Southern Outer Banks News

Most of the time, if not all the time, when I am out looking for news, I run into someone who has this crazy idea that they can't be photographed in public "without their consent". We usually have the same conversation and I explain that anyone can be photographed in or from public and that no one has an expectation of privacy in a public place. Usually they leave still not believing me. So I have posted frequently, and no so frequently, asked questions here to save me breath of a lecture on Constitutional law if you see me or another journalist in the field. If you're one of the "Muh privacy in public" people, you should visit the www.Deflock.org website.

First place prize for most Nazi question from a cop goes to
K9 Officer Ryan Andrew Futh of the Havelock NC Police Department.

"What you out here doing? You out here tryin' to cause trouble?"
"I'm standing in public in broad daylight quietly holding a camera, excercising a Constututional right, Officer. Your question sounds like something the Kings soldiers would've asked 250 years ago. Does a citizen peacefully excercising a Constitutional right raise suspicion of "trouble" to you?"

1) "Are you one of those First Amendment auditors?"

I shoot video in public of local places/events. If a Karen, Daren, or dummy police officer comes up to me while I'm shooting video and makes a fool of themselves then I record that too. If you came here looking for First Amendment auditor videos you'll more than likely find my content pretty boring.

2) "Why do you wear that body armor? You look like military/cops."

Firstly, It's not body armor, it's a plate carrier (I dont carry the plates). I wear it because the admin pouch system allows me to carry my spare batteries, 2-meter radio, misc. power cables for my video equipment, extra SD cards, business cards, press credentials, pens, notepad, hand grenades (just kidding), and backup power banks conveniently and easily accessible on my torso. Even still, I don't have enough pockets for all the gear I need for news reporting.

Secondly, my plate carrier has PRESS on the back in huge 3-inch letters, and PRESS on the front along with my name tag. Most people aren't educated on photography in public, so when they see PRESS, they sometimes don't call the police to report "suspicious guy with a camera recording in public". And when the cops do respond to the "suspicious guy with a camera recording in public" call for service, the ones with an IQ over 35 understand what I'm doing and know that taking video in public is an activity protected by the United States Constitution, Constitution of the State of North Carolina, and the several relevant United States Supreme Court rulings. Only the thugs with a badge who enjoy harassing citizens bother to do more than stop and say "hello" or ride by in their car and wave.

3) "Do you ever get hassled by the fuzz?"

Only by the thug ones and the poorly trained ones.
See my video's page for the clowns and rockstars!

4) "You cannot video me in public without my permission!"

That is false.

5) "If you use my image in your video you have to pay me!"

That is also false.

6) "You can't use my image in print or on social media!"

That is false, too.

7) "I do not consent to being recorded in public!"

Then leave public.

8) "I'm going to call the cops!"

MOREHEAD CITY PD: 252-726-3131
NEWPORT PD: 252-223-5410
BEAUFORT PD: 252-728-4561
ATLANTIC BEACH PD: 252-726-2911
HAVELOCK PD: 252-447-3212
NEW BERN PD: 252-672-4100
CARTERET COUNTY SHERIFF: 252-728-8400
SWANSBORO PD: 910-326-5151
JACKSONVILLE PD: 910-455-4000
CAPE CARTERET PD: 252-393-2183

9) "The cops will make you stop recording!"

An undeducated officer may try and then the agency will pay me a big pile of money in a Federal Civil Rights lawsuit settlement. It will be a lot more money than I will ever make earning penny-click revenue on social media. Furthermore, NC police officers take an oath to uphold the Laws of the State (Article II, § 11‑11 "Oaths of Office") and thus, cannot issue a lawful order that conflicts with the U.S. and State of North Carolina Constitutions. An order that conflicts with the U.S. Constitution or North Carolina Constitution is an unlawful order. For any order from a police officer to be lawful, it must be legal under, and supported by, the law.

10) "So you're just out here baiting the cops trying to get rich off a lawsuit?"

Firstly, I'm already rich, so I don't need the money.
Secondly, lawsuits don't punish tyrant cops because the settlement money comes from the taxpayers pocket. This is why qualified immunity should be abolished (it has in some states). Until cops are responsible for their own actions and have to pay settlements out of their pockets and not ours, there's no genuine police accountability. That's called the "Screw it...ain't my money" mentallity some cops have. Lawyers have to have E&O insurance. Doctors have to have malpractice insurance. When I owned my bodyguard/patrol company the State required me to carry a one million dollar liability policy. So why shouldn't cops have to be responsible as well? Thirdly, I don't "bait" anyone. I stand in public peacefully and hold a camera. If a cop initiates his consentual encounter and acts the fool on camera, that's a choice he made. I don't script anything. The responding officer is under his own control. A cop that chooses to engage with me has the same exact chance to glow and look like an outstanding professional as he does to look like a communist shit-bag. It's all up to him. You and I are just spectators. GOOD COOPS CAN'T BE BAITED!

