I, for one in the security profession, *always* err on the side of protecting the individual rights of an employee (or anyone else that pops up on my radar for any reason). I believe that this policy is, overall, in the best interest of the company I work for.

Not all security people are goons. Some genuinely study the law and respect it deeply.

If (as the previous post sort-of suggested) Carlos was actually photographing police graft in action — then huge kudos to him. That’s one defense fund I would be happy to contribute to. Anyone with balls enough to stand up to corruption is a winner in my book.

Anytime we, as the public, allow fear to erode any of our constitutional rights, it’s a win for the idiots who desire to instill such fear in us.

We *clearly* have the constitutional right to take photographs in public places. We *clearly* have the right to photograph police during the execution of their duties, as long as we do not interfere with them. These freedoms are critical because they ensure the public’s ability to prevent abuse of power and accurately document events that take place in the, “public forum.” These rights have been upheld, unequivocally, via case law over the years.

We also all have the right to expect to not be stopped, detained or otherwise restricted unless there is probable cause to suspect we are engaged in criminal activity or are a material witness to the same.

With *very* few exceptions (military installations, certain nuclear facilities, etc.), the public has the right to photograph whatever and whomever they want to… in public spaces. If you (or your building) is viewable from a public space — you may be photographed. In short, if an eyeball can see it from public property, there is no reasonable expectation of privacy.

Of course, that doesn’t apply to photography while *on* private property. As a private property owner, I have every right to tell you I don’t want photos taken while your on my property. If you do take photos, I can tell you to leave, and if you don’t, have you charged with criminal trespass. That still doesn’t give me the right to do anything to you other than tell you to leave. I can’t touch your camera, confiscate film, etc.

Keep fighting the fight. It irks me to read all the entries from folks who insinuate that you should just bend-over and accept having your 1st amendment rights stepped-on. You shouldn’t. You should make as big a stink as is necessary to ensure overreaching security zealots receive an education in constitutionally protected freedoms.

I’ve lived in Miami my entire life and have known quite a few Miami and Metro cops, including a few who are good friends. I’ve partied with these guys and had opportunities to hear their stories, both good and bad. And based on what I’ve heard, I think Miller probably stumbled upon a few of the, shall we say, less that upstanding officers. To their credit, they tried to warn Miller, saying “You need to keep moving. This is a private matter.” Note that they didn’t say “this is official police business” in which case they probably couldn’t have cared less if he wanted to photograph them. Maybe Miller isn’t very street smart, or at least not very “Miami street smart,” because if he were to put two and two together he might have said “Oh… okay, c’ya later guys” and walked away. Now I can’t say for certain what was going on that night, but five offices in that section of Biscayne Blvd… sounds like they were shaking down a petty drug dealer to me. What I can say is that it happens a lot. So the next time a Miami police officer tells you “this is a private matter”… have a clue and don’t try to take photos. Miller was right about one thing, -he- wasn’t breaking the law that night.

blame it on your population that you have a goverment having rules like that and police acting like this.
a hyped country it is. blownout of proportions.