Utah real estate photographer Jahshua Grover was simply doing his job, taking photos of his client’s house, when he was accosted by Morgan County sheriffs. Despite the owner of the home arriving on the scene and explaining to the cops that Jahshua was hired to do a job, he was cuffed, injured, arrested, and charged. Taya Graham and Stephen Janis of the Police Accountability Report investigate this violation of First Amendment rights and uncover long-term credibility issues with the sheriff who led the investigation, and reveal a troubling pattern of harassment.
Pre-Production: Taya Graham, Stephen Janis
Post-Production: David Hebden, Adam Coley
Transcript
The following is a rushed transcript and may contain errors. A proofread version will be made available as soon as possible.
Taya Graham:
Hello, my name is Taya Graham and welcome to the Police Accountability Report. As I always make clear, this show has a single purpose holding the politically powerful institution of policing accountable. And to do so, we don’t just focus on the bad behavior of individual cops. Instead we examine the system that makes bad policing possible. And today, to achieve that goal, we’ll break down this video of a photographer who literally could not do his job due to police overreach, a man who was trying to take pictures from a public sidewalk, a task that apparently police determined was illegal, but it’s the consequences resulting from police pushback that we’ll also be unpacking for you today. Oh, in the body camera video I’m about to show you has some pretty revealing moments that show how police feel about us when they don’t think we’re watching or listening, I think you’re going to want to hear what they have to say about citizens who dare to invoke their rights.
But first, I want you watching to know that if you have video evidence of police misconduct, please email it to us privately at par@therealnews.com or you can reach out to me directly on Facebook or Twitter at TEUs baltimore and we might be able to investigate for you. And please like share and comment on our videos. It helps us get the word out and it can even help our guests. And of course, I read your comments and appreciate them. You see, I give out those little hearts down there and I’ve even started doing a comment of the week to show how much I appreciate your thoughts and to show what incredible community we have. And we have a Patreon called accountability report. So if you feel inspired to donate, please do. We don’t run ads or take corporate dollars, so anything you can spare is truly appreciated.
Alright, we’ve gotten all that out of the way. Now, as we have reported on repeatedly on this show, bad policing does not just result in useless arrests or unlawful detainment. No. The misuse of police power can often lead to disastrous economic consequences for the person on the receiving end. And no case we have covered fits that description more than the video I’m showing you right now. It depicts an encounter between Jahshua Grover and two Morgan County Utah Sheriffs that ended with handcuffs, false charges, and even more disturbing interference with his economic livelihood, namely the apparently dangerous occupation of taking photos. The story starts in the small town of Morgan, Utah. There Jahshua was doing what every American has a right to do, earn a living now for him that entailed taking pictures of properties that were listed for sale. It’s a process that thousands of people do every day to help others sell their homes, but apparently in this community that act was potentially criminal. Take a look.
Speaker 2:
Hey, do you want it’s 97, correct that you work for 97, so I think it’s 97. The end unit down there. We can be detained. Will you go get the real estate agents information real fast?
Taya Graham:
So as you can see, police confronted Jahshua as he was filming. The couple in the background had called the police officers were detaining him to verify his employment because he was again taking pictures. Now I want you to watch this closely as the officers checked out his story.
Speaker 3:
Hey, how you doing? Good, how are you? Good. Sorry to bug you. We’re investigating this minor incident down the street here. There’s somebody out taking photos. Yeah, I
Speaker 2:
Talked to the other officer.
Speaker 3:
Oh, did you talk
Speaker 2:
To you? Yeah,
Speaker 3:
He
Speaker 2:
Has my ID right now, so I was coming out.
Speaker 3:
Oh, perfect. Are you working through a realtor right now?
Speaker 2:
Yeah. You want the number?
Speaker 3:
Yeah, if you have a name and number that would be great. We just want to make sure he’s legitimate.
Speaker 4:
Yes.
Taya Graham:
So we can’t hear every word exchanged between the homeowner and the officer, but it seems pretty clear that Jahshua’s assertion that he was just doing his job is in fact true. Nevertheless, when Jahshua directly asked the officer if he wants to review his work, the officer declines just watch.
Speaker 3:
I don’t know, I’m just jumping in the middle of this so I don’t know what all’s going on. If there was a crime here to investigate, I would accept an investigative detention. But there is nothing to investigate. It’s pretty plain and clear. It’s photos and Well, I’m going to go touch base with him and then we’ll go from there. Okay? Do
Speaker 5:
It quickly because I’m wanting this detention
Taya Graham:
To be over. Now at this point with confirmation that a realtor had been engaged and even the tacit admission that the same realtor was employing a photographer, you would think the police would just walk away, but that is not what they did. Not hardly. Instead they continue and I’m quoting this investigation, just watch, I mean you guys swore to
Speaker 3:
Defend rights. Alright? I don’t need you to educate me, I’m here to help out. Okay? I’m just asking who’s okay, just let us do our job. The one here that’s going to illegally take, let us do our job and we’ll get you on your way. Just relax. Don’t escalate this. Keep it simple.
Taya Graham:
Don’t escalate this. Now, really, who is escalating here? Maybe he should have said instead, don’t assert your rights, which I think has been the real issue throughout this encounter. Jahshua knows his rights and he has again asserted them. And again, as we have witnessed before, time and time again, police, when you assert your rights, have a tendency to retaliate, detained. Stand up here
Speaker 3:
Until I can figure out who you’re, I’m not going to id. Okay, stand up here. You’re required to follow our instructions. I’m not. Why am I being detained? Don’t just stand up here. It’s for our safety and for your safety. I’ll stand over here. Okay? Bring your hands behind your back for me. What did I do? Bring your hands behind your back. What did I do? Get out here. What did I you, you’re not following our orders. Why do I have to follow your orders? Let me put the camera up here so it doesn’t get wrong. Hey, can somebody film this?
