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.
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.