It's been two years since the MTA tried to propose a ban on subway photography and it's been over a year since the MTA and NYPD decided not to impose a ban. And it's been five months since the MTA said they would work on making sure police officers wouldn't harrass photographs for taking photographs in subway and train stations. And yet... reader Jarid emailed us about getting stopped by a police after taking photographs on a subway on Monday.
Yesterday (8/14), at 8:00 a.m., I was stopped at removed from an A train by the NYPD at the Broadway-Nassau station for... taking photos. I was detained for a solid 15-20 minutes on the platform while being questioned repeatedly, made to turn over ID (including his asking why I was carrying a Massachusetts State ID -- I'm a student studying at Columbia), had to give over all sorts of personal information because, in the words of the cop, I had been "taken off a train," and then, probably to scare the hell out of me, the cop took my camera and placed it in his uniform chest pocket. He then read me the terrorism riot-act, so to speak, telling me I was frightening numerous passengers on the train who subsequently complained by taking photos, told me I was taking videos (which I was not -- I've never used the video feature of my camera) of sensitive areas (specifically tunnels -- which, again, I was not), and told me that similar matters can be turned over to the FBI for further investigation.more ›