Speaker 2:
Hey, I’m not going to
Speaker 4:
Resist nothing. Resist, but why do I
Speaker 5:
Have a lesson learned or something?
Speaker 2:
There are no lessons to learn at already. Sir, you gave you law order and you’re refusing to comply. I told you I didn’t want you sitting on my car right on there. When I’m sitting there trying to do a few things to figure out who you are, what
Speaker 4:
Have I done? What law have broken, it’s possibly voyeurism. That’s what we’re trying to figure
Speaker 2:
Out.
Taya Graham:
Possibly voyeurism. Are you sure? I mean those are some serious detectives. I mean honestly, just forgive my sarcasm here. I mean how exactly did they deduce that crime given the information that they had already gleaned? What made them think that Jahshua was a peeping tom? But it gets worse. So much worse. Just look
Speaker 5:
Real estate photography is what I’m doing. Well we got to figure that all out. That’s what I’ve done for like 12 years.
Speaker 3:
Guess what? We get called to something. It’s our job to investigate. That’s it. What crime? Your right should not be contained.
Speaker 5:
Your camera, body, camera.
Speaker 3:
What am I, my sergeant going to say?
Speaker 5:
What? Crime warrior. Voyeurism? Yes.
Speaker 3:
I think you heard it the first time
Speaker 5:
And what did about voer. Somebody’s who? This is something that’s done all the time. You shoot the outside of the unit to what about sale or somebody calls us and says you’ve had it explained by the only that they’re doing it for real estate. Huh? The owner that I’m doing for that explained to you it’s for real estate. Well, the owner never invited you here. Yeah, they did 97. What I’m shooting for. Why are they saying that? Because somebody else is confused about why I’m taking photos. It’s just a confusion on their end. It shouldn’t be a reason why I’m in cuffs
Taya Graham:
Now I think at this point the officer on the right looks a little, let’s say embarrassed. Maybe. He’s starting to realize that putting someone in cuffs for taking photos and doing their job is a little bit much. I mean notice that not far from this excellent arrest they just made. There’s a sidewalk That’s right. A small swath of land otherwise known as public property. It’s the one place where anyone can take a picture, protest or hold a sign or otherwise exercise their first amendment rights. But of now apparently in Utah, this small but significant piece of constitutional oasis has become a path to criminalization. What an accomplishment. But that officer actually doubles down. Look,
Speaker 3:
The reason you’re in cuffs is not for following our orders for safety purposes. You made that choice. I was. That’s why you’re in cuffs right now. We told you to stand in front of this car where we could see you, period. Why do I have, why don’t be a dumb ass to follow the police fucking orders. It’s simple follow orders. This is to Germany. I don’t have to follow orders. My God, you have no idea what you’re talking about. If I haven’t broken the law investigating it’s simple. I haven’t broken the law. You have a job to do, haven’t broken the law. Just shut your mouth and I’ll explain to you, but there’s no reason to detain me if I haven’t broken the law. We get dispatched to something. You have no reasonable or articulable suspicion. There’s no getting through to you to put me in cuffs. Just keep it. I’m going to make this into a lawsuit, okay? I absolutely have to. I haven’t done anything. That’s your right. Do it. Do it. Enjoy the lawsuit. That’ll go nowhere.
Taya Graham:
Don’t be a dumb ass. I don’t even know where to start with that one, but let me try first. Knowing and invoking your constitutional rights is about as American as it gets, which hardly means dumb. And Jahshua might be wrong or he might be right, but asserting your right to peaceably assemble or petition the government is not stupid. It is in fact the opposite of dumb. It is what we aspire to in a democracy, a fully informed citizenry pushing back against power using the constitution to preserve freedom. That is precisely what the writers of our body of laws intended. So perhaps, and this is just a suggestion, respect the man for invoking his rights instead of insulting his intelligence. But of course this all escalates when Jahshua asks the officers to identify themselves.
Speaker 5:
So your name and badge number, Mr. Crane. Yep. What’s your badge number? Is it part of the policy to get the public?
Speaker 3:
Why are we not
Speaker 5:
Going?
Speaker 3:
Do yourself a favor.
Speaker 4:
Lemme explain something to you. Okay? You’re in a tiny ass area. We don’t have badge.
Speaker 5:
I’m just, I have a call sign, an employee ID number, anything. Okay, well my number is 62, my employee ID number. We don’t have, I would like to know what law is broken. That’s what we’re investigating. Public photography is protected under the first amendment
Speaker 4:
Even and that’s great. If everything checks out, then you’ll be on your way. I don’t know what happened to one. Why am I being detained? What you did to get stuff. He said, Stan,
Speaker 3:
Are you with a photography company or what? And I’m not. I haven’t broken the law. Do you work for a company, yes or no?
Speaker 5:
I’m answering questions. I’m in cuffs.
Speaker 3:
I’m trying to help you out here so we can get you on your way.
Speaker 5:
It’s gets me out of cuff.
