Cyclist Detained and Suspected of Domestic Terrorism for taking Pictures of Cops

Last Friday a buddy of mine had an exhibition of his photography from travels around the world. He had some great work and it instilled in me a desire to improve my skills with the camera. Since I don’t have the budget, currently, to travel to Peru and Chechnya, in order to expand my portfolio, I decided to snap some photos locally. I grabbed my camera (a Canon S3is) and hopped on my single-speed bicycle, with the intent of taking photos along the river and Victory Memorial Parkway. But, my journey ended prematurely, with the assistance of some sort of SWAT team, verbal harassment and more than an hour of inquisition on the corner of 41st and Emerson Avenues North.

I began my journey innocently enough, taking a couple of pictures at the corner of 42nd and Lyndale Avenues North, where there is a community garden. I photographed some flowers, arranged in celebration of the sesquicentennial, as well as a few sculptures. I then crossed the Mississippi and headed over Northeast, taking pictures of bridges, the Mississippi, the Xcel Energy plant, gardens and some other stuff.

I stopped at Boom Island Park, St. Anthony Main and the Guthrie Theater, snapping pictures of the riverfront along the way. Keep in mind the facilities that are along the river in that area: St. Anthony Falls, a power plant and lots of bridges…

I also took pictures from every angle of the nearly complete 35W Bridge during my journey. Moreover, I went along West River Parkway to snap some images of the remnants of the collapsed bridge, which are strewn about the bank of the mighty Mississippi, presumably for further inspection. During my entire journey I did not cross any “No Trespassing” signs, nor did I hop any fences or enter any areas which any member of the general public is not authorized.

On my way home I headed up the west side of the river, snapping a couple of photos of myself (while riding), various businesses along North 2nd Street and the Port of Minneapolis, which (to my knowledge) is a nearly defunct remnant of days gone by. The place seemed deserted; nonetheless, I respected all marked boundaries and only took pictures that any member of the general public could take themselves.

I rode up North Washington Avenue until it turned into North 41st Avenue. Knowing that the Minneapolis PD houses some of its units along that street I continued west, on my way home, which was now less than a mile away.

Surely enough, a number of squads were parked behind a black chain-link fence, protected by an electronic reader functioning as the sentinel. I was going to snap a picture of the row of squads, but the sun was shining directly at me, as I was facing west. I headed to the other end of the lot, along the public sidewalk, so that I could be facing the east when I took the picture. When I got to the corner on Emerson I saw a bunch of Minneapolis cops, dressed in tactical gear, loading into an unmarked white van, so I snapped a picture through the fence. I then headed for home. But, I realized this was a pretty cool photo opportunity, so I turned around to take some more pictures. As I approached I realized that the van was leaving the parking lot, and headed my way. I grabbed my camera in order to take another picture as their vehicle passed. I found it peculiar that the rear door was open, until I realized they were coming for me. I snapped this last picture to profanities being thrown at me.

The camera was quickly seized, I was frisked and placed in handcuffs. “I do not consent to a search,” I stated calmly as my messenger bag was taken away and pilfered through.

“I don’t consent to a search?” mocked another officer from behind mirrored glasses. “Do you think we give a fuck what you consent to?”

Another laughed and began waxing poetic about the “good old days” when they could take someone like me and “toss me in the back of a van,” presumably to get beaten.

“What the fuck is so interesting behind that fence that you had to take a picture?” one shouted.

“We know you’re kind you little fucking terrorist,” bellowed another.

I was berated with verbal assaults by this specialized unit charged with the honorable duty of protecting and serving the general public. They asked what I was doing, who I am affiliated with, and also suggested that they would go to my home and kick down the door, to see what incriminating evidence might be there.

“Well, he’s got the one memory card in his camera,” began one of the cops. “Who knows how many he has hidden on his person. Maybe we should call Murphy down here to give him a full-cavity search.”

The harassment continued, with officers looking through my camera, phone, and bag while I sat, handcuffed on the curb. They attempted to intimidate me, but I stayed cool. I actually had to refrain from laughing when one officer started kicking my hat and stepping on it. He eventually kicked it into a storm sewer. Another put his fast food refuse in my bag, while yet another dumped my water bottle into my messenger bag.

Speaking of the messenger bag, I am sure that some of you are wondering why I said I didn’t consent to a search. Well, simply because I could and didn’t want to consent. They searched me and my bag quite thoroughly, finding nothing more that beef jerky, sunflower seeds, bicycle repair equipment, my wallet and my phone. So, I wasn’t worried about what they would find but was simply exercising my rights as I understood them.

I was never Mirandized, nor placed under arrest, merely detained. I explained that all of my pictures were taken on public property but this group of thugs clearly didn’t care, nor have the cognitive ability to decipher my words. So, we waited for some plain-clothes investigative-types to arrive.

