Police stop me from filming Q153......5-22-2013 

Railfanning is NO threat and NOT illegal!

I got lucky when a cop pulled up and said “anything good coming” and I said we’re just waiting for something to come, then he said have a good day and left.

Fact is it's not illegal to film trains while on public property. So long as you remain off the railroad's property, stay clear of traffic and even give the conductor a little wave, you likely won't hear a complaint. I work for a railroad. We know who railfans are. The police have no reason to stop you if you aren't doing something illegal, holding up traffic or causing a disturbance. Engineers and conductors see railfans filming them all the time. A quick and simple wave is always appreciated. Anything more drastic could be interpreted as an emergency up ahead. Enjoy your filming, have fun. The railroad is one heck of a place!

This is the problem with the USA. A cop demands id with no legal justification; the guy complies; the guy responds to the interrogation; and then the guy THANKS the officer. Wake up people.

26 year as a cop and he has never seen someone filming trains till now... buddy, open your eyes, turn your head now and then...

that conversation would have been over when he asked me what i was doing... i don't owe him an explanation...

What's wrong with filming a passing train. It's not like it's a crime

why does this clip start with Dany D and Lauren form American Pickers.?

When I railfanned back in the '70's I'd get questioned by cops. It's nothing new. Wrong, but not new.

There is evidently an intelligence test to become a Police Officer in Pulaski, NY. Tell him if you can't film trains, you'll go and film planes at the airport. And if he doesn't like that, ask him which police station he works at and tell him you'll be going to film there, due to your enthusiasm for police work.

National security? If I plan an attack I don't have to put in all that unnesecary effort of going to locations, taking pictures etc. The whole damn railroad network can be seen on Google maps!!!!

Well, getting pulled by the cops was much more exciting than the boring train video

The only issue I've had with cops in regards to train watching was when I stopped to watch a then new CSX C60AC pull out of the yard and I was inadvertently 1 foot over the property line and I was trespassed by a CSX police idiot. I never got out of my car, and had no idea I was one foot onto CSX property. Except for that one time, in 65 plus years of railfanning, I've never been hassled. I used to have CR employees take me to see wrecks several times, and almost every train crew member and MOW knew my dog from his 14 years of being with me most of the time.

he said he was on the job 26 years and never saw anybody filming trains. yea right. this guy must live inside a bubble.

Somebody called in a complaint. Police had to check it out. Not the best situation. Neither party was at fault.

Why is it that everyone with a camera is labeled as a terrorist? This is just ridiculous. #StopRailfanHarrassment

by contrast in japan, some railfan are in the middle of coupling operation, yet nobody seems to get angry

You did not have to show the officer[s] your ID. If that same situation ever happens again, politely inform them that you DO NOT consent to answering questions -or- providing identification unless they are charging you with a crime. If the officer[s] insist on you giving them your ID and answering their questions, just keep asking them if you are being detained or are free to go. Don't give in just because it's the easiest way out. Stand by your Constitutional Rights!

You should have filed a formal complaint against him.

First of all, ask am I being charged or detained?? If the answer is NO, exercise your fifth amendment rights to remain silent. Filming from public place is NOT ILLEGAL!!! If we the people keep giving up our rights, soon, we wont have any. BTW, I was a LEO for 18 years, been a rail fan 40 years and understand my rights.

Hope you obtained his name & badge #. This kind of behavior should be reported. You weren't breaking the law!

How come planespotters don't get crap because of all this 9/11 crap but railfans can't pull out a small camera?

Screw them if they get nervous that's the problem. I wouldn't have given him my Identification

I am actually very surprised that I've never had a police officer approach me when I'm railfanning. In fact, I've been railfanning and I had 3 Ontario Provincial Police cars with lights and sirens off, pass me at a crossing less then 10 minutes apart. I also had a scanner with me at the time and my older brother and I where both very surprised when none of them stopped to question us. My advice to railfans out there: Always carry ID with you. I know it sounds weird, but trust me, you never know what might happen.

Would kindly ask the cop to please name just ONE genuine terrorist attempt that has been made on a domestic cargo train .

why can't cops do their job like arresting thief's and criminals. In stead of messing with rail-fans. Almost forgot cops eat your doughnuts leave us alone and in peace.

It's happened to me recently but I was never asked for any information.

“I’ve been on the job here 26 years and it’s the first time I’ve ever seen anyone filming trains”. That’s cuz you’re asleep in your cruiser with donut powder all over the front of your uniform!

trains get nervous when you film them but in his 26 years as a cop he has never seen anyone film trains. What? Liar Liar LOL.

Was this an actual CSX officer or a village, county or state officer?

CSX railroad cops have been a pain in the ass

That was pretty stupid. IT'S A PUBLIC PARKING LOT PEOPLE!!! There's no place in that parking lot to be trespassing! I agree with what everyone else said. To be honest, this railfanning and police stuff is confusing. Anyway, good catch.

I would not give them my ID and stuff they’re just trying to find stuff at that point. If you’re not committing a crime, just stand there and say I’m not speaking to you and tell them you’re right and if they don’t leave you alone sue them for constitutional rights violations, I don’t get why people are giving into it

Yep, I sure get tired of explaining myself.

Do not give them an ID...

I film trains in the worst part of Houston every week and although alot of cops dont patrol that area because frankly it's abandoned and rundown when I do see cops they don't mind me a bit but that's because I'm not selling drugs or killing people hahaha

This has happened to me at least 2 times.