Speaker 3:
Okay. This is
Taya Graham:
Ridiculous. To quote them, we’re a small ass town and we don’t have badge numbers. Well, Steven actually asked the police department about this and he will have answers for us shortly, but again, it seems like the officers are simply making stuff up out of whole cloth. How on earth can a law enforcement officer not have an ID number? I mean, if you are detaining someone because he won’t give you an id, then how on earth can you possibly deny him the right to see your id? I mean I’m just not sure how the officers don’t see their own hypocrisy here, but the absurdity of this arrest only accelerates over time. Just watch. When somebody
Speaker 3:
Calls us and tells us camera pointing through somebody’s window, that’s a whole different thing. That’s very likely. Lawyer see pictures.
Speaker 5:
You want to
Speaker 3:
See the pictures. I’ll let our investigating deputy look at the pictures. If that’s what he wants to do. I’m just here to assist him.
Speaker 5:
Then the investigation’s over, isn’t it because you’re not bowering into somebody’s window.
Speaker 3:
Yep. Don’t one quit, do you?
Speaker 5:
I’m going to stand up for my rights. I’m in cuffs for no reason.
Speaker 3:
You’re in cuffs for not following orders.
Taya Graham:
I don’t have to follow orders. You did that to yourself. Now, just to be clear, voyeurism in Utah is defined as taking a picture of someone’s naked body when they have a reasonable expectation of privacy, namely in a private residence or in their own room. And if indeed that’s what Jahshua did, it should be easy to discern. All the officers have to do is either ask to see his pictures or if Jahshua declines, get a warrant based upon probable cause to search his camera. And yes, that’s a lot of work, but the officers are the ones who started this. So perhaps they could finish it by adhering to the law, but that’s not what happens. Just watch us trying to figure out who gentle
Speaker 2:
Back people calling us and he wants to play the roadside warrior with us until we figure
Speaker 5:
It out. Now you want to steer me down, try to intimidate.
Speaker 3:
You’re siring me down. You’re the one that’s sitting here. I’m not trying to you making eye contact with me all creepily.
Speaker 5:
What are you talking about? All creepily? Like can you describe it better?
Speaker 3:
Well, you’re staring me down.
Speaker 5:
I’m not staring you down. You’re staring me down. I looked over and you were just mad dogging me because you have a point proof. Just like you tried to hurt my arm when you put these cuffs on me, you did it on purpose. There was no reason for it, dude. You were using more force than necessary.
Speaker 3:
Stop pretending to be a victim here.
Speaker 5:
I’m not. I’m just stating the facts. You don’t like the facts. I understand
Speaker 3:
Your facts are bullshit. They’re not facts.
Speaker 5:
No, they are facts. You were trying to be a little more aggressive than you needed to be for no reason. No, there was no resistance, no nothing.
Speaker 3:
There was no reason for you to not follow our orders. Was there other than being an asshole
Speaker 5:
Other than did a good job of that, that I don’t have to listen to what another man tells me to do unless I’ve broken the law.
Speaker 3:
You clearly dunno what you’re talking about. I clearly do. No, I absolutely know for a fact I do. It’s cute. Keep it up.
Taya Graham:
I honestly have to wonder if this officer is trying to show us, show in under 20 minutes why people don’t trust law enforcement. It’s like a crash course in all the overkill and sense of entitlement that police deny when they’re confronted about it. But this officer seems dead set on proving is actually true. Do you understand, officer? You have a man in handcuffs. Do you realize you detained him without probable cause? Do you even comprehend how unconstitutional your actions are? Unfortunately, I don’t think so because this apparent arrest from hell continues.
Speaker 2:
It is not common practice for him to sit there and take pictures inside people’s houses and stuff. That’s the people that hired him and she goes, no. Every once in a while he’ll take a picture of the whole road to show what it’s attached to and it’s not okay for him to be taking pictures of people’s properties and their personal stuff. She goes, I don’t hire him for that.
Speaker 3:
Oh, so had she hired him at all?
Speaker 2:
Yeah, she hired him to take pictures of this house and this house.
Speaker 3:
Oh,
Speaker 2:
So he was taking pictures of everybody else. He was standing in the very back, in the back of their place. She’s sitting in her house, her blinds are open and he’s standing there with the tripod taking pictures inside her house. Oh no shit. She opened up the door saying, can I help you? Why are you taking pictures of me? She says, I’m doing my job. Takes a few more pictures. She says, well your job is what? Taking pictures of me. He is like, am I trespassing? Am I breaking just like he’s doing with us? Am I breaking the law? Am I doing this?
Speaker 3:
Wow. He did say, for what it’s worth, he goes, he offered to show me the photos that he took. So I don’t know if you want to
Speaker 2:
He or not. He’s been wandering around. Who knows what he deleted. I don’t even give a shit.
Speaker 3:
For sure. Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 2:
So did he give you his date of birth or anything?
Speaker 3:
No. No. I wast give a shit.
Taya Graham:
I can’t believe this, but I think I have nothing left to say only that I would recommend First Amendment training to these officers if he was standing on a public sidewalk and taking pictures of houses. That is not a crime. But since these law enforcement officers seem unaware of the law, I’m just going to let this arrest play out for all of us to see.
Speaker 3:
You’re legally required to identify yourself by the way.
Speaker 5:
So I’m going to be arrested if I don’t
Speaker 3:
Talk to the deputy.
Speaker 2:
What is your date of birth? I’m trying to make this
Speaker 5:
Easy. I’ll give it to you. If you tell me I’m going to be arrested. If I don’t give it to you, I’ll give it to you.
Speaker 2:
You want me to tell you you’re being arrested.
