COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS TELLS POLICE 'GET THE PICTURE': PHOTOS ALLOWED


 The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals recently considered the following question: "Does taking photographs at a public pool permit a police officer to detain the photographer, in the name of a police investigation?" This seems like a case that might come out of the family-oriented suburbs in and around Dallas County, but it came from a sparsely-populated county in Southeast Texas near Shiner and Yoakum.

In this case, the defendant was seen taking photographs of patrons at a public swimming pool. Police were notified and responded quickly. Based on a description of the defendant's car and its location, an officer was able to determine who the defendant was. After the defendant pulled away in his car, the officer followed him briefly and then initiated a traffic stop. The officer asked for and received consent to look through the photos on the camera. The photos were primarily of women and girls in their swim wear. The defendant was arrested and charges of "improper photography" were brought against him.

On appeal, the defendant argued that simply taking pictures of people in public does not give rise to "reasonable suspicion." Reasonable suspicion is what is required for the police to initiate a traffic stop or other detention. The prosecution argued that there were specific, articulable facts from which reasonable inferences could be made that created reasonable suspicion.

The Criminal Court of Appeals sided with the defendant. It said that "[t]aking photographs of people at...public venues is not unusual, suspicious, or criminal." The court concluded that without other facts suggesting "crime was a foot," there was no reasonable suspicion to support the police officer's traffic stop.

The outcome of this case protects citizens that are engaged in everyday activities from police investigation. It also reminds law enforcement that there are standards that have to be met before a traffic stop or other detention is initiated.

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