The cops in Philadelphia seem to think it’s illegal to use your camera phone to snap a pic of them arresting a suspect:

“He opened up the gate and Neffy was coming down and he went up to Neffy, pulled him down, had Neffy on the car and was telling him, ‘You should have just went in the house and minded your own business instead of trying to take pictures off your picture phone,’” said Gerrell Martin.

Cruz said police told him that he broke a new law that prohibits people from taking pictures of police with cell phones.

“They threatened to charge me with conspiracy, impeding an investigation, obstruction of a investigation. … They said, ‘You were impeding this investigation.’ (I asked,) “By doing what?’ (The officer said,) ‘By taking a picture of the police officers with a camera phone,’” Cruz said.

Cruz’s parents, who got him out of jail, said police told them the same thing.

“He said he was taking pictures with his cell phone and that was obstructing an investigation,” said Aracelis Cruz, Neftaly Cruz’s mother.

The cops admit to arresting Cruz, but claim that he wasn’t on his own property at the time nor did they tell him it was illegal though the cops don’t specify what Cruz did to garner the arrest. This could be a possible violation of Cruz’s Fourth Amendment rights if it turns out his story is true. Either way, this isn’t the first time we’ve heard of people being arrested simply because they took a picture of a cop arresting someone. Hell, in a country where you can be arrested for wearing an anti-war t-shirt it probably shouldn’t come as any surprise that photographing the police will get you arrested.

Thanks Bush! I feel so much more secure now!