Speaker 5:
If you’re going to threaten me with arrest,
Speaker 2:
I’m not threatening you with anything right now. I’m trying to figure out the situation because your employer is saying at not any given time has she ever hired you to take direct pictures inside people’s or their personal property? I’ve never taken a picture inside. That’s not what these people are saying when her blinds are open. That’s why I’m trying to figure this out. So we can either get you out of here or you and I can sit down and have a more civil conversation about this. So you want to force my information out of me? No, I want to talk to you. There’s no forcing.
Speaker 5:
So my birthday lets you know whether or not I was looking through windows.
Speaker 2:
I’m telling you what they’re telling us. I’m trying to figure this out. Sir, I’m trying to be decent with you. You are the reason you are in handcuffs. I’ll
Speaker 5:
Help you out. That’s a 14 millimeter lens, which is a very wide angle, which is very far, far, far, far, far away. So that corner, you can’t even see into a window.
Speaker 2:
Okay, what is your date of birth so I can make sure that we have everything correct so that we can try to get you out of here.
Speaker 5:
What crime am I being detained for? Just, and then I’ll give you my birthday.
Speaker 2:
Are you shitting me? You want to go down this road? I just want to know. I’m going to go get statements from them about,
Speaker 5:
Okay, I just want know what crime I’m being detained
Taya Graham:
For. You know what? Let’s just keep going. I’m actually at a loss for words at the moment. Just keep rolling the video.
Speaker 3:
So taking photos in public is illegal. No. Okay. But if you were take your photos inside somebody’s home as they’re alleging that is highly illegal. I wasn’t taking photos inside, but that’s what we’re investigating. That’s why we don’t know. Hang on. I have a false, that’s why we don’t know if there’s a crime yet against that’s it’s our job to investigate. We can’t just take your word for it. We don’t owe you. You don’t know me. That’s our job. We’re cops. We investigate shit. Sometimes people allege a crime that didn’t occur. Sometimes people allege a crime that did occur. It’s our job to find out if it occurred or not. We’re
Speaker 4:
Mutual fact finders. That is all we
Speaker 3:
Do. And while we’re doing that, you are required to identify yourself if it’s a criminal violation not to. So if that’s something you want to get stuck with, then that’s on you. We’ll find out who you are one way or another. Be arrested.
Taya Graham:
Let’s try to picture for a moment, no pun intended, the set of facts that would need to be true for the alleged crime of voyeurism to have occurred. And bear in mind, I’m doing this out of respect for the fact that we, journalists are supposed to report both sides of the story. So let’s do so. Fact one, a man drives into your average neighborhood cul-de-sac parks, his fairly noticeable sports car with the attention of taking pictures of a naked woman inside her home, apparently unconcerned that his nefarious plot would be revealed. He does this as conspicuously as possible. First he parked and got out of his car in broad daylight for all to see. Then this cunning paper takes out a tripod out of his trunk of his car and places it on the sidewalk in front of the house where apparently he was surreptitiously seeking to snap nude photos in plain sight for everyone just hoping beyond hope that his timing would be perfect and a naked woman would just then be standing in front of an open window.
And then when police come to investigate this culdesac ur, they learn he’s working for a real estate company. So now the plot thickens, the alleged nudity. Hunter actually took a job with a real estate company, actually several years worth of jobs to take pictures of the exteriors of homes with the hope. Well, maybe really the gamble that one of these exteriors would actually have nestled inside of it. An unsuspecting naked person. It’s amazing scheme. Really what a nefarious and dedicated plan as improbable as it seems, these are the facts that would have to be true for the officer’s suspicions to be confirmed. His entire career as a real estate photographer was all for this one special moment. So with respect for Sherlock Holmes and Watson here, I will play this video to its bitter end.
Speaker 5:
Okay? What’s your name? As long as you guys are saying that by law, I have to, you do enlist multiple times to you and if I don’t do it, I’ll go to jail. Right? There’s a very
Speaker 3:
High likelihood of that. Yes, I
Speaker 5:
Need yes or no.
Speaker 3:
We’re just going by the book, dude. We’re not going. I’ll identify myself. Okay, perfect. Then who are you? Am I going to go to jail if I don’t identify yourself?
Speaker 4:
Yeah.
Speaker 3:
Yes. Okay. Whatever false narratives you want to create in your goofy head, feel for it. Go ahead and try to belittle me. You’re belittling yourself just fine trying to belittle me. I’ve got dispatch on you. You should know how to make your life difficult, don’t you?
Speaker 5:
What? By speaking freely. You got a problem with that by
Speaker 3:
Speaking freely, but you got a problem with it not having any idea what you’re talking about.
Speaker 5:
No. You’re over here trying to belittle me again. You just tried to say I didn’t know what I’m talking about
Speaker 3:
Because you keep trying to put words in our mouth and make drastic assumptions that are completely false guys, you guys make false assumptions about voyeurism and other stuff for a reason to be here. Okay? You guys must be vo again, believe these false narratives you’ve created. That’s
Speaker 5:
Fine. You treat false narratives. You’re just like a Russian. I listen to those Russians lie all the time. Why? They’re doing exactly the same thing. They’re accusing. Yeah, doing okay.
Taya Graham:
Of course, with no evidence that Josh was a voyeur. The investigation took another twist this time to focus on his car. Take a look.
Speaker 5:
Big time investigation. It’s taken quite some time.
Speaker 3:
Which car is yours?
Speaker 5:
It’s taken quite a while to investigate this.
