Lies! Lies! Lies! Wackenhut Security Guard Caught Lying on Film while Accosting Rochester Indymedia Videographer

A Rochester Indymedia videographer was accosted by a Wackenhut security guard contracted to the federal building during the 6th anniversary protests of the Iraq war.

While videotaping, an unidentified, plainclothes security guard got right in her face—so much so that the camera only sees his chin. In addition, he intentionally fogged up the lens. He stated that the security guards on the lawn did not want to be photographed and that it was illegal to take video of the federal building.

As E.G. Smith's Guide to Rochester states, "Never trust a cop." And that goes for private security guards as well. That being said, we decided to investigate the guard’s claims.

I asked local lawyer and New York Civil Liberties Union member Scott Forsyth if he knew of any federal or state statutes that states it's illegal to videotape and/or photograph the federal building or security guards from a public place. His answer? "Like you, I do not know of any statute," he said.

Good enough, right? Well, I wanted a second opinion. I contacted my friend Jerry, a lawyer in Chicago who has worked with the National Lawyers Guild in the past, and asked him the same question.

"I don't know of any statute which forbids videotaping anything which you can see in public. There would be constitutional problems with any such statute," he said.

Jerry continued, "But, as we both know, the constitution matters little to cops on the street. Realize that a camera is a weapon, and inherently confrontational when used politically. We don't like Big Brother watching us. Big Brother likes it even less when we watch back. The silver lining of the surveillance culture we are living in is that it is beginning to reveal that the cops routinely violate the most basic law of all — the constitution."

Finally, I asked a local law library worker—she wished to remain anonymous—if in her research, she had come across any statute that says anything regarding the illegality of videotaping or photographing federal buildings while in public. Her response? "I did a search in the United States Code Annotated index for the terms 'photography' and 'videotaping' in reference to federal buildings and didn't find anything," she said.

What are we to make of this? Police and security guards lie all the time—in fact, they are trained to lie—in order to intimidate and control people who question their authority. What can you do? Exercise your 1st Amendment rights, demand their name and badge number, assert your right to videotape them, and negotiate the situation as best you can.

As technology empowers ordinary people—-not just the professionals—to report news, there are more and more stories of police confiscating cameras and cell phones, deleting photos and videos, and arresting people for refusing to comply—all in blatant violation of the constitution. Therefore, it becomes essential for people to know their rights and exercise them.