I spent most of the afternoon today diligently following up on my still-unresolved complaint with U.S. Marshal David Gonzales regarding my being rousted, unlawfully detained and threatened with arrest by two of his security guards outside the Sandra Day O'Connor Federal Building for doing nothing more than taking pictures of the structure from an adjacent public sidewalk.
There have been some recent developments in the case, but I'm not quite ready to reveal them just yet, as I am attempting to give U.S. Marshal David Gonzales every possible chance to do the "right thing" in this incident.
I apologize for being so deliberately cryptic, but I did want to let everyone know that I'm still working towards a resolution to my complaint without also prematurely tipping my hand in the matter.
Hopefully by late next week I'll have some concrete results to report.
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8 comments:
Is this a joke? I watched the video and all he did was ask you a question which you responded to very rudely. You did not act like an innocent civilian, but one trying to antagonize this man because you wanted a scene to show on youtube. Any average person in your situation not looking for trouble would have simply responded in a polite, assuring manner. He was just doing his duty and trying to protect a federal building. I hope federal officers continue to question people video taping federal buildings. However i will agree his threat of arrest was not warranted. Up until that point, you were in the wrong, in my opinion...
You are a joke and an antagonist. You are un-american. Act like a human being and do something productive with your life instead of abusing the civil legal system and trying to bilk money from governement agencies through using false allegations. Prick.
Trying to protect a federal building from a camera? Say what? And not cooperating with a petty federal rent-a-cop constitutes being un-American?
Somebody needs to read up on their early American history! The Founding Fathers didn't fight the greatest power of their day so glorified mall cops could harass citizens holding "assault cameras."
Bike Bubba, you compare this federal officer to a mall rent-a-cop??? You also go on to change the argument so it seems we are claiming it was the camera which would be doing harm to the building not, say, a bomb. I think you know the concern is when someone is video taping a government building (or any building) it is completely possible for that tape to be used in the future for, perhaps, a planned attack on a building. Bike Bubba please don't commit these logical fallacies knowingly.
The rent a cop is a government employee. Government employees are deserving of nothing but contempt in all dealings with them. If they don't like it, they can quit and get jobs doing something productive. I am sure most of them would be qualified to pick up cans on the side of the road. How is taking pictures of government buildings any different then Obama sending his minions out with GPS units to record every address in the nation?
If a guy can't figure out that a video camera is not something worth noting, yes, I will compare him with a mall rent-a-cop.
No offense intended to mall cops, of course.
Wow. I really am sorry, but Chris and Bike you both are too biased to make clear judgments of this situation. It's clear you both have a grudge against government employees so you choose to see any situation as their fault. I consider myself a VERY neutral person on many affairs, and when I saw the video i immediately was questioning the response of the civilian. Is it so hard to answer a simple question? Of course to both of you it is. I honestly feel you both look for any chance to complain about government employees or cops. Answer this question. Is it possible that the offer was just trying to do his job, and would have been completely satisfied with a very simple, normal response? Is it possible? I think you both know the answer is yes, but I expect a response to the effects of, "he shouldn't be asking questions in the first place!!!" or "how dare he question this man with stupid questions!!". I am no cop lover. I have been harassed by cops on many occasions in my youth and I know they can be corrupt, but in this case you guys are just trying too hard to make something out of nothing.
Oh and btw Chris,your response is a complete joke.
Anon, the trick is that the 4th Amendment binds the federal mall cops, too. Probable cause is still required, and refusal to answer a question does not constitute guilt.
Besides, if terrorists wanted to get really good surveillance of the property, they'd do it from across the street with a good quality camera and lens on a tripod, not a handheld video camera.
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