Update article on my arrest for photographing Miami police against their wishes(with a DU reference)

[RagingInMiami]

http://www.category305.com/media-watch/miami-journalist-vs.-police-2.php

[TomInTib]

1. So now you are a "national security threat"?

Wow.

Wonder who sent that to DHS.

Probably one of the reigning eunuchs on Conservative Underground.

We should start a defense fund for you.

[Maat]

2. Wow.

Unbelievable how totalitarian this country has become!

Our family's prayers and positive thoughts are with you, RIM.

[wicket]

3. Thanks for the update!

And good luck! :thumbsup:

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

4. You've got company.

http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/6407102p-5712802c.html

[nadinbrzezinski]

5. Lord this is getting weird

IA should be doing an Internal review of their officers...

[ReadTomPaine]

6. Gratifying that this is being investigated...

I'd like to see those thugs nailed to the wall for this.

Reform of police procedure and crackdowns on abuse are going to be big issues should we ever see our way out of the larger political crisis we face. It's going to have to come from the top down and the entire LE industry will need to be dragged, kicking and screaming, out of the 11th century. They will fight it every step of the way.

[Blue_In_AK]

7. Be careful, Carlos.

It sounds like you've got the wackos after you.

[MLFerrell]

8. Which one of those sleazy Biscayne hotels were you in front of?

Because I know that a few of them have security cameras that cover the sidewalk. I used to live right down the street from there, on NE51st Street, and I definitely remember seeing a camera at the Sinbad motel... It might be worth checking into.

[RagingInMiami]

11. I wasn't too far from the Sinbad, but I was in an area where there were no cameras

I was at 67th Street, where there used to be a 24-hour convenience store where all the prostitutes would hang out, but it is now a vacant lot where I'm sure something will be built soon.

There are also some stores and an office building there, but I doubt there was a camera that caught the incident on tape.

[MLFerrell]

15. Oh, and for future reference...

If you really want pictures of hookers, try farther down NE 2nd Ave, a few blocks away from Chef Creole. Lots of unsavory goings on in that part of Little Haiti. Oh, and try not to get shot. :)

[RagingInMiami]

17. Yes, near 54th Street

But many of the Hookers moved or got moved to 79th Street and 7th Ave

[MLFerrell]

19. I moved back to WV this past June...

It was my second stint in the 305. I loved the place, and still do, but I hated living in the ghetto. I sure do wish that there were Pollo Tropicals outside of FL... Or a REAL Cuban restaurant, for that matter.

Oh, and the weather was to die for. Until Summer, of course. :)

Just out of curiosity, what part of the city are you from?

[RagingInMiami]

21. I grew up near Calle Ocho

And still live close to there, just outside the Gables. I had Pollo Tropical tonight. I love that chicken. And it's pretty healthy too.

Now Biscayne Blvd is going through a huge transition, so it won't be the ghetto for long. In fact, that is the article I was working on when I got arrested.

Here is the article:

http://www.category305.com/magic-city/biscayne-boulevard-gentrification-2.php

[MLFerrell]

28. About Biscayne...

You're telling me! I first lived down there from January '03 until August of '03. Place was a veritable shithole. At the time, my apartment complex was called "Brentwood Village". Then it was "Design Place", and now, unless it has changed titles AGAIN in my absence, it's termed "D-Place". Catchy, huh?

Anyway, I noticed HUGE differences in the neighborhood between the first and second stints. Less drug dealing (at least out in the open), less prostitution, etc. The design district marches ever northward, no?

Oh, and Pollo Tropical? Arroz amarillo, con el puerco asada, y un bebida frio es comida superior.

Se habla Espanol? Cuando vivi en su ciudad, yo aprendi mucho de la lengua. Aqui, al norte, no tengo oportunidades que practicar hablando espanol. Un lastima, en mi opinion. Si yo tengo la oportunidad, deseo mucho a regresar a Miami, pero en un situacion muy difrente que el pasado.


You'll have to forgive my poor Spanish. That's about all that I picked up during my time there. :)

[RagingInMiami]

29. You learned Spanish well

Biscayne Blvd may be changing, but it is still Biscayne Blvd. Here is a piece that just got posted on the Miami Herald's website.

http://www.miamiherald.com/460/story/38650.html

[MLFerrell]

30. Yep, same ol' Biscayne!

Are there still legions of homeless who chill downtown? I used to bring food down to the underpass where "Scarface" was filmed.

I asked someone once, "What's with all the dispossessed?" And I was told, "This is where they shot the Scarface camp scene." Then it hit me... That's where people really WERE incarcerated, and the modern tradition is a vestige of that.

Ever since then, I've felt a deep sympathy for the denizens of that wretched domain. A lot of them were young, younger than me, 18, 19, etc. We all fear them to one degree or another, regardless of protestations to the contrary. But they are still my brothers and sisters, and I cannot stand to see people suffer like that. I've never been where they are, and God willing, I never will.

