Letters & E-mails in Carlos Sotomayor Lawsuit

If there are no laws passed by the Phoenix City Council requiring people to get a permit and pay $100 to take static still photos in the Phoenix parks it looks like we have some criminals in the Phoenix Film Department and the Phoenix Parks and Recreation Department making up imaginary laws so they can defraud citizens out of $100 for an unneeded photo permit and raise some illegal revenue for their department.

We were taking static still photos in Papago Park and ORDERED to cease shooting our photos until we got a permit from the Parks and Recreation Department and Film office.

They didn't bother to ask us if we were shooting for commercial or non commercial reasons. They didn't ask us ANY questions. They just ordered us to stop shooting our photos and not come back till we had the $100 permit.

I did some research and can't find any Phoenix laws that require people to get a $100 permit to shoot static, still non-commercial photos in the parks.

Now there is a Phoenix city law that requires people who are filming commercial motion pictures to get a permit to shoot their films in city parks.

That law is Phoenix city law G-1403.

While G-1403 requires people who shoot motion pictures for commercial reasons in Phoenix parks to get a permit, it does not say a word about requiring people who shoot still, static photos for either commercial or non-commercial purposes to get a permit.

Also there are numerous exceptions to the law, such as allowing the media to shoot videos without getting permits. Under those exceptions we would not be required to get a permit.

I talked to Philip Bradstock who runs the Phoenix Film Office.

He told me that G-1403 requires people who are shooting static, still photos to get the permit.

After reading G-1403 I then called Philip Bradstock back and told him that the statue, G-1403 didn't say a word about shooting static still photos and only covered shooting motion pictures.

I thought that Philip Bradstock cited the wrong law and asked him to give me the correct law on the matter.

Philip Bradstock then told me that G-1403 was the ONLY law covering this issue and that there was no other law.

Philip Bradstock admitted that the law doesn't require people who shoot still photos to get a permit and that the law ONLY addresses people shooting commercial movies in city parks.

Philip Bradstock then gave me a wild line of what seemed BS to justify requiring us to get a $100 permit.

He said that since G-1403 allows his department to define the administrative details of how the law operates that he is allowed to change the law and require permits for shooting static, still photos.

I suspect that Philip Bradstock is a crook who just made up the part of the law requiring people to get a permit to shoot static still photos so that his department could shake down people for a $100 permit.

Is there anything you folks at the Phoenix Police can do to order Philip Bradstock to stop people from forcing people to pay his department money for something that is not required?

Also can you folks at the Phoenix Police investigate Philip Bradstock and charge him with crimes for making up this imaginary law and shaking down people for an unneeded $100 permit?

I suspect that is some type of criminal theft or fraud violation. Making up imaginary laws that order people to pay money for things that are perfectly legal to do with out getting a permit.

I suspect that Philip Bradstock and the people in the Phoenix Parks and Recreation Department are also guilty of violating peoples constitutional 1st Amendment rights when they order them to stop taking photos that they are legally allowed to take.

Is there anything that the Phoenix Police can do about that?

Last but not least we want to go back to Papago Park and finish shooting our non-commercial, static still photos. Is there anything that the Phoenix Police can do to prevent them from ordering us to stop shooting photos when no permit is required?

Thanks