When deputies go too far

Keeping the public safe is important.

If there is a car crash or a fire or an explosion, deputies (and other law enforcement officers) will keep the public back.

There was a house fire on Sunday morning at 220 Whitaker in unincorporated McHenry County (north of Bull Valley), and a deputy prevented a credentialed photographer from approaching the fire scene to photograph the fire for his media agency.

The photographer and members from other media were held back and prevented from reaching the fire scene. Now, probably there wasn't danger of explosion or nuclear energy leak. The media were entitled to approach more closely. The photographer learned from the deputy fire chief that he (the chief) was not happy that the deputy had prevented all media from gathering news for their stories.

Was it a new deputy? One who had not received sufficient training? Or did the deputy have orders from someone at the fire scene to keep everyone, including the press, away?

I had my own experience a few years ago in Woodstock, when I wanted to photograph a house that had burned on West South Street near Woodstock High School. The street was closed, but the firefighters were picking up the hoses and some of the fire equipment had already left the scene. In other words, the fire was out.

I wanted to cross the yellow tape on the opposite side of the street and was prohibited from doing so by a Woodstock officer. He asked me if I were a member of the media. Had I said "Yes", he would have allowed to be walk up the sidewalk on the opposite side of the street for pictures.

So I went home and made myself an Official Press Pass for the Woodstock Advocate. This electronic news source has been in existence for almost four years now and has published over 4,000 articles and tidbits of information. Even though the word "blog" is not used in the Illinois statute, it surely is one of the electronic media.