Letters & E-mails in Carlos Sotomayor Lawsuit

What can you do to prevent us from being falsely arrested again???

We were shooting some non-commercial, non-profit, private, still photos in Papago Park when a Phoenix Park Ranger falsely arrested us and deprived us of our liberty to shoot photos in the park. The park ranger told us it was illegal to shoot ANY photos, without getting a $100 permit from the city of Phoenix. The park ranger ordered us to stop taking our photos and ordered us not to take any more photos till we got the $100 permit.

We were told that Phoenix City Code Phoenix City Code G-1403 makes it illegal to shoot static still photos in Phoenix parks without getting the $100 permit.

However after reading Phoenix City Code G-1403 I discovered it doesn’t even apply to us.

First Phoenix City Code G-1403 only says a permit is required for shooting motion pictures or television shows in city parks. It doesn’t say a word about static, still photos.

And of course we shooting static, still photos and the so the law does not apply to us.

Second Phoenix City Code G-1403 only applies to commercial shootings. Even if we were shooting motion pictures, or a television series the law would not apply to us because according to Phoenix City Code G-1403 very specifically excludes private, non-profit, non-commercial groups from getting the permit.

We want to go back to the park and finish shooting our photos, but we don’t want to till we are certain that we will not be falsely arrested again by the park ranger and deprived of our right to shoot photos in the park.

What can you do to assure us that we will not be arrested again when we go back to Papago Park and resume shooting our photos?

Last I suspect that when the park ranger arrested us and ordered us to stop shooting our photos our Constitutional 1st and 14th Amendment rights were violated per U.S.C. 42 § 1983.

On the other hand if I am wrong and there is some real law that makes it illegal to shoot photos in Phoenix Parks could you please tell me what the law numbers is and give me a copy of the law.

But for the past two months I have been writing letters to bureaucrats in the city of Phoenix who don’t even to bother to return my emails and have not had any success in finding if there is really a law that makes it illegal for private citizens to shoot static still photos in city parks without getting a $100 permit.

I talked to Aaron Stevens of the Phoenix Police about this issue and he told us there are no laws that require us to get a permit to shoot photos in Phoenix parks.

The only person who claims there is such a law is Philip Bradstock who is the director of the Phoenix Film Office. He readily admits that Phoenix City Code G-1403 doesn’t say a word about shooting static, still photos in Phoenix parks, and that the law as written only applies to people who shoot motion pictures or television shows in city parks. But Philip Bradstock says that he has the power to modify the law and make it require people shooting static still photos to get a permit.

From my understanding of government I thought that unelected bureaucrats like Philip Bradstock were not allowed to make laws. That the only people that could make new laws or modify old laws were the members of the Phoenix City Council. And to my knowledge nobody on the Phoenix City Council has passed a law requiring people that shoot photos in city parks to get a permit and pay $100 before shooting the photos.

Last this is a request for public records per Arizona's public record law A.R.S 39 §12, so please answer this email as soon as possible as required by the public records law.

Thanks