About 20 minutes ago, I was taking photographs in the Gallery Place Metro station. I took a couple of tunnel shots and a slow-shutter train shot. Shortly thereafter, I was approached by a police officer who found my picture taking “suspicious” and she asked me for identification. She took down all of my information and put me through a brutal questioning session. I answered all of her questions truthfully, but she was so obviously skeptical. She even called in for backup! I mean, I know our police have to be cautious and all, but what the fuck! It angered me to an immense level, but I did a pretty good job of controlling my temper. I was so humiliated to have a cop on either side of me while everyone walked by, wondering what was going on.

We’ve heard rumors before, even sometimes here in DCist comments, that some people have heard taking photos inside Metro stations is “against the rules”, and we’ve tried our best to let everyone know that it’s all a load of hooey. This Flickr discussion group is full of good information as well. But apparently none of us have reached the key demographic of D.C. residents who need to know the truth: Metro Transit Police. Allow us to say outright that this sort of harassment from Metro Police is unacceptable. This is the actual rule regulating the use of cameras inside Metro stations:

100.8(2) Still photography that does not require a tripod, special lighting, film crews, models, impair the normal ingress/egress or operation of Authority services and can be accomplished by a hand held camera by one person is not regulated.

Remember local photogs: You have the right to take photographs in any public place whenever you want, which includes Metro stations. Do yourself a favor and download this handy pdf of the Photographer’s Right, print it out and carry it with you. In the meantime, we’ll see what we can do about making sure Metro Transit Police officers learn the truth about the law.

Photo by La Tur