I never realized how much I miss Miami, in both its glory and ugliness until now...

[RagingInMiami]

34. I was 11 years old when the Mariel boatlift came in 1980

I remember driving by the area with my dad. The locals called it "Tent City" although they called it "Freedom Town" in the movie.

A few months later, the Liberty City riots broke out. I will never forget the black cloud that hang over Miami for days.

And I remember the Colombian drug dealers shooting it out in the streets of Miami during the early 1980s.

In the mid-1980s, it was the Miami River Cops who ripped off drug dealers before forcing them into the river where they drowned.

This is the environment I grew up in.
This is the environment I left for ten years after graduating from FIU.
This is the environment I returned to after finding every other place boring.

The homeless are still here, but they will always be here. However, they are now becoming more organized.

http://www.category305.com/mobilize/shantytown,-usa-2.php

[ellisonz]

35. Good article!

I like how there's only 1 comment on that article...but oodles on the arrest articles.

Oh gentrification how the upper crust loves you...

Stay safe Carlos Miller.

:-)

[RagingInMiami]

37. Thanks

The arrest article received many comments because a few right-wingers who read this site more than they read their own site used that opportunity to bash me even though they were bashing the First Amendment in the process.

[ellisonz]

36. Welcome to DU!

:toast:

[MLFerrell]

42. Thanks!

[Maestro]

9. Give them hell Carlos.

I still can't believe they are sticking to the story that you were in the street in in the photograph the street is obviously behind the police.

[knitter4democracy]

10. I had to leave a comment.

Why do some people worship the police and think they never, ever do a single thing out of line? That they should have all the power anyone could ever want? Don't they ever think that it might come back and smack them in the face?

[Occulus]

40. There is a deeply misguided element of our society who believes

that if a person is in a position of Authority, they inherently deserve that authority, and moreover, "know what they're doing". Further, they feel that if the Authority in question has their eye on you, it is for a reason, and their eye wouldn't be on you if you hadn't done "something wrong" in the first place.

These are, without a doubt, the very first people who are willing to give up their freedom for additional "security", never realizing that it is those selfsame freedoms that guarantee that security. These people are dangerous, even ultimately completely destructive, to the very concept of democracy and freedom.

It annoys them to no end to hear that a person inherently trusts no Authority, because that impugnes upon their perception that Authority can do no wrong. We have several elements of this on this very board, mostly having to do with kneejerk support of police forces and police actions. Tasers, in particular, are these people's verbal dildos.

(Sorry to term it so, ah, colorfully, but I've seen it happen more times than I can count, and they are almost always 1005 wrong, but try telling them that.)

The fact is, they're easy to spot, and easy to ignore. I take great satisfaction in letting them know they're being ignored, too. It usually annoys them even further, and I have to say, the annoyance of Authorit-a (think Cartman here) worshipers is definitely worth the effort.

[knitter4democracy]

45. If I could nominate a post, this would be it.

You are spot on. Thank you!

[RagingInMiami]

46. I agree

These are people who can't think for themselves and fear anybody who does think for themselves.

These are the same people who don't mind the feds spying on us because they say they have "nothing to hide".

They may not have anything to hide, but they also have no pride or respect for the U.S. Constitution.

These are the type of people who remained in England while thousands embarked on rat-infested, diseased-ridden ships and braved torrential seas for a chance of a new life in the colonies. A new life where they could think and speak freely and not have to kiss the authoritative ass of a king.

[Scurrilous]

12. From the Herald Crime Blog:

<snip>

This article is about a known traitor who is from Democrat Underground, a treasonous site that has been investigated by the Secret Service and the FBI for threats against the national leaders. The Miami Herald has been notified that they are attempting to make false charges against the Miami Police.

Obviously the cops felt that they needed to control the small area around them while they were doing their investigation. They had no idea who this traitor really was and therefore could not determine if he was a threat to them or not. Better safe than sorry.

These same traitors will call a cop at the first sight of any political confrontation in the street too.

Posted by: Jose Narof | February 28, 2007 at 12:33 AM

http://miamiherald.typepad.com/crime_scene/2007/02/photojournalist.html

[Canuckistanian]

20. How did he manage to type that

With all the drool raining down on his keyboard?

Jesus, don't they have any animal control laws in Miami?

[RagingInMiami]

23. The Herald just posted an update on its blog

http://miamiherald.typepad.com/crime_scene/2007/03/photojournalist.html

[Blue_Tires]

33. jose narof? why does that name sound familiar?

[Twist_U_Up]

13. Boing Boing has an article up to. Links here

http://www.boingboing.net/2007/02/28/take_a_picture_in_mi.html

Good Luck
Truth to Power

[EFerrari]

14. So sweet. Thanks for the update and if you need anything

you know where we are.

:toast:

[lonestarnot]

16. Arg totalitarian thugs make me want to puke.

Fight them ragin' fight them all the way down! You've got the goods.

[VP505]

18. Thanks for

the up-date! WOW, keeping this in the public eye has to be a good thing, eventually someone with authority will realize how bad this makes the Police and City Government look. Hope your able to NOT let the ignoramuses that want to "blame and smear the victim" get too you. No matter how within your rights you are, there is always some dumb ass that can't see it.

[RagingInMiami]

22. The Miami Herald just posted their own update

http://miamiherald.typepad.com/crime_scene/2007/03/photojournalist.html

[ends_dont_justify]

24. Just a heads up...

A friend of mine happens to be in key biscayne right now on vacation. According to him, on local tv he saw a case remarkably similar to your own. Apparently a civilian video tape was made, you may want to check into that if it's the same case (photographer being slammed into a police car for taking photographs). According to him it was on some local court-tv like channel. He's saying it shows it was pure police brutality too, from the DADE county sherrif's department (if that's the same one). Good luck finding it if it's the same one :)

[ends_dont_justify]

25. Also

He told me he saw it on his channel 50 (he's staying in the condo areas of biscayne), if that helps at all. Sorry if this ends up being bunk though :/

[RagingInMiami]

26. I haven't watched TV is so long that the last time I tried turning it on

It wouldn't work.

But unless he got some weird cable set-up, Channel 50 is not a local channel. I think Channel 51 is a Spanish station, at least it used to be.

And we don't have a sheriff's department here. Our county cops are called the Miami-Dade Police Department.

But if there is such a case, I'm sure I will hear about it because it will be discussed among the local blogs.

Thanks for the heads up. Here is another incident that happened in Tacoma.

http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/6407102p-5712802c.html

[ends_dont_justify]

27. Ahhh, I see

Wasn't sure on all of the facts so I was worried I was just relaying an unreliable message. I hope it does infact end up being something helpful for you though, I noticed 'biscayne' come up in the thread and I knew he was staying there so wanted to see if he knew anything helpful. Good luck!

[Robeson]

31. What is the reputation of the courts/judges in Miami?....

...will they look at your case objectively?

[RagingInMiami]

32. The judge I'm facing is a former public defender

And has a reputation for fairness.

[intheflow]

38. I'm sorry to have found this on the GP too late to recommend it.

But I can kick it. Good luck in court tomorrow. I'll be thinking of you! :hug:

[RagingInMiami]

39. Thanks

But they ended up canceling my arraignment and postponing it until an unspecified date. That gives me even more time to prepare and more time for them to contradict themselves.

[intheflow]

41. Bwahaahaa!

I see your evil plan is working, Comrade! :evilgrin:

[RagingInMiami]

43. First of all, they contradicted themselves on the two-page arrest report

Here is page one and page two. If you read it, you'll note that in the beginning of the report, they accused me of standing in the "middle of the street".

Then towards the end of the report, they said that I was escorted to the "middle of the street and told to cross to the sidewalk". So somehow I must have gotten off the street, only to be escorted back to the middle of the street, which is one of the busiest streets in Miami and has no median. So much for the safety factor they mentioned in the report.

They finish off the report by stating that after they had left me standing in the middle of the road, they ordered me to continue walking to the sidewalk but I refused. Four fucking times I refused. Apparently, I had some kind of death wish that night, preferring to remain in the middle of Biscayne Boulevard.

They obviously thought they had conjured the perfect excuse to arrest me. But they forgot about the photos I took, which show that the street they were referring to was behind them when they arrested me. In fact, the photo shows that they are the ones standing in the street.



So now they're saying I was standing in the "middle of a crime scene". The TV news reporter who did the story told me the police spokesman told her that I was so close to the crime scene, that when the female cop backed up, she bumped into me, which is a fucking lie.

If that was the case, then why the fuck didn't they write it on their goddamn report?

Meanwhile, my story has remained consistent since I posted it on DU a few days after the incident.

And to top it off, the Sergeant who was supposedly in charge of this keystone crew had the gall to tell me, "I don’t know what police departments you’re used to dealing with, but this is Miami PD. We don’t put up with that kind of crap."

Well, Sergeant, I don't know what journalists you're used to dealing with, but I don't put up with people trampling on my First Amendment rights.

[intheflow]

44. This post is why Raging is such a great screen name for you.

I'm really proud of you for defending our Constitution, Raging. This is such utter bullshit, and you shouldn't have to go through it, but so many others would have just taken it and meekly gone away. It does my soul good to see the resistance movement in action!

:kick: for Carlos kicking Constitutional ass! :patriot:

[RagingInMiami]

48. There have been a few photographers who have said

that I should have just done as the cops say to avoid arrest. But most photographers support me, even if they admit they might not have stood their ground as I did.

To me, it becomes pointless if you're aware of your First Amendment rights, but don't stand up for them while they're being trampled on.

After all, the First Amendment is the one item we all should agree on, including republicans, democrats, christians, atheists, gays, straights, etc.

[Generic Other]

47. Unbelieveable!

Will look good on a photographers resume! Willing to go where others fear to tread!

Salute you for your courage man...