Akron Beacon Journal
September 18, 2003
Section: METRO
Page: B1

By David Giffels

When he first heard the shouting, Chris Auman ignored it and kept walking back toward his office.

It was the lunch hour in downtown Akron. Shouting and bustle are part of the scene. It wasn’t until he was confronted by four men, three in security uniforms, one in a suit, that he realized they’d been shouting at him. They asked him to put his hands on his head. They frisked him. They looked through his backpack and asked him why he’d been taking pictures of the Federal Building at Market and Main streets, half a block from where they stood. He told them he hadn’t taken any pictures of the building.

Then they led him inside, down to a small, out-of-the-way basement room with lockers along the wall and a desk. He sat for more than an hour as they questioned him further. An armed guard stayed with him while they ran a background check. They went through his wallet and his camera bag.

They asked him why he had a tape measure in there. It was a memento from the recent birth of his son; doctors had used it to measure the baby.

They asked why he’d renewed his driver’s license in an off-year. He’d lost the old one.

When they were finished, they kept the film from his camera, which included shots of his new baby in addition to the photos he’d taken that day. They told him if everything checked out, he’d be able to retrieve the film in 30 days. He was released, found his way out of the building, and returned to work more than an hour late.

This happened last Friday. It’s probably worth mentioning that Auman is 32 years old, Caucasian, has short hair, was dressed reasonably well, in jeans and a decent shirt, and has no criminal record.

It may be worth mentioning that this happened on the day after Sept. 11.

It’s certainly worth mentioning that there is nothing illegal about taking photographs in a public place, and that Auman was not arrested or read his Miranda rights before he was detained.

Other than what happened at the Federal Building, this was a normal activity for Auman. He’s an amateur photographer who often spends his lunch hour shooting street scenes. “A creative outlet,” he says. He works downtown as a graphic designer for Knight Ridder Digital, which runs Ohio.com and is a sister company to the Akron Beacon Journal.

This was the first time he’d wandered as far as the Federal Building, where he photographed the minimalist metal sculpture in the plaza. As far as he knows, the building is not on that confiscated film.

So here’s the question: Should this story make us feel better or worse about our state of security?

Auman described the session in the basement as “fairly pleasant, but kind of accusatory.” He maintained his composure and cooperated.

“I didn’t want to give them any trouble,” he said. “I just wanted to get it over with as quickly as possible.”

The Federal Protective Service officer who led the questioning did not return phone calls for comment.

Auman did not go off on a rant about this. I learned about it when word traveled through the grapevine from Knight Ridder Digital to the Beacon Journal. And before he told his story, he made it clear he wasn’t trying to raise a stink.

“Obviously, they’re doing a good job,” he said. “But it was a hassle, and I obviously wasn’t doing something bad.”

Auman has posted his tale on an Internet forum for photographers. More than 200 posts have appeared, almost all outraged or dismayed at an apparent erosion of rights.

So back to that question about our security. Its answer really lies in a series of other questions.

What if Auman had dark skin and a turban? What if he hadn’t kept his composure? What if he had refused to accompany the men into the basement? What if he had been snapping pictures of that public building?

I don’t know the answers. And that’s what concerns me.

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