Letters & E-mails in Carlos Sotomayor Lawsuit

First of all from the subject line of my letter this sounds like a really dumb question but it isn’t.

I used to work with an engineer who when he was done with his real job he out and worked for free as a Phoenix Reserve cop.

He told us there are numerous laws that are on the books that the police are told not to enforce because of a number of different reasons. And I think this question falls into that area.

I asked Phoenix Police Detective Aaron Stevens if it was illegal to shoot static still photos in Phoenix Parks and he told me he couldn’t find any laws making it illegal.

I did find one law that make it illegal to shoot motion pictures or television shows for commercial purposes in city parks without purchasing a $100 permit. That is Phoenix city code G-1403. How ever Phoenix city code G-1403 only applies to motion pictures and television shows. Phoenix city code G-1403 doesn’t say a word about requiring people who shoot static, still photos to purchase a $100 permit.

Also Phoenix city code G-1403 has a number of exceptions which allow non-profit and other groups to shoot motions pictures or television shows without getting a permit.

But when we were shooting some static, still photos in Papago Park we were ordered by a Phoenix Park Ranger to stop shooting our photos until we purchased a $100 permit.

The Park Ranger didn’t ask us any questions about what we were doing, he just ordered us to stop shooting our photos. So I will assume he didn’t care if our photos were private, non-commercial photos, or commercial photos.

I discovered that Philip Bradstock who runs the Phoenix Film office is in charge of this area.

Philip Bradstock told me that Phoenix city code G-1403 does cover this area. He told me that despite the fact that the law doesn’t say a word about requiring people that shoot static, still photos to get a permit that he is allowed to modify the law and require people who shoot static still photos in Phoenix city parks to get the $100 permit.

I politely told Philip Bradstock that this was a bunch of BS and that only members of the Phoenix City Council were allowed to pass new laws or modify the meaning of existing laws. I went on to say that while the law may allow his department to set the administrative details about how the law is implemented it certainly doesn’t give him the power to totally modify the law and make it apply to people shooting static still photos.

Philip Bradstock then gave me a copy of Administrative Regulation 5.42 and said it gives him the power to force people who shoot static still photos in Phoenix Parks to purchase the $100 permit before they are allowed to shoot the photos.

Administrative Regulation 5.42 which was created in October of 2008 was written by the Phoenix City Manager. It goes on to say that when the Phoenix City Council passed Phoenix City Code G-1403 in 1974 and used the words “motion pictures” and “television productions” they didn’t really mean “motion pictures” and “television productions”, but instead really meant pretty much any kind and every kind of photography on the face of the earth.

So now we have a dilemma, when I read the law it clearly says it only applies to people that are making commercial motion pictures or commercial television productions. The law doesn’t say a word about people that are shooting static still photos. So I don’t think the law applies to us when were shooting non-commercial, static still photographs in Papago Park.

On the other hand Philip Bradstock readily admits the law doesn’t say the law doesn’t mention still photography, but he says he can modify the law and make it mean anything he wants it to mean.

So my question is if we go back to Papago Park and resume or photographic session will the Phoenix Police arrest us if we don’t get a permit?

Or will the Phoenix Police use read the law as it is written and assume that since the law doesn’t mention a thing about requiring a permit for static, still photography will the Phoenix Police let us finish our photo session without arresting us?

If this isn’t your area of expertise or part of your job can you pass this email on to somebody who can answer my question instead of ignoring my emails like you did in the past?

Thanks