Photographer fights back against hollow arrest threat

Have you seen this car? Veteran LA journalist Steve Devol was out early Sunday morning to shoot some dawn photos around Walt Disney Hall. A film crew was there too, shooting this little car on Grand Avenue in front of the hall. Devol says he would have been happy to just shoot the building. But then the crew tried to bully him, and had a guard threaten arrest if he kept taking pictures. So he posted pics of the car and the guys to Flickr.

Film crews and their Rent-a-Cops using public streets and buildings should understand that other members of the public, including amateur photographers, still have a 1st Amendment right to shoot in public places too! If you try to bully people with idle threats of arrest you only annoy those of us who know their rights, who then stick around to gum up your shoot. You want privacy? Shoot in a studio or a lot. The streets belong to everyone. Share this set link if you agree.

Taking pictures on a public street in Los Angeles — of anything visible, as far as I know — is not a law enforcement issue or suspicious activity. Publishing a picture online — now that could get you sued.