Bullshit QW, read the article
I did read the article, and watched the videos, and listened to the recordings.
Mr. Muntan shared with me that his first concern is for the safety and security of Metrorail’s passengers, but he also expressed a sincere appreciation for the fact that some people, for one reason or another, will want to make photographs of the metro trains and facilities and that MDT needs to accommodate these folks. To this end, Mr. Muntan said, “We bend over backward to accommodate any type of media request that we can. Heck, we’ve shut down the system for Burn Notice and we did Bad Boyz II down here.” He explained that while commercial photography on Metrorail property is prohibited without a permit, there is no such prohibition against photography that is personal, journalistic, or, in his words, “Johnny Tourist” photography. When I asked him how his officers distinguish between commercial photography and personal photography, he said, “If you tell us that you’re not using the pictures for commercial work and they’re (for) personal use, at that point in time the security officers, and/or the MDT representative should feel that his question is answered and at that point you’re free to take pictures until the next train comes or whatever.” (The irony of this statement will hit you as you continue to read…) Here is the recording of our conversation, edited for brevity and clarity:
Telephone Interview with Miami-Dade Transit Chief of Security Eric Muntan
The guy who is actually in charge of security for the whole line, not the idiot in charge of a private security force, told him the guidelines for photography. He also explained that Florida law said that photography is legal and legit, and only asked that any commercial photography be cleared first. He even pointed out that they are willing to shut down the whole freaking line to accommodate commercial filming. Since he is the person who is ultimately responsible for both safety and making sure he that the transit system complies with the law I am pretty sure he got it right.
After several phone calls that were never returned, yesterday morning at about 11:30 I finally made contact with the company’s president, John Williams. His interpretation of “30b” and his willingness to trust MDT passengers when they tell his security guards why they’re making pictures was as different from Mr. Muntan’s as day is from night… as fire is from ice… as love is from hate… as steak is from eggs… um, well, you get the picture.
Mr. Williams stated, “All we would know is what you tell us and we would not stand by that. We would ask you to identify yourself and if you didn’t have a permit we would ask you to leave. In fact… you would have to leave or we would notify law enforcement of the situation. We would need approval from the county, a form that the county provides us.” He went on to say that anyone who does not have that form would be prevented from making photographs on MDT property.
HmmmÂ… a conundrumÂ…
After speaking with Mr. Williams, it seemed to me that the only way to get to the bottom of the situation and to really understand what rights a MDT passenger has or does not have with regard to photography was to head to a nearby metro station, make some photos, and see what would happen.
Though I hoped to make photographs in and around the Douglas Road metro stop to send to my lovely wife in Richmond and to use in my report, and to then be on my merry way, I prepared for the worst. If Mr. WilliamsÂ’ people were trained as he said they were, rather than as Mr. Muntan said they should be, then there was a decent chance that I would be arrested while making my pictures and go to jail. So I took a few precautions:
The President of the company told him , if you don't have a permit the police will be called, he chose to test that. He found out that the President of the company was correct
As for why they have the policy, it should be obvious to you.
The president of that company is an idiot. If you read the article and followed the links you will see that the previous security company, Wackenhut, got fired for doing exactly what he said would happen. You think that that fact would make a difference when the new security company, but they are apparently to stupid to understand that the law takes precedence over their petty rules. You seem to have that in common with them.
Do I understand their concerns? Yes, but I don't care, because
the rights of the people and the law trump their concerns.
EVERY
SINGLE
TIME
