Community | June 07, 2011 | 46 comments

Photography Is Not A Crime

source: http://thedailywh.at/2011/06/07/photography-is-not-a-crime-of-the-day/

bundlebear
A man who witnessed last week’s controversial fatal South Beach shooting of Raymond Herisse by Miami Beach police says he and his girlfriend were intimidated by cops who sought footage of the incident captured on his cell phone (see above).

“When he noticed me recording, one of the officers jumped in the truck, put a pistol to my head,” Narces Benoit said. “My phone was smashed – he stepped on it, handcuffed me.”

Benoit and his girlfriend, Ericka Davis, were driving around the area on Memorial Day when they saw the tail-end of a police chase that ended with Herisse dead and four bystanders injured by gunfire. In addition to unconfirmed reports that he was shooting a Berretta 92-F semiautomatic pistol from his Hyundai, police say Herisse — an armed robbery suspect — struck several officers after bolting from a traffic stop.

Benoit says he was initially cuffed, but released after additional gunshots were heard. He then slipped the phone’s memory card in his mouth and kept it there through a recorded interview at police headquarters. According to Benoit, several other bystanders had their phones smashed by police.

Police Chief Carlos Noriega told the Miami Herald he hadn’t previously heard of any threats or smashed cell phones, but that Internal Affairs would investigate if Benoit made a formal complaint. Miami Beach PD detective Juan Sanchez told CNN he couldn’t comment on how the situation was handled, “because the matter could become the subject of an internal investigation or a civil lawsuit.”


http://thedailywh.at/2011/06/07/photography-is-not-a-crime-of-the-day/
  1. groups:
    Community,   News and Politics,   US News,   Actual News,   8 more
  2. tags:
    Florida,  Police State,  Police Brutality,  Fascism,  5 more
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46 comments // Photography Is Not A Crime // Video

  • good_stuff
    • 0
      good_stuff  

    • He see as just another felony drug arrest
      Any day could be the one he pick the wrong thug to test
      Slug through the vest... Shot in the street
      For pulling heat on a father whose baby's gotta eat
      And when they get hungry, it ain't shit funny
      Paid to interfere with how a brother get his money
      Now, who's the real thugs, killers and gangsters?...

      They pray four times a day, they pray five
      Whose ways is strange when it's time to survive
      Some will go of they own free will to die
      Others take them with you when they blow sky high
      What's the difference? All you get is lost children
      While abortion shit up behind the desk it costs billions
      To blast humans in half, into captured arms
      Only one side is allowed to have bombs
      -MF DOOM

    • 12 months ago
  • moodyblue
    • +2
      moodyblue  

    • This was an execution.. plain and simple. Gone are the days when police were here to "protect and serve" their communities. They have an us against them mentality and a morally superior attitude that makes them believe they are allowed to do whatever the hell they want.

      Bullies with badges.

    • 12 months ago
  • princefeliz
  • jamjaminyourmouth
  • Smartpeople
    • +1
      Smartpeople  

    • Miami beach cops are the Gestapo, revisited. They're already on high alert for this event. Nervous and itching to put their training to use, all it takes is the suggestion that something's amiss and it's curtains for whoever is on the receiving end of their mistrust. They're nothing more than bullies with badges. The female cops on the beach are extra nasty(I know I sound mysogenistic,but I'm not). I guess they feel they have to ratchet it up in the juvenile boys club. Every encounter I've had with one was absolutely absurd.
      You can't expect to treat a whole genre of people like they're only the sum of the least desirable and expect them not to resent, distrust and react with hostility when prodded and herded like cattle.

      Treat your visitors like they're welcome. Deal with trouble makers fairly.

      You'll see a different result.

    • 12 months ago
  • kennymotown
  • BKsaysAction
  • dking28906
  • dalistuff
    • +2
      dalistuff  

    • What happened to not guilty until proven...Crazy Fat cops w/ an itchy trigger finger. They could've shot the tires out, that would've scared the shit out of me.
      What a shame. they should charge the cops $1000 for each bullet they shoot.

    • 12 months ago
  • XOXMSperfect
  • floydyboy
  • Novek
    • +3
      Novek  

    • that is terrifying. I hope every officer in this is investigated properly like any other citizen... but to know that will never happen is disheartening to say the least :(

    • 12 months ago
  • figgdimension
  • aj727b
    • +4
      aj727b  

    • Not that even a suspect who is in fact guilty deserves to be shot down in the street. Rule of law goes both ways, not just punishment for the citienry, but rights as well, and rules for the police.

    • 12 months ago
  • aj727b
    • +5
      aj727b  

    • Those two are lucky that THEY didn't get shot... lots of cops carry "throwaway" guns to plant on people if they shoot them by mistake or out of malice. "He was going for a gun" they say. Shooting motorists who are fleeing is the latest thing they do now... they just say that the suspect was "trying to kill fellow officers with the car" when they were just running away. Some podunk upstate NY cops just killed a college kid from a few miles from me for "trying to run them over" He was just an innocent bystander leaving a restaurant/bar where there was a noise violation for music... Instant death sentence.

    • 12 months ago
  • alexandrek
  • bundlebear
  • squarethecircle
    • +4
      squarethecircle  

    • Police used to want to protect people, that was why you took the job. Now so many of the police out there only want to carry a gun in public and feel their authoritee. Much like the Docs just looking for their payday or politicians who want nothing to do with helping their constituents. Money is not what we measure ourselves by, it is not a race to see who wins with the most toys.

