Originally posted by MRRiley (snip) Photographer Duane Kerzic decided to take some photos after he got off of the Amtrak at Penn Station in New York.
After snapping a few shots he was preparing to leave when he was approached by Amtrak policemen and their dog. When asked what he was doing he replied that he had been taking photos whereupon his bag was sniff searched by the dog. They next asked to see his photos and subsequently demanded he erase the photos of the trains and station.
When he refused he was promptly handcuffed (and injured by improper placement of the cuffs), placed under arrest and thrown into an Amtrak Police holding cell. he was eventually released facing "trespassing" charges. (snip)
Your version differs significantly from
Kerzic's own version of the incident in his letter to Amtrak and government officials. There is no dog mentioned in his version, nor mention of his bags being sniff searched by a dog. He states in the letter that he volunteered to be handcuffed by placing his hands behind his back
without being asked. And his admits in the letter to taking photographs on a platform marked with a
No Trespassing sign and was shown that sign by Supervisor Sergeant Taylor of the Amtrak Communications Center.
And, of course, neither your version nor Kerzic's version gives us the police officer's version of the incident.
Finally, the Amtrak "
Picture Our Train" contest seeks photographs "featuring
an Amtrak train with the current Amtrak logo," not railway station interiors or boarding platforms. Further, the contest website specifically warns contestants not to "trespass on railroad property or on private property adjacent to the railroad" and "trespassers are subject to arrest and fines."
stewart