In 2011, Long Beach Post reporter Greggory Moore was detained by cops for taking photos outside a courthouse. Eight sheriffs deputies detained, frisked, and interrogated him, saying his actions were suspicious.

In the wake of 9/11, the Los Angeles Police Department established an anti-terror laundry list of 48 suspicious activities, including taking pictures with “no aesthetic value,” that could be used to stop people for questioning.

The spirit of that list was, for the most part, adopted by the L.A. Sheriff’s Department and the Long Beach Police Department, and officers from those organizations have been accused of detaining legitimate photogs for snapping shots of what law enforcement deemed to be sensitive sites, such as courthouses, refineries, jails and tall buildings. [read]