Law Enforcement: September 2007 Archives

A long time, troubling misconception has been acted out for years against working photojournalists and I want to use this blog to address it. For far too long, and after countless attempts to work with and familiarize our law enforcement with California state law regarding this, the media has the right to cross a police line. My photographers have a card that has California State Law 409.5 printed on it. 409.5a of that law identifies a menace to the public health created by a calamity, such as a flood, storm, fire, earthquake, explosion, accident, or other disaster may close an area where the menace exists. 409.5c of that law states that any unauthorized person who willfully and knowingly enters a closed area and willingly remains after being notified to evacuate shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. 409.5d clearly states "Nothing in this section shall prevent a duly authorized representative of any news service, newspaper, or radio or television station or network from entering the areas closed pursuant to this section". It is this part of the law, which is also part of California State Law 409.6, that gives the media, including photojournalists, the right to cross the lines. Here is the link to the law.

Examples of how this law is misunderstood occurs almost daily. For example, the day of the Gold Line crash, yellow police tape was stretched around the crash scene. 30-year veteran photographer Walt Mancini arrived at the scene and was prevented from crossing the crash scene line and kept in line with the public. Unless the photographer threatens an ongoing investigation, preventing entry would be understood. What isn't accounted for is the photographers are professionals who are credentialed as such by law enforcement. They aren't going to get in the way of any emergency personel who are there handing the scene. If you look at the photo below, you can see the yellow tape and the crash scene. Does it look like an investigation is taking place? It look like cleanup, and an effort is being made to restore the train to the tracks.

Jennifer McLain went to the scene of a shooting where 1 was killed and two were injured in Valinda yesterday. She shot video of the scene and was kept outside of a border of yellow tape to stay out of the way of an investigation. Journalist know where they can and can't go when covering a live news scene. We can't enter a private residence. We stay out they way of law enforcemen and the fire department. Do not touch, step on, interfere with evidence or the gathering of evidence. It's all common sense. What journaist do is gather information, either visually, or by notes. Being kept outside the police tape is not legal, and I make it an issue because it prevents a jounalist from quickly doing their entitled job of gathering news. The video below shows the limitations Jennifer faced when covering this story.

There will be a lot of examples to come, including related issues such as access to public school campuses and the public's perception of the working media. Stay tuned, and comments are more than welcome.