Speaker 3:
This is your car up here.
Speaker 5:
Do I have to answer that question?
Speaker 3:
It’s a simple question. How
Speaker 5:
Is this investigating? Does that help you with the voyeurism claim that you’re making up? It could. I’m about to end this detention. It’s
Speaker 3:
Illegal. You mean the voyeurism claim? That seems very legitimate up to this point.
Speaker 5:
Very legitimate.
Speaker 3:
Yeah. Not even close so far.
Speaker 5:
Not even close.
Speaker 3:
That’s what all criminals say.
Speaker 5:
Oh, now I’m a criminal. Yeah,
Speaker 3:
We’re working on it. We’re trying to find out. You’re trying to find out to a criminal. Yeah, you’re doing that to yourself. No, I’m not. I haven’t done anything wrong. I don’t know why you’re so confrontational. If you’re just cool with us, then we could wrap this up quickly and potentially get you on your way.
Taya Graham:
That’s what all criminals say. I think that’s a telling admission of how police construct narratives. First a criminal than a liar. But really a more accurate description would be a person who actually pushes back. That’s Jahshua’s real crime. A fact that becomes apparent as they continue to search for justification of their actions and along the way, take Jahshua on a perp walk. Just look.
Speaker 3:
I’ve been pushing in the back of my car here for now. My camera home up here. Yeah, I’ll grab it.
Speaker 5:
So I’m going into the back of a cop car now. Still haven’t broken the law. I still haven’t broken the law.
Speaker 3:
I can handle them anymore. I can handle them anymore.
Taya Graham:
And finally, after turning off their body cameras during which they discussed this investigation, police, perhaps the profoundly flawed suspicions are not in fact true.
Speaker 2:
After all this stuff. You got to go today.
Speaker 5:
So I’m being trespassed from public property.
Speaker 2:
No, I’m being told. I’m telling you, you’re not going back and causing any more issues. So you can either get in your car and leave or I’ll take the ticket and we’ll go to jail. I’m trying to make this easy for you. You just don’t get it. You bought this yourself.
Taya Graham:
Appreciate the brake been given and move on. So after all the insinuations accusations, handcuffs, calling him a voyeur and refusing to answer any of his questions, Jahshua is charged with interfering with a police officer. Now forget the fact that generally speaking, this is a secondary crime. It’s pretty clear that along with turning off their body cameras when discussing the charges, no one was taking pictures that was somehow criminal or otherwise unlawful. But this is just the very beginning of the ordeal for Jahshua who will tell us later how this type of police harassment is not just routine but has happened many times before. And he will explain why this keeps happening and how it has affected him when we talk to him in just a moment. But first I’m joined by my reporting partner, Steven Janice, who’s been investigating the case, contacting police and researching the law. Steven, thank you so much for joining me
Speaker 6:
Te. Thanks for me. I appreciate it.
Taya Graham:
So first you contacted the police department. What did they say? Did they answer any of the questions you had about not having an ID number?
Speaker 6:
We’ll tell you? Yes. I was sent them a very detailed list of questions, including about the officer not IDing themselves or not having a badge number. And then I also asked ’em about what their probable cause was to detain Jahshua in the first place, given that the real estate people had said, yeah, we hired a photographer. So it’s kind of absurd. I have not heard back yet, but we’re going to keep pushing on them also. I tried Facebook, but their comments are muted and you can’t send ’em a direct message. So they’ve really walled themselves off from the community, but we will keep trying.
Taya Graham:
Steven, what aspects of the law do you think inform this case? I mean, for example, how does the First Amendment apply here?
Speaker 6:
Well, the First Amendment is very important because he was on a public sidewalk and that is literally one of the few places where the First Amendment is sacrosanct in terms of the voyeurism charge. It’s very clear that you have to film someone who has a reasonable expectation of privacy. So unless they had evidence that Jahshua had taken video of someone who was naked, they had no right to detain him. Now he had offered to let them look at his camera. So it seems like they didn’t have any way or any reasonable means to detain him or even start an investigation. It was pretty absurd and I think the law is pretty clear on that.
Taya Graham:
Also, something happened with the primary officer in the case. Can you tell me a little bit more about Officer Green and what happened?
Speaker 6:
Well tell you, 10 years ago the Utah Department of Public Safety called into question officers green credibility because of some questionable DUI arrest and of course the evidence and some of the circumstances were reviewed and the cases were dropped. So I think it creates some, not just a cloud of uncertainty, but some doubts about the investigation itself. So it’s something we’re going to keep looking into and we’ll report back, but serious questions have been asked and they have to be answered.
Taya Graham:
And now to understand how this encounter has affected him, why police keep targeting him and how he’s fighting back. I’m joined by Jahshua. Jahshua, thank you so much for being here. So what were you doing that evening before the sheriff’s approached you and that woman approached you?
Speaker 5:
I was shooting the interior of the homeowner’s home. I turned on all the lights. I had the blinds open, typical for a twilight shoot or any shoot, and I finished that. I went out to shoot the common space. They had specifically requested photos of the common space, which is usual. And yeah, I stepped out. I wasn’t outside for maybe five minutes. I had taken maybe two photos. I was at the far end of the grass field and I saw a woman step out on her back patio. I really quickly, as soon as I saw her, I said, Hey, do you mind if I take a photo real fast before you get over here? And she completely ignored me. She got a dirty look on her face and started marching towards me and she screamed at me halfway across the grass field and she says, what are you taking photos for?