    • 12 months ago
  • Ascendant
  • alexandrek
  • Ascendant
  • KSirys
    • +5
      KSirys  

    • Cops that do this are a bunch of thugs and pussies! We as a country, need to stop supporting them and need to stop watching those bullshit NCIS, Cops and any other show that supports them.

      I know not all of them are bad, but we need to draw the line and show them that we are the ones paying their paycheck and benefits, not the other way around.

    • 12 months ago
  • Incredulous
    • +2
      Incredulous  
    • KSirys:

      I hate those cop shows. I can't believe people are stupid enough to think that is entertainment, when in fact, it is brainwashing intended to normalize the violence of the police. +^d

    • 12 months ago
  • Buddha2112
  • bundlebear
  • Omle_Du_Fromage
    • +5
      Omle_Du_Fromage  

    • No matter what it is you are doing...if they don't like it it becomes a criminal offense

      http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/19/1961.asp

      as soon as the guy tells the cop he has cameras in his car you can hear the cops voice crackle and his tone of voice change lol

      I believe the cop was fired because of this and the fact that his patrol cars dash cam video went missing(surprise?). I had a link but CNN took it down (its from 2007).

      Cameras are our only weapon against this oppression

    • 12 months ago
  • princefeliz
  • MarceloGrassi
    • +3
      MarceloGrassi  

    • They did that cause they acted in bad faith of uncorfimed reports!!! The police was in a little tension with the people already and at that point they just acted and not reacted!!!
      There were no reason for that not even Bin Laden got shot so many times!!!

    • 12 months ago
  • SIBob
    • +4
      SIBob  
    • Image

    • At last week’s FDNY protest in New York City the “legitimate” press were allowed to get close to the speakers stage, the rest of us had to watch from across the street and “keep moving”. One cop even gave me a little push as I snapped a shot after having stopped for a few split seconds. None of this was a matter of life and death, to them, and there were so many cops on “overtime” that they were tripping over themselves. Every place I went I was getting the evil eye. And here I was just trying to be a citizen reporter.
      http://sibob.org/wordpress/

    • 12 months ago
  • KSirys
  • Leen61
    • +5
      Leen61  

    • Once again, thugs. Usually police are glad to have as much evidence as they can get. But they put a gun to this witness' head and smashed his cell phone. That tells me these cops are guilty of wrong doing at the scene of the crime. If I were this Benoit, I would press charges.

    • 12 months ago
  • grammabet
    • +2
      grammabet  
    • Leen61:

      I saw this gentleman and his girl friend on one of the morning shows I fear for them exposing these cops like this.I hope they have support from the community and friends if they come up dead,Reading more and more stories like this about rogue cops.

    • 12 months ago
  • Leen61
  • nobsartist
  • Johnny_Los_Angeles
    • +3
      Johnny_Los_Angeles  

    • Supposedly the one thing that law enforcement wants most to catch criminals is evidence. I am sure they have many times wished that a camera caught a criminal in the act, allowing for that criminal to be quickly and easily caught and to provide evidence in court to convict that criminal. And if they are truly there to protect and to serve they should have no qualms whatsoever about cameras. Perhaps someone should remind them of this.......

    • 12 months ago
  • lazloman
    • +7
      lazloman  

    • Not only is this just wrong, it's already been litigated, I believe. Unless I'm mistaken, recording of police actions was ruled legal, provided the person was at least a minimum distance from the incident and did not involve themselves. It seems to me they are stepping all over the constitution on this one.

    • 12 months ago
  • mickyjon420
    • +1
      mickyjon420  
    • lazloman:

      Hey, lazlo love the Icon. These are some subjects the ACLU are working with, yet they are spread thin, glad to see that courts can help the constitution. Upped you, can I call you "evil Monkey"?

    • 12 months ago
  • lazloman
  • mickyjon420
  • bundlebear
    • +5
      bundlebear  
    • mickyjon420:

      cops seems to get away a lot and i don't understand why they're put up on a pedestal when they do something wrong when it should be the opposite.

      heres an example
      " New York NY jurors are now saying that they are certain that the two police officers they acquitted on rape charges were guilty of rape, but that they couldn’t hand down a guilty verdict due to the judge’s orders and the lack of DNA evidence. It’s being predicted that the judge will hand down a heavy sentence for the official misconduct charges that they were convicted of due to their comments to the press vilifying the woman they were charged with raping."

      http://gothamist.com/2011/06/06/rape_cop_jurors_moreno_definitely_r.php

      check out this site

      http://www.injusticeeverywhere.com/

    • 12 months ago
  • mickyjon420
    • +5
      mickyjon420  
    • bundlebear:

      Great link, the statement that Justice is blind does not mean we have to allow the blindness to continue. We have to be lady Justices EYES and balance the scales. The officers hopefully will get theirs on the streets.

    • 12 months ago
  • nobsartist
    • +4
      nobsartist  
    • bundlebear:

      Believe me, these assholes get away with murder all the time. Ask any oinker and they will admit to being the most skilled criminals on the street. $1000.00 will make drunk driving tickets go away in most cities. Then they fuck us all by tricks in thier retirements.

      Scumbags.

    • 12 months ago
  • nobsartist
  • mickyjon420
  • Incredulous
  • mickyjon420
    • 0
      mickyjon420  
    • Incredulous:

      The law is of the PEOPLE, by the PEOPLE, and for the PEOPLE, yet we the PEOPLE are not Allowed to be THE LAW unless we have SPECIAL PRIVILEGES given to us. Inalienable rights has changed to the PRIVILEGED RIGHT. it sickens me.

    • 12 months ago
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