet help the situation seem any better. But was it really that bad?

So, she was wrong in her suspicions; I get it. But can you really blame her? The article quoted in this story suggests we should simply talk to people that we're worried might be photographing children in a not-so-innocent way. And that's true. That's one way to go.

On the other hand, I think it's hard for men (and I'm a dude, for the record) to understand the fear women go through every day. I've imagined it and I think it would be even presumptuous of the relatively socially forward-thinking me that I am to say that I fully understand. I had an experience walking in Detroit several years ago with a Hasselblad H4D-40 around my neck that scared me for the first time in my life. Until that point, I hadn't been scared — not once — walking down any street in the world (and I'd been around quite a bit, not to mention the better part of a year spent in Ghana back in high school).

Society — okay, so maybe not you or me, but maybe — has its effect on women regardless and in a much more profound, everyday, non-location-specific manner. There’s not much anyone can do about it without decades of slow progress.

Was this woman’s life or well-being threatened in that specific moment? Perhaps not. But it’s this same fear that is increased by the same media that posts and shouts of every child molester’s wrong-doings, taking advantage of the situation and constantly building fear surrounding the idea of men photographing children (don't get me wrong: child molesters are terrible, for lack of a better term at the moment, but it's the media's constant extension of every scenario that makes it seem like every man who smiles at a kid with ice cream on his or her face is a potential pervert).

But we have to live both sides of this with grace and a good attitude. We (as men) need to be understanding of the fact that, yes, it’s a bit creepy to photograph near, around, or in the general direction of children. As much as I want to photograph beautiful and interesting children, men, women, and everything in-between, the older I get, the weirder it gets for me to photograph at least the children. That part is just not quite the same for female photographers. And no, it may not be fair, even though we have the best intentions. However, I think a man with a camera near a park can go through a few minutes of questioning to satisfy everyone’s worry and make them feel comfortable for once.

The man in this story complained that his wife saw him with the officers when she came home and immediately thought the worst might have happened to their teenage son, causing her to shake with grief from her stirred worries. While it’s unfortunate that she was worried, that is simply a mother’s reaction and the very normal act of “jumping to the worst conclusion” that every mother does when the phone rings late at night or when receiving a text that plainly states, “call me.” At some point, worrying is just a part of life that we need to deal with and police shouldn't have to worry about someone else who might start to worry that someone they love might be hurt after simply seeing the police near their home.

So, why couldn’t the woman who called the cops just have asked this man what he was up to in the safety of broad daylight? First of all, the “safety of broad daylight” could easily be considered a myth for many women. And second, I’m sure she legitimately thought the man was a creep. What woman wants to walk up to a man like that and question him or perhaps tip him off and have him disappear into the wind? At some point, police are there for a reason: to be that safe barrier.

With all the stories about police brutality lately, calling the cops might be viewed as extreme. But by the sound of it, these policemen seem to have handled themselves the same way that the far majority of officers still seem to do so: with adequate restraint and good intention. Were six officers a bit much? Perhaps. But having backup simply keeps the officers as safe as possible and who isn’t for that, really?

No one was tackled. No one was arrested without cause. The man was simply questioned and 20 minutes of his day were “wasted” to satisfy the worry of another woman (and he didn’t have to give up access to his phone if he didn’t want to, but he obviously felt it was okay and in his best interest to cooperate and help prove his lack of ill will). It wasn’t the best day for anyone. But it wasn’t the crime of the century, either. Can we all just get over it?

What do you think? Was it an overreaction? Was the man “wrongly” questioned? Ready, set, comment.

UPDATE: It should be noted that taking pictures of anyone on public property is not a crime (at least not in the U.S.). There was obviously a huge assumption made that this man was taking photos of children and that he was planning on using them in some negative fashion. However, legally, there is nothing that is "wrong" or that can be done until this man uses those photos in that negative fashion, whatever it may be (not sure what you can do with photos of children in a park, but it is a "thing" at least in the mainstream news media and throughout Hollywood movies that somehow, pedophiles like to take photos of kids in parks).

Perhaps, given these facts and added considerations, the woman should have simply not reacted. At the same time, however, perhaps it should be the policemen's jobs to know the law and inform the woman there is nothing they can or should do at that moment. Thoughts?

[Via SomeNews]