Flash in the pen

HARD CELL FOR PHOTOG

Matt Moyer, Connect Savannah

When photographer Matt Moyer went to cover a "Battle of the Baddest" amateur boxