Nevada Photographer Roughed Up by Sheriff’s Deputies
Law-enforcement agencies need reminders from time to time that voters are in charge. Elected sheriffs are not.
The first step in reclaiming the United States is to elect a sheriff who knows the good guys from the bad guys.
He must also be smart enough to understand this rule: don’t beat up employees of the local newspaper. If you do, you’re going to get a lot of coverage. You’re going to look dumber than dirt.
Sheriff’s deputies in the Reno area apparently had never been told about this possibility.
Tim Dunn is a 21-year veteran of photo journalism. He is employed by the Reno Gazette-Journal. He had been sent by the paper to cover a fire. He is 60 years old.
Two deputies pushed him to the ground, pushed his face in the gravel, and then handcuffed him.
Why? The usual: obstructing the law-enforcement officers.
What had he done? He tried to take pictures of the fire. The fire destroyed two homes. But he got no pictures of this. He was busy.
The paper describes the events as follows.
Dunn said he was told to leave the area and was directed to another location farther from the scene. He said he was then taken to the ground by two deputies – one who shoved his foot on Dunn’s back and the other who pushed his face in the gravel. Dunn’s cheek has a large scrape on it.Dunn said the deputies accused him of trying to impersonate a firefighter because he was wearing yellow protective fire gear, a helmet and goggles. However, annual wildfire training for media conducted by fire officials recommends such fire gear.
Would you wear fire gear? I surely would.
It turns out that his gear was recommended in the Sierra Front Media Fire Guide published by an interagency coalition that includes the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Nevada Division of Forestry, and others.
He was not actually arrested. Just roughed up a little. No problem. This is the official line at the sheriff’s office. Other than this, “no comment.”
Sheriff’s office spokesman Deputy Armando Avina said the deputies used their discretion and did not arrest Dunn. Avina said because reports in the case have not been completed, he could not comment on the incident.
The good thing about county government is that local citizens do have the power to replace boneheads who are on the payroll.
County government is where freedom-loving people will begin the roll-back of the statist bureaucrats who think they are in charge. The voters are in charge.
Continue reading here.
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Published on June 22, 2012. The original is here.
A major breakthrough regarding such recording took place this week. Here is a press release from Project Veritas, James O'Keefe's organization. It specializes in making videos of radical and illegal statements made by government officials and groups receiving government money. A court ruling overturned a 50-year-old Massachusetts law that prohibited unauthorized recording of state officials.
Project Veritas attorneys Benjamin Barr and Steve Klein have received word from the United States Court for the District of Massachusetts of its victory in Project Veritas Action Fund v. Conley. The lawsuit filed against the state argued that the Massachusetts law prohibiting the secret recording of public officials was unconstitutional.Said James O’Keefe, founder and president of Project Veritas Action:
“Project Veritas has made First Amendment history. With the summary judgement in this case being entered in our favor, PVA v Conley becomes the first case in United States history to hold that secretly recording government officials is protected by the First Amendment.”Filed on December 10, 2018, the United States District Court District of Massachusetts found, “the First Amendment protects the right to record audio and video of government officials,” deeming the law prohibiting secret recordings of government officials unconstitutional.
The unconstitutional law, enforceable in Massachusetts since 1968, allowed for a felony conviction for up to five years in prison, and a $10,000 [fine] for the secret recording of a public official.
Audio Recording is More Powerful Than Ordinary Reporting
The Court explained in the judgement that “audio and audiovisual recording are uniquely reliable and powerful methods of preserving and disseminating news and information about events that occur in public. Their self-authenticating character makes it highly unlikely that other methods could be considered reasonably adequate substitutes.”
The Court agreed in the judgment that secretly recording government officials is a “basic, vital, and well-established liberty safeguarded by the First Amendment.”
Said Project Veritas Action Fund’s attorney Ben Barr, of the victory:
“Veritas’ win demonstrates that undercover reporting is protected just as adamantly as ordinary reporting under the First Amendment, allowing it to continue to deliver important news to the American public.”Project Veritas is aware of other states with similarly prohibitive recording laws.