After a good wait a white, unmarked, Ford F-150 pulled up, shortly followed by a PT Cruiser, or something like that. The Ford carried two male investigators, in plain-clothes, while the car carried a female Lieutenant who I recognized (from my days working in the media) but whose name I could not recall. I did not see any identification on her, but she was referred to as Lieutenant and had a bad-ass sidearm, so she was definitely an important lady.

When these folks arrived I was asked for my ID and explained that one of the SWAT guys had it. I then began reciting my vitals to one investigator (e.g. name, DOB, SSN, etc.) while the more senior investigator retrieved my license. I explained that I was simply riding my bike around for the past three hours taking pictures, in an effort to expand my portfolio and find some unique shots. The investigators grouped with the lieutenant and looked through my photos, attempting to understand my intent.

I recently cleared my memory card for the first time, but still have some 500 photos on it including a Critical Mass Bike Ride, my buddy’s wedding, shots of a local band and perhaps the most damning of them all: a photo of me wearing a bandana on my face, holding a drum.

By this time I had been taken out of metal handcuffs and placed in plastic zip-cuffs. Realizing that I was not a threat of violence, or fleeing the scene, those were removed too. I explained that I took every single picture in the camera and would take full responsibility for all of them, but didn’t see where I broke the law. After some time the two male investigators concluded that, although I took photos of potential sites for nefarious activities, I wasn’t capturing the images that someone would need in order to accomplish or plan such evil deeds. The lieutenant didn’t seem quite so sure and whispered to one of the men that they should notify someone and let them know what I was doing, although I couldn’t make out the entire conversation. “Either you’re not telling us the entire story, or you’re incredibly unlucky,” the lieutenant stated to me as she headed back to her car.

After more than an hour I was released and warned to stay away from all of the RNC activities. The investigators explained to me that nothing would happen to me unless one of the sites I photographed was compromised, or I was detained again for anything related to the RNC. So, I got my name on a list, but came out of the deal no worse for wear. And now maybe that means I can be BFF with someone from the Secret Service!

Some things I should state here:

1. At no time was I physically assaulted in any way.
2. The plain-clothes officers were all very professional.
3. The tactical unit was anything but professional and seemed to me little more than a gang of thugs with special immunity granted by their badges.
4. I was fully cooperative although at no time did I consent to a search of the contents of my camera, messenger bag or mobile phone.
5. To my surprise, no photos were erased and all of my possessions were returned, although the contents of my messenger bag were soaked from my water bottle being poured onto them. I also had to recover my hat from the storm sewer, explaining to the investigator that it had “fallen” through the grate.

That’s the end of my story. Although I have no intent to protest the RNC, I do intend on attending some great concerts happening during and around the festivities of the Grand Old Party. Furthermore, if I feel the notion to exercise my right to protest I most certainly will not allow this incident to intimidate me. At one point I actually hoped I would be arrested because I knew that I had not broken any laws and was within my rights the entire time. As a former journalist I am well aware of the rights of the public and never once violated any of those. I realize that there is a lot of tension right now, with fears of violent uprisings during the RNC, but there is a proper way to do things, and I am grateful that the higher-ranking officers realized that.

Now, just for fun, let’s look at the records of some of the harassing officers, according to the Communities United Against Police Brutality website:

Timothy Hanks, Badge #2660; Reports with Civilian Review Authority: 03-1888, still under investigation; No Reports with Internal Affairs.

Richard Muro, Badge #4899; Reports with Civilian Review Authority: 02-1836, still under investigation; No reports with Internal Affairs.

Bill J. Peterson, Badge #5561; Reports with Civilian Review Authority: 96-0951, dismissed; 97-1119, one allegation, ending with exoneration due to a lack of probable cause; 99-1369, one allegation, ending with exoneration due to a lack of probable cause; 99-1393, one allegation, ending with exoneration due to a lack of probable cause; 00-1522, exonerated; 00-1615, currently under investigation; 01-1691, one allegation, ending with exoneration due to a lack of probable cause; 01-1711, currently under investigation; 02-1815, currently under investigation.

Now, I have a feeling that these records haven’t been updated in some time, although I couldn’t say for sure. And, while some of these cops have relatively clean records others have very lengthy ones…and that’s only what’s been reported. There were about 12 SWAT guys in total, but I only could remember one name (T. Hanks) and got three others from the one photo. L. Richards (the blond cop) was not listed on the website, so either he has had no complaints filed against him or the site hasn’t been updated for some time. I’m guessing it was the latter because this guy was a Class A prick.

You can view a few pics from my trek, and subsequent confrontation, here: http://s115.photobucket.com/albums/n299/stil0041/Minneapolis/