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kc2aqg
2007-10-14, 11:22 PM
I haven't had time to edit any photos from my spotting trip today at Firestone with Adam (Adam613), but I wanted to write about our encounter today with NCPD. We had been shooting for several hours at Firestone when somewhere around 5 PM, two NCPD cop cars pulled up. The conversation was very laid back and they told us that they had come to check us out due to a call. (This I am still puzzled about...who calls the police because they saw someone taking pictures?!? It's beyond me, but anyway...) They actually didn't overtly ask us for ID, though we offered it to them anyway. The next thing he said I was not exactly expecting to hear: "You guys aren't doing anything wrong. There's no law against taking pictures." I think Adam and I almost fell over. After hearing about some of the "gestapo" tactics and negative experiences people have had with the police regarding our hobby, to hear this fresh attitude was a welcome change. We proceeded to talk with both officers for about 10 minutes about lots of aviation topics, including the good stuff we saw during the day and spotting at LGA & FRG. They even paused for us while we took pictures of a DHL Airbus flying by. Overall, I was extremely impressed with the level of professionalism of these officers.

So the moral of the story I would like to convey (and I have said this time and time again to those who know me): When approached by authorities, be respectful, friendly, and cooperative. A good attitude goes a long way.

Lastly, one of the other topics we discussed was websites we frequent as spotters and when we mentioned NYCA, one of the officers said he was familiar with it. If either of them should read this topic in the future, I would like to thank them very much for their courtesy, professionalism, and overall great attitude in interacting with us today. It is much appreciated by us as well.

T-Bird76
2007-10-15, 12:39 PM
NCPD are now very familiar with us in that spot and have been informed of our activities. They'll only come if someone calls as it’s the normal SOP. During U.N week one NCPD car pulled up simple to say hello, very nice guys. It’s good to see that they know what were about, now maybe they'll figure out we can also an asset to them.

adam613
2007-10-15, 02:42 PM
I wouldn't be surprised if it was the same cops that come by often; these guys were basically there to say hi as well. They said they only stopped by because someone called; one of them chatted us up about aviation for a good 10 minutes. He wanted to know if we got Zoom, which had landed on 31R (doh!) about 20 minutes prior.

Yay NCPD.

kc2aqg
2007-10-15, 03:21 PM
Haha I believe you meant 31L there Adam. And I would have been pissed too if I hadn't already shot Zoom in good light twice already, though once more wouldn't have hurt. Now that Pink Delta...grr!