LA to Pay $50K to Detained Photographers and Teach Deputies That Photography is Not a Crime

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LA to Pay $50K to Detained Photographers and Teach Deputies That Photography is Not a Crime

Published on March 7, 2015 by Michael Zhang

Los Angeles has agreed to pay a $50,000 settlement to three photographers after they were detained by LA County Sheriffs while taking pictures in public places. As part of the settlement, the city will also teach its sheriff deputies that photography is not a crime.

The three photographers — Shawn Nee, Greggory Moore and Shane Quentin — were represented by the ACLU Foundation of Southern California, who sued the county and deputies in 2011 on behalf of the three men. Authorities had violated the photographers’ First and Fourth Amendment rights, the suit claimed, by searching and questioning the men for “nothing more than taking photographs of Metro Rail turnstiles, oil refineries and traffic whizzing by a court house.”

Nee has been stopped and questioned multiple times while photographing officers in public. Moore was detained and accused of “suspicious activity” after photographing drivers for a news story. Quentin was kept in a squad car for 45 minutes after taking pictures of refineries.

Now, four years after the initial lawsuit, the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors announced this week that it had approved a $50,000 settlement for damages against the photographers. The city will also provide training for deputies specifically on the subject of “interacting with photographers or members of the public who are taking photos in public places.”

(via ACLU SoCal via PDNPulse)