Blame Terrorism!

i would file a complaint on the officer for breaking my rights.

thanks for sharing

Ugh, I know this too well. Usually the cops are pretty cool with me, and they're probably a little annoyed at whoever called them on me when I was just minding my business. There was one time recently though that some guy I think had some loose connection with the sheriff in a tiny town basically ran me out of town and I'm still bummed about it. Dude was tailgating me and taking a ton of pics of my license plate (which was a rental car at the time, so luckily, not my regular plate). Then there was another time I picked an old favorite spot, only to end up being searched and run through the system. Apparently my spot had become a popular drug dealing spot in the meantime... Anyway, generally sounds like they were cool with you too, but I'm not so sure railroaders usually have much of a problem with it. I guess this was still just 10 years after 9/11 and I was getting stopped more in those days. They generally don't seem to bother me anymore... maybe I'm just smarter about where to railfan than I used to be as a preteen.

Considering the times this doesn't seem unreasonable. The cop was a little aggressive to start but it ended well if you ask me.

11 years ago... Same old story

Should have asked him for his name and badge # , then file a formal complaint ..... You owed him NOTHING !!

Hey man you can video csx in my state

yeah like filming a empty train is a danger to national security the only thing their hauling was their own weight and diesel fuel

I only wish someone comes up to me and says something !

tops parking lot looks far enough away to be safe.

It's not a legal reason to contact someone. Officer's violating the man's rights

why didn't you film their faces its your constitutional right to and don't give them your ID without asking why and tell them no if they insist and your on public property ask them for their personal ID and their badge number they HAVE to give you their number and it always helps to get their faces and remember stand up against the police remember you control them they don't control you.

He didn’t stop you from filming. He just asked what you were doing. What is wrong with that? I which someone had asked the 9/11 terrorists what they were doing.

I am reading some of the comments about how people should never show their IDs or give out their reasons for filming trains but I actually think the opposite works better, at least where I live. One time I went railfanning and the cops were patrolling the train station. So I approached them, told them that I wanted to railfan and they actually gave me permission to film there. The one officer said that telling them ahead of time is actually better because then you do not come off as doing anything suspicious. And the other cop was a railfan in his off duty time and showed me his collection of train pictures over the years. Anytime I go there now, the cops and railroad employees are friendly to me. So sometimes you get friendly cops if you tell them ahead of time what is going on.

police hate railfans

You can legally film or photograph any thing or any body you can view from public property. Those cops are stupid as hell they violated your rights.

26 years on the job and you're the first guy. He's a F'ing liar! You're also doing a constitutionally protected activity.

"National Security" is just an excuse to take the fun out of those hobbies others may find unusual. Apparently if no one is getting trashed and talking trash with their buds with alpha types, the rest are not considered normal. Crazy times.

I bet the loco conductor called the cops on him or her

Is this country going to split soon or what? I’m not fighting again.

Its a good thing you gave him your ID because then the situation would have gotten alot worse. In my opinion, nice job, keep up the good work

Why did you show that cop your ID. Nervous? Somebody filming me in a engine never bothered me. One guy was standing on the track getting ready to take a head on shot of the engine and when he was just about ready to click the picture I hit the horn. He almost dropped his camera. We thought that was funny as hell. A few minutes later the fat female guard came out and started giving him a hard time. Later on we said to each other "we should of invited him onto the train"

It’s pretty hard to find a nice cop most them are just demanding and some even rude and remember kids always when a cop comes up to u u don’t have to say a single word always invoke the fith

That's because we are all potential domestic terrorist now, I don't know about you, but felt safer when I was on my own, than having big brother watching over me.

now ill be sick the rest of the day. educate the public and cops on our hobby.

WTF Police!!

Everything is an assumption today. Yes, trains are being filmed. What might be construed as just a train could give a terrorist potential information. You would be surprised. As for the cop, he was doing his job. We can't fault them for being concerned. Some train fans can be weird thinking the rules don't apply to them. What should have happened was to ask permission of the railroad to film their trains. That would have ended the conversation quickly. There are also places where you can go to film trains like Horseshoe Curve or parks.

Not be saying "yes sir" when asked if they take the cuffs off will they stop running their mouths.

This cop is living in the dark ages before youtube. I know of at least 8 railfan channels and that's probably tip of the iceberg. To suggest railfans filming are involved in terrorism ("national security") is absurd.

welcome.to.freedom!!!!!!

A lot of train crews calls in anybody they see with a camera near the tracks-its fun for them knowing a railfan (that's putting it nicely) is being hassled. by the police. Why? Train crews don't like being photograph period and usually don't like "stupid train buffs"..

Over authority

First id refuse to i.d. second i would inform them of the constitution that protects my rights third id get badge and names and file a formal complaint.

wow

Natn'l S'curity, sure.

He asked you questions he had no business asking. You did not have to provide ID, even. Just saying. I'd never tell you what to do in a situation like that. Every time can be different. He had no probable cause to ask you anything at all. A call from a "concerned neighbor" is not probable cause when your activities are plain to see. Your entire conversation with him was actually totally voluntary on your part. Just be nice.

Lawsuit

I dow it some times

FOR WHAT PURPOSE???? BECAUSE I PLAN TO BLOW UP THE NEXT TRAIN AND I NEED TO MAKE PLANS....... IS THIS THE FREEDOM WE ALLOW TO BE LOST??? "I'TS NONE OF YOUR FUCKING BUSINESS, GOOD NIGHT" DO I NEED A REASON AND WHY DOES IT CONCERN YOU?? IF I WAS UP TO NO GOOD I WOULD HIDE IN THE WOODS AND FILM FROM THERE.

Kentucky

You gave him your ID - shame on you.