I replied back, I said, I’m taking photos for my job. It’s for real estate. She continues walking towards me. She gets to where I’m standing and she’s in my face. I kind of try to ignore her. I take the picture and she goes, well, who are you taking the photos for? And I pointed over and I said, it’s for those owners. The house had the lights on the blinds open to me. It seemed clearly obvious. I took my picture, I walked away and she followed me. We got right to the corner of the homeowner that I was shooting for his unit and she goes, well, what’s their names? Then I was frustrated at that point because it’s none of her business. That’s the plain and simple part about it, and she wants to speak to treating me as if I was lying to her. I told her, ma’am, I’m a business and I don’t give away my client’s personal information.
She says, well, I’m going to call them. And we were talking about the homeowners. At some point, her story changed. I said, that’s fine. And I walked away. I went over to go shoot the pickleball court. Her husband approached me. He is got his fist bald and he’s got an angry look on his face. I’m taking pictures of the pickleball court and he’s saying, F this, F that. Getting really angry with me. I chose not to say anything. I knew if I said anything, it was going to escalate it and I didn’t have anything nice to say. And my mother taught me well, yeah, I just ignored him. He got frustrated with me not saying anything, and then he lunged at me like he was going to hit me. I didn’t move. I was carrying my tripod. That’s a formidable weapon. I wasn’t concerned and he turns and walks back to his house.
I went and shot the playground and I was walking back to shoot the front of the house. I hadn’t shot the front of the units yet. The homeowner came home. He pulled up in his truck with his wife and his kids in the car they had left, so they weren’t in the way to take photos. As soon as they pulled up, I let ’em know that their neighbor was having an issue and that they might want to talk to them. We were standing there and that’s when Deputy Boots pulled up. He pulls up, he gets out, he sees me and the homeowner. The homeowner had his baby in the car seat and let him know right away, we’re taking real estate photos, we’re putting our house up for sale. I let him know I’m doing real estate photos. I walked away to take photos of the front of the unit and he started yelling at me asking me what I was taking photos of other people’s property for and telling me that I didn’t have a right to take these photos. And I asked him, have you ever seen real estate photos before? And so at that point he told me that I was being detained for disorderly conduct, for taking photos from the public street of the front of the unit.
Taya Graham:
It sounds to me like you were very professional. You had professional photography equipment with you, including an expensive camera and a tripod. You had the permission of the neighbor, the homeowner who requested the photos, but the police were still called and investigated even though this was explained. What did they initially ask you for and what did you provide them as proof?
Speaker 5:
He immediately wanted to run my id. I let him know that it’s late. I’ve got an hour drive to get back home and I still have business operational things to do, and I need to get these communications out to my client early in the morning. I don’t have time. I’m not going to let you run my id. There’s no reason. I’ve had interactions with police officers before. Most times they don’t even come and talk to me. They just go and let the complainant know they’re doing real estate photos or he is taking photos. It’s not a big deal. Did he come on your property? Ask those types of questions. So I was in the expectation having the expectation of them just saying, Hey, not a big deal. Have a good night. When he wanted to detain me and the things he wanted to detain me before were completely inaccurate. I’m not unfamiliar to misconduct from police officers. I recognized right away what and why they were doing what they were doing, and I’m against that completely. I remained defiant and I wasn’t going to provide them with anything from there.
Taya Graham:
So you provided information that proved you were working as a real estate photographer and you explained to the officer that you shouldn’t be detained if no crime was committed, but you were detained and asked for id. Now understandably, you didn’t think you were obligated to provide it, but the sheriff started escalating the situation by threatening you with arrest. So you gave your personal information what happened next?
Speaker 5:
I provided that information, but that was later on in the interaction after he got to the point where he was going to take me to jail. If I didn’t from the very beginning, the information I wanted was to find what reasonable suspicion he had to detain me. So it was probably 30 minutes into the interaction before I provided my id, but it was only done so under the threat arrest.
Taya Graham:
Now you were hesitant to provide ID and there are people out there who would ask, why were you hesitant? How would you answer?
Speaker 5:
I’ve experienced police abuse in the past, the things that they can do with your name and your identification. I don’t find these as trustworthy people. Not only that, I love my country, I love the constitution. Not all countries have these freedoms or these rights and they should be allowed without question.
Taya Graham:
Now, something I thought was interesting is that the sheriff mentioned cop watchers or auditors. What did he say?
Speaker 5:
He wasn’t really accusing me of being an auditor, but he did recognize some of the language I was using as what his training was. So I think he put the pieces together with the First Amendment protective activities to his recent training about the First Amendment, and I don’t know why he decided to call that all bs, but I’m assuming the training wasn’t sufficient.
Taya Graham:
I noticed that the officer started to use a lot of profanity when speaking with you, when you were asking simple questions like why am I being detained and what crime have I committed? In what other ways was the officer aggressive with you?
Speaker 5:
At the point they decided to put cuffs on me. I don’t know if you noticed in the video, but they had a little code that they used in order to affirm that both of them were on the same page about putting me in handcuffs in that just my simple questions, it didn’t matter what I asked, I just asked very basic reasonable questions. Like when he had his hands on me and had me up against the car, why do I have to follow your orders? It was at that point he cranked this hand. He pushed it all the way up to the top of my shoulder and in doing so, he separated tendons in my elbow and in my shoulder. So the reasons for escalation, I don’t know other than they are unprofessional. I tried to maintain my professionality and conduct myself in a proper manner. I wasn’t cursing, I wasn’t taking things out of proportion, but those that we give our tax dollars to feel like they don’t have to maintain professionalism, I guess when they were doing their duties.
