According to the police, the taking of this photograph in a public street constituted a criminal act.
Source: New Haven Independent: Your Anti-Terrorism $$$$s At Work
Photograph by Ken Krayeske
Hartford Police Chief Daryl K. Roberts gave the reason for Krayeske's arrest as "he breached the parade route". and not that he took a photo of the Governor. Roberts assertions are disputed by eyewitnesses. Apparently, Krayeske was standing on the curb shooting pictures as the Governor walked past.
Before the the parade, the police circulated a printed document containing current and past drivers license photos. The police felt Krayeske was a risk because of his political activism and statements he made on a website. How the police arrived at Krayeske being a safety risk is questionable - he seems more of the potentially embarrassing type of activist than the dangerous type.
In a case of like this, one would expect people to say that they were over zealous, apologize, and get on with life. Not so in Connecticut. The case is going to court. Krayeske entered a Not Guilty plea on January 31. He has support in the State Legislature.
A key legislative leader, Rep. Michael Lawlor, D-East Haven, judiciary committee co-chairman, said last week that the flier made Krayeske look like "public enemy No.1" and led to an overreaction by Hartford police - who arrested him about 1:20 p.m. and held him in custody, with bail set at $75,000, for 12 hours, until it was too late for Krayeske to appear outside Rell's ball.
Well, it looks like I have another item for my news filter.
3 comments:
As someone else who is a hobbyist photographer, I agree that this is scary. People are getting so paranoid these days that photography isn't what it used to be at all.
It's a load of bullshit. How is anyone going to stop a photographer with a telephoto lens?
I'm hearing more of these concerns from stateside sources. When you consider that there has been no major terror incidents in the US post-9/11, it makes you wonder how elevated official paranoia might get in the case of an actual attack.
Post a Comment