Photography Is Not a Crime (PINAC, published under the trade name PINAC News) was an organization and news
website that focused on rights of
civilians who photograph and film police and other government organizations in the United States. It was founded in 2007 following the arrest of its creator, Carlos Miller, a veteran news reporter and
photojournalist, and incorporated in June 2014 as PINAC Inc., a Florida not-for-profit corporation. In December 2022 Carlos Miller declared the site dead.[1]
Origin
In early 2007, Miller was on assignment for an article about the Biscayne Boulevard area of
Miami, Florida. He observed five
police officers interviewing an individual and began to take photographs. The officers asked Miller to move on, but he refused, informing them that he was on public property, where he held the right to photograph. The officers then arrested him for numerous
misdemeanor offenses, including
resisting arrest.[fn 1][5][6][7][8] Miller claims he was beaten by the officers during his arrest.[9] Miller created the blog as a result of his arrest, the
freedom of the press and
free speech violations by the
Miami Police Department, and his desire to educate the public on the issue of the right of Americans to document the activities of public officials in the performance of their duties.
First Amendment issues
PINAC focuses on
First Amendment issues that intersect with governmental oppression of those rights, normally by police officers. It also gives civilians tips on how to interact with the
police and assert their constitutionally protected rights.[10]
General arrests
Police departments have harassed or made arrests of civilian photographers for charges such as obstruction[11] and making terror threats.[12][13]
Wiretapping arrests
PINAC has covered a number of cases during which police officers have misused
wiretapping laws against civilians such as
Anthony Graber in
Maryland. Graber was arrested after he posted a video of a police contact on
YouTube.[fn 2][16]
Homeland security
In addition, there have been numerous examples in which police or security officers have erroneously told civilians that filming or taking pictures of a particular building is unlawful and a violation, due to either
national security or
homeland security reasons. Examples covered in the blog include a police officer advising that photographing the National Laboratory at the
University of Texas Medical Branch was prohibited,[17] and similar examples involving photographing an art exhibit in downtown
Indianapolis,[18] and a train station in
New York City.[19][20]
Police seizure of footage
PINAC has documented a number of cases in which police officers seized cameras and cell phones or deleted photographs or video, apparently in an effort to cover up
police misconduct, such as in the
killing of Oscar Grant by
BART police officers.[21] In some cases, police have been accused of tampering with evidence by deleting photographs or videos. For example, in
Broward County, an off-duty deputy sheriff pulled over a motorist, and then illegally seized and destroyed her cell phone in an attempt to get rid of the video that she had taken of police misconduct.[22]
On August 2, 2021, five Miami Beach police officers were charged with using excessive force against a bystander who recorded video of the officers beating a handcuffed suspect.[23]
^Miller was later acquitted of all charges except the resisting arrest charge, and that charge was overturned on appeal. Miller was supported during the trial by the
Society of Professional Journalists, who contributed $3,000 towards his defense.[2][3][4]
^The use of wiretapping laws to suppress photographers clearly violate the First Amendment, and courts have noted that public officers in a public place have no
expectation of privacy.[14][15]