11) "But those LPR's and Flock cameras are owned by the government so that's different."
Wrong again. "Government cameras" are exactly what our founding fathers believed should be restricted, not the cameras of private individuals in public.
NEW: ALPS camera victory in Hillsborough, NC
NEW: ALPS camera victory in Pittsboro, NC

12) "But the government has the right to..."
Wrong again. The government, as an institution, has no rights. It only has obligations to the people (They don't teach that in public schools anymore).

13) "You're crazy. That's weird."
It wasn't weird in 1788. (That's the year the U.S. Constitution was ratified, for you recent public school graduates).

14) Why are you such a prick about "Constitutional rights"?
I am a disabled veteran who sweated and bled for my country in Iraq. I paid too much for my Constitutional rights to have them trampled on by a tyrant cop trying to appease some crybaby's feelings. Feelings don't trump rights. Download my eBook "The Big Storm, Inside Task Force 5-5" for free here.

15) "I'm going to sue you!"

Go here: https://www.ncbar.org/public-resources/find-an-nc-lawyer

16) "Why are you recording in public?"

I am a media journalist engaged in a Constitutionally protected activity.

17) "Where did you get your journalist training?"

At the Knight School of Journalism at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) at Cambridge, MA (https://ksj.mit.edu) and NBCU News Academy in New York, NY.

18) "How do I know you're telling the truth?"

Southern Outer Banks News, Inc. is a non-profit media corporation redistered in the State of North Carolina. You can confirm my journalist ID # 5894403252150697 and relevant documents on my Resources page. Southern Outer Banks News, Inc. is also verifiable on the NC Secretary of State website.

19) "Stop recording me!"

I am not recording you, I am recording public.

20) "Will you delete your video with me in it?"

No.

21) "Why not?"

Rumble and YubeTube videos are "monetized". I get paid a few pennies each time my agent (Rumble) licenses my video or part thereof to a network. As per the terms of my contract with Rumble, I cannot delete the video once it is licensed to a network.
Plain English: Once I take their pennies, I can't take back the video.

22) "What gives you the right to record me in public?"

The First Amendment to the United States Constitution, and the North Carolina State Constitution, Section 14. Well technically, those documents do not "give" me the right. Rights are given by God. Those documents affirm those rights are protected by the courts.

23) "I'm going to sue you!"

Go here: https://www.ncbar.org/public-resources/find-an-nc-lawyer

24) "But what if I'm picking my nose or scratching my butt in your video?"

Don't do that.

25) "I'm still going to sue you!"

Go here: https://www.ncbar.org/public-resources/find-an-nc-lawyer

26) "Well then, can I buy a copy of your video with me in it?"

No. But you can have a copy for free. Contact me here.

27) "Where can I find more information on photography in public?"

See "The Photographers Right" by Attorney Bert P. Krages, "Right to Video" by the North Carolina ACLU, and The North Carolina Reporter Shield Law (NCGS 8-53.11), with definitions, all on my Resources page

28) "You're earning money with videos using my image, it's commercial use."

That is false. See Nussenzweig v. diCorcia (2007): "Selling books or prints of people does not constitute commercial use and thus does not require that person’s permission. However the images cannot be used to endorse a product."

29) "I don't like being recorded in public."

The average person is recorded on video in public approximately 120 times in a normal day. You are being recorded by vehicle dash cams, store surveillance cameras, people with phones, traffic cams, Ring doorbell cameras, drone cameras, bank ATM cameras, vending machine cameras, Flock cameras, and when you call the cops for a guy harmlessly recording in public, the cops are recording you on their bodycams, too. Welcome to the 21st century.
Find Flock cameras in your neighborhood by clicking here.

30) "But shooting video is different than taking a photograph."

Actually not. I shoot my video in either sixty or thirty frames per second. In layman's terms, that means my video camera is taking sixty or thirty still pictures every second. When the video is played back, you are actually seeing 3,600 pictures each minute shown consecutively, really fast, giving the illusion that the image is moving. Thus, there is no legal distinction between "video" and "photograph" in the law. A video is simply a whole lot of photographs.

31) Will you blur my face in your video?

The Southern Outer Banks News, Inc. Digital Media Integrity Policy is found here.

32) "You need a model release to photograph/video me!"

A photographer does not need a model release if:

The person in the photo isn’t identifiable.
The photo is being used for news, blogs, or educational purposes.
The photo is for personal use, like family albums or private sharing, or
The photo is taken in a public place where people typically don't expect privacy.

However, a model release is required:

When using photos of someone to advertise, or
When using photos in a way that looks like the model is endorsing your product or business.