Taya Graham:
So you were in the back of a police car cuffed, even as they discussed the fact that they knew you were there to perform a job. How long did they continue to detain you
Speaker 5:
From that point? In the video where he’s explaining the legality of what I’m doing, it was another 15 to 20 minutes before I was taken out of the cuffs. That speech that he gave is typically the speech that the officers give at the beginning of the interaction to whoever complained and him giving that speech in the way he did shows that he was trained to handle a complaint that is based on such, which is based around photography.
Taya Graham:
What did they say to you about your charges and you also received a secondary charge? A failure to ID months later. Right.
Speaker 5:
So they charged me with interference of a peace officer, and that was the only charge I had at the time. It was six months later I wrote a letter to the mayor and the city council members of Morgan County. I received a secondary charge once again, six months after the fact for failure to ID a retaliatory charge.
Taya Graham:
You believe you are being maliciously prosecuted and retaliated against. Can you explain why you believe that?
Speaker 5:
Just recently I filed motions in my case and I received a memorandum in opposition to those motions. I issued a reply to that memorandum and the reason I did so they have detailed inaccuracies, exaggerations, and lies such as classifying the complainant as a victim. As the Supreme Court has ruled, photography does not cause harm. So his misclassification is fouling up these proceedings and tainting them in the interaction. Before I was cuffed, I was told to step in front of the vehicle and I kept approaching the officer that was in his vehicle. If you look at the video, I actually take four steps back and then I decide to step to the curb. So he’s misrepresenting the facts. A couple other details that were in his memorandum that were completely inaccurate. In fact, his memorandum details that I was detained solely for the act of photography.
Taya Graham:
So how much has this cost you to fight these charges either personally or emotionally or financially, and have you had to get physical therapy for your arm? I mean, basically how has this impacted you?
Speaker 5:
Yeah, it’s had a big impact. I don’t know if you understand this, but when you’re not feeling well, experiencing pain, your motivation to get things accomplished, it diminishes. And so I’ve been taking on less work. I’ve also been taking on less work because I’m representing myself. I know that they did this to me to make me have to waste my time and my money. So I’m representing myself so I don’t have to let them win on that aspect, the emotional, I can’t focus on my work, I can’t focus on my relationship. I’ve got pets that I feel like I should be taking better care of. This is a all day, every day kind of concern. Learning how to suddenly become an attorney requires a lot of time. My ability to even be, I guess as happy about life in general has been difficult, if not impossible.
Taya Graham:
Often people say to me, the process is the punishment. I’ve had victims who are defending themselves tell me that going through the court process is a stress and a harm unto itself. Has this changed how you view police or has it confirmed your understanding?
Speaker 5:
Well, and I’ve also had health conditions. I’ve been dealing with an ulcer and that and the stress and everything. I have not been able to recover from it during this process. It’s been months as you know. It’s been difficult to say the least. In fact, even just right now dealing with this, I’m not feeling well. I’ve made a determination that for every good cop video I see of cops playing basketball with kids and being a hero and providing CPR, all of those good actions get canceled out by how many negative interactions I witness and I view. It’s making it impossible for cops to be heroes. They’re giving something great, which is power and authority and what they choose to do with it is shameful and I’ve lost my respect. I still have interactions with officers that do conduct themselves properly and that I hold them highly respectable. But there are a few that still sign up for an old way of policing that is outdated and not with what the citizens want to see.
Taya Graham:
If you could speak directly to the sheriff’s department and you knew they were listening to you, what would you want to say to them
Speaker 5:
In this interaction? And since I’ve had over a dozen of my rights violated, currently, the Morgan County Sheriff’s Department has their Facebook comments turned off and their online reviews turned off. This is a public forum. This is a violation of the public’s first amendment rights to redress and express their grievances. They haven’t at one point decided to act appropriately or adhere to the law or respect the constitution. What I would say to them, you guys deserve to be defunded. Not all of them but you guys. You don’t need to exist anymore if you can’t clean your house and you can’t act appropriately, step down.
Taya Graham:
Now, usually on this part of the show, I do a rant, for lack of a better word. That is I try to add some context to the case or make a broader point about policing with the idea that we can hopefully event some useful truths about the stories we unpack here. But I’m going to do something different today. I’m going to dig a little deeper into Jahshua’s case. I’m doing this now because I thought you should hear from him first before I explore what has happened since the arrest now that we’ve spoken to him, I want to go through the process. I will call the aftermath. As we all know, the arrests we cover are only the beginning of the ordeal for the people who suffer through them. That’s why we spend so much time speaking to the people who experience questionable detainment, it upends their lives, threatens their jobs, and otherwise turns the world upside down.
But there’s another aspect of being put in handcuffs and thrown into the criminal justice system without justification. I’ve noticed it in case after case a yearning prompts the victim to dedicate themselves to proving one simple fact they did nothing wrong. I think it’s a deeply embedded desire in a society that invests so much in arresting, charging and otherwise labeling people as criminals regardless of circumstance. It’s a need to clear one’s name regardless of the obstacles that in different system often places in one’s way. To emphasize that point, I want to show some of the extra video that Jahshua gave us. It depicts his efforts to obtain the evidence related to his case, specifically the body-worn camera. I think it reveals something beyond the typical and personal bureaucracy that can often obscure and otherwise bury important truths behind laws and regulations. It shows that even when the handcuffs are taken off, there is another potent barrier to obtaining justice. It depict a man who simply wanted to be treated with the presumption of innocence when doing his job, which should define our society and our laws, and that he wanted the government that had been cruelly depriving him of his basic rights to simply acknowledge the truth that he had been wronged. But of course, that did not turn out to be easy. Let’s just watch as he tries and fails initially to get the body-worn camera that we just showed you.
