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Indian filmmaker sues New York city
Sharma was filming ordinary people with a handheld camera from the sidewalks when he was detained.
Critically acclaimed Indian documentary maker Rakesh Sharma, who was allegedly detained and harassed while filming in midtown Manhattan in May last year, has sued New York city claiming that his constitutional rights were violated.
Sharma was making a film about ordinary people, including taxi drivers, with a handheld camera from the sidewalks of the city when he was detained by the New York police, searched and interrogated for hours before being released and told that he needed a permit for shooting a movie, the suit said.
Later, he returned to New York in November and applied for permit which was denied by the Mayor's Office of Film, Theater and Broadcasting (MOFTB) but it declined to provide him explanation for the decision.
"It's a sad day when the police think they can detain and mistreat someone simply for making a film on a public street in New York City," plaintiff Rakesh Sharma said. "I cooperated with them and answered all their questions, but they treated me like a criminal. It was wrong, and I was scared and humiliated."
The New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU), which filed the suit in conjunction with New York City Law School for Civil Rights Clinic, on behalf of Sharma says that there are no written permit standards but the MOFTB requires applicants to have one million dollar liability insurance.
The suit also seeks striking down of the film-permit system as "constitutional."
Sharma has won several awards for his 2002 documentary 'Final Solution' depicting the Gujarat riots.
Since terrorist attacks in New York and Washington on September 11, 2001, some restrictions have been placed on photographing and filming especially the well known landmarks and police across the country have questioned people who were seen doing so.
"In a democracy, people have the right to document activity in public places without being arrested," said Donna Lieberman, NYCLU Executive Director.
"When the city tried to stop people from taking pictures in the subway, we objected and the city backed down. In the same way, we are challenging the city's arbitrary film permitting scheme, which exposes legitimate filmmakers to risk of arrest for taking pictures on the streets of New York."
"With its many landmarks and rich street life, New York City is the focus of much important photography and filming.
"The police can and should investigate suspicious activity, but that does not give them license to arrest people for public photography," NYCLU Associate Legal Director Chris Dunn, who also serves as a Professor in the NYU Civil Rights Clinic, said.
