Conducted a covert compliance audit last night and everything went ok (or so I thought)....

Woke up to a voicemail this morning from the local police department, asking "to follow up on an incident at the X store on XX street".

Talked to the officer this afternoon. The store manager had called after I left, because a minor part of the scenario was not typical for that store (ironically, the important part of the compliance audit did not trigger any concerns)

So after I left, the manager called the police dept, they pulled the surveillance video of the parking lot, and pulled my licence plate.

Called the MSC, and they claim they have never heard of this happening before.

On the one hand, I'm glad there is so little crime in that area that the police had time to follow up. On the other hand, they left the voicemail at my office (must have googled my phone number). I'm glad they found my direct line and not the general office number and talked to someone there.

I also have to assume that my photo has now been passed around to every other location in the metro area inthis chain, taking any shop at that chain out of rotation for at least six months.

Yikes.

Yikes is a lot milder than my first thought, LOL!

????what happens next?

Oh wow. I always think about this happening when I'm across from gas stations taking photos. Not sure If the FBI is watching me still but I was threaten with that from a client of the client who thought I was stealing identities and credit cards. *Waves*

I hope everything got worked out, you didn't commit a crime but it sucks when people think you have.

I'm gonna change my name to milktoast.

Kudos to the police department for following up. It's been awhile since I've been stopped, but I appreciate that they are looking out for us.

I believe that is spelled Milquetoast, if you are referring to Casper the Timid soul.

OP, did you break cover and let the PO know you were a shopper?

I talked to the MSP to get clarification before returning the officer's call. They had no problem with me explaining that I was contracting with them on behalf of the company to conduct these compliance audits, so there was no ICA issue.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/26/2018 03:14AM by KevinE.

That's good. I hoped the MSC wouldn't go crickets after you told them what happened.

Depending on one's job classification, if one has a regular "day" job, this could be reportable. Even if benign, it becomes part of the record. For this reason, until I retire, I cannot see myself taking photos of anything but meals, or hotel rooms, where the door is closed. This, added to the list that already has bank shops on it. Thanks for letting us know! We live in a world where people are now encouraged to report anyone seen taking photos outside of the norm (and the definition of the norm keeps changing) Yuck.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/26/2018 01:49PM by BarefootBliss.

I also had a business owner call the police and report me for trespassing when I was taking photos of the business. The police called me, also based on my license plate, and I just explained what I was doing and they let the business owner know.

@LisaSTL wrote:

Yikes is a lot milder than my first thought, LOL!

Same here (mine isn't for publication!).



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/27/2018 12:14PM by BirdyC.

I don't know if I've ever told this story on the forum.... I did a post office shop in New York City once: the James A Farley Post Office. Three postal police officers detained, and almost arrested, me.

I was told by the clerk inside that they were only taking cash at the 8th Avenue entrance, and that there was an alternate entrance "around the corner by 9th Avenue" where they were credit/debit card enabled. Mind you, the building was under contruction so everything had weird entrances and blocks. Being the cash-avoiding person I am, I went around the corner, walked into one entrance, realized it was abandoned and a construction site, then walked onto 9th Avenue. There was only a post office vehicle parking lot and a back entrance for employees. I followed a postal employee in an attempt to find out the location. They had headphones in, didn't hear me, so I stopped at the arches. Then a postal policemen tracks me down, tells me I can't go any futher inside. I say fine. I start taking pictures of where I am (I'm on the 9th Avenue sidewalk) and the idiot tells me I can't take pictures, this is a federal building. Guess which smartass knows her First Amendment right to take pictures from a public sidewalk like the back of her hand? Me. I then start video recording as evidence of where I am so he can't say I went into the building or put my hands on him or some other nonsense. The officer then tries talking to me, telling me to move along and send my package at the right location, then threatens to write me a summons for, (reading this from his handbook,) taking photographs of a federal building for advertising. After advising him that I was photographing the entrance to which I walked so that I could go back to 8th Avenue and complain to the clerk about the oviously wrong/unclear directions she had given me, and not for the sake of advertising, I then ask to speak to his sergeant, then her sergeant, who grabs the iPhone out of my hand, stops the video recording, and threatens to arrest me. Boy, would I have LOVED to be arrested by publicly paid officers for exercising my First Amendment rights on a public sidewalk in front of a federal building. I had my hands up and touching at the wrist just asking him to arrest me. It took about six recitations of my Fourth Amendment rights before he handed my iPhone back to me and warned the guard officer to call him back and issue me a tresspass should I enter into the parking lot.

"Happy" Ending: The colonel above the supervising sergeant called me and told me about three months later that every postal police officer in the unit had to attend First Amendment rights training, where an attorney from DC came to New York City to tell the gits who detained me and all their colleagues that everyone has a right to film or photograph anything - including federal buildings - that you can see from a public sidewalk.

Wow! What a day you had! Good story!

What a hassle. I hope that shop paid well.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/28/2018 03:21PM by BarefootBliss.

$12.00, like they always do.

Damages on a Bivens claim would have paid more...

@BarefootBliss wrote:

What a hassle. I hope that shop paid well.

Speaking of DC, if you go to the website for the National Archives or the Library of Congress, it states that taking photos and video of the building and all surrounding areas is prohibited unless permission for special events is granted by filing a request form weeks in advance. This may or may have been only for using a tripod, I don't remember every detail. I filled out the form and applied, and didn't hear back until my trip to DC was over.

Can't speak for Washington, D.C., since that's a different jurisdiction, but here in New York, the courts have decided that you can record and photograph federal buildings from the publically accessible areas (i.e. sidewalks) because of the First Amendment. Even if they ask you to "fill out a form," the Library of Congress doesn't get to exceed your First Amendment rights.

Here's the ACLU article on it: [www.aclu.org]

In our area, the First Amendment right comes from a case called Musumeci vs. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Protective Service, et. al.

@Aquiest wrote:

Speaking of DC, if you go to the website for the National Archives or the Library of Congress, it states that taking photos and video of the building and all surrounding areas is prohibited unless permission for special events is granted by filing a request form weeks in advance. This may or may have been only for using a tripod, I don't remember every detail. I filled out the form and applied, and didn't hear back until my trip to DC was over.

I was doing a "on site inspection'' in April of a house. I'm standing on the sidewalk taking my pictures, when a woman came up to me and demanded to know what I was taking pictures for. I asked her if she was the homeowner and she said no, so I told her that I could not tell her what I was taking pictures for, that it was between me and the homeowner. She walked off. I was sitting in my car going over my paperwork, when a police car pulled up behind me. The woman had called the police and told them that I was casing a house to rob it. I showed the officer my authorization letter that explained why I was taking pictures. He told me that the woman was the neighborhood busybody and had called the police a few days before, because she thought a dog walker was looking at houses to break into.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/04/2018 08:12PM by sueac101.