Speaker 5:
So I will be getting the body cam footage and the dash cam footage today.
Speaker 7:
Probably not.
Speaker 5:
How long will that take?
Speaker 7:
I’ll send you the form and it’ll have all the information on it for you.
Speaker 5:
The form?
Speaker 7:
Yeah,
Speaker 5:
I need the body cam footage.
Speaker 7:
Yeah, I’ll give you all the information
Speaker 5:
To fill that out.
Speaker 7:
No,
Speaker 5:
To request it?
Speaker 7:
No, it’ll be denied.
Speaker 5:
You’re going to deny me?
Speaker 7:
Yes.
Speaker 5:
The body cam footage of the incident that I was involved in.
Speaker 7:
Yes.
Speaker 5:
Why?
Speaker 7:
Everything will be, all the information will be provided to you and the statutes.
Speaker 5:
So I’ll just contact the ombudsman?
Speaker 7:
Yes, you can if you’d like.
Speaker 5:
She’s
Speaker 7:
There for,
Speaker 5:
You’re not going to tell me the reason why.
Speaker 7:
Yes, it’ll all be on. I’ll send you all the information.
Speaker 5:
I can’t have access to the body cam footage of the incident I’m involved in.
Speaker 7:
It’s going to be denied.
Speaker 5:
So since it’s civil rights violations involved, it seems as though there’s some corruption in Morgan County and they’re trying to hide.
Speaker 7:
That’s not what I’m saying
Speaker 5:
And suppress this.
Speaker 7:
No, that’s not what I’m saying at all.
Speaker 5:
I won’t. Well, that’s the fact. If I don’t receive the body cam footage,
Speaker 7:
I won’t. I do the state law. It’ll all be, and then everything as far as the grammar process will be provided to you.
Taya Graham:
Now, this was the first time he requested the body-worn camera, and it was denied under the auspices of the Utah statute. I’m showing you on the screen now. This law describes dozens of exemptions that allow the state government to deny anyone access to public information. I mean, the list is so vast. I’m surprised that anyone can get anything from Utah that the bureaucrats decide they don’t want to release. It certainly puts the work of transparency on the back of the citizen seeking the information. But Jahshua persisted. He asked, not once, not twice, but three times. The reason I wanted to show this video is because it reveals how hard it is to persist and prevail when trying to show that the government has wronged you, how much you must fight, how much red tape you must unravel to reveal the truth, and more importantly, how much the system has been constructed to prevent you from doing so.
I wanted to show this for all the people fighting the same battle as Jahshua, for all the guests who’ve appeared on our show, despite the prospect of retaliation from police or other arms of government, how people when wronged who have everything to lose, still fight against a bureaucracy that can arrest, detain or otherwise destroy them, and they don’t give up and they keep going despite the odds, often without lawyers, usually without support and frequently amid pushback and retaliation from the police themselves. And usually when I ask why they tell me they’re not just pushing back for themselves, not just to be vindicated, but for the community. Their quest for justice is not simply about their own law enforcement predicament, but it’s about a concern for others to ensure that their fellow citizens are not engulfed in questionable arrests or overly aggressive law enforcement. It’s a spirit of communal good, so often missing from today’s political discussion that pits ideologies and factions against tribes and parties.
And yet in our midst among the least empowered exists a group of people who I’ve had the privilege to speak to, people who embody all the best aspects of our constitutional republic, who despite all odds strengthen and bolster the underlying ideals of our body and laws and of our Constitution, people who renew democracy by believing in it. That’s my rant for today. It’s my statement of respect, admiration, and support. Yes, a journalist support for people like Jahshua who keep fighting. I salute him and all our other guests because they are the ones who will save our rights and we must respect them for their work and for their sacrifices on our behalf. I want to thank our guest, Jahshua, for sharing his story with us and his fight for justice. And of course, I have to thank Intrepid reporter Steven, Janice for his writing, research and editing on this piece. Thank you Steven
Speaker 6:
Te. Thanks Ami. I appreciate it.
Taya Graham:
And I want to thank mods of the show, Noli D and Lacey R, for their support. Thanks Noli D and a very special thanks to our accountability reports, Patreons, we appreciate you and I look forward to thanking each and every one of you personally in our next livestream, especially Patreon associate producers, Johnny R. David k, Louis p, Lucia, Garcia, and super friends, Shane, b Kenneth K, pineapple Girl, matter of Rights, and Chris r. And I want you watching to know that if you have video evidence of police misconduct or brutality, please share it with us and we might be able to investigate. Please reach out to us. You can email us tips privately@therealnews.com and share your evidence of police misconduct. You can also message us at Police accountability report on Facebook or Instagram or at Eyes on Police on Twitter. And of course, you can always message me directly at teos Baltimore on Twitter and Facebook. And please like and comment. I really do read your comments and appreciate them. And of course, if you can hit that Patreon, don’t link pinned below in the comments. We’d appreciate it. My name is Taya Graham and I’m your host of the Police Accountability Report. Please be safe out there.
This content originally appeared on The Real News Network and was authored by Taya Graham and Stephen Janis.