In Berkeley: to Shoot or Not
Posted in The Berkeley Scene on September 28th, 2013 by admin – Be the first to commentby Steed Dropout
Sept. 27, 2013
Berkeley, Ca
ASK NOT FOR WHOM THE BUST TOLLS or SHOOTING CAN PUT YOU AWAY
A shot can be a bullet or a photo.
I had my shoulder camera with me at meet-up recently with BPD Chief Michael K. Meehan and dropped the word — shoot.
The chief was concerned. Even the word shoot caused him to re-coil. I cradled the camera and said, “Don’t worry, Chief, I can’t shoot you with this.”
Later, I e-mailed chief the probable decade of coinage for this shoot-use — 1920’s. Our top cop is interested in words. He laughed heartily when I told him a story about a BPD cop whom, in 1970, accused me of being “obstreperous.”
DOESN’T MY FRIENDSHIP WITH CHIEF MEEHAN PROTECT ME FROM OTHER COPS?
As I tell my friends, I could have had the chief of the FBI with me and I would still be subject to police commands. I have no illusions of being not subject to arrest, even though — especially though, I’m a press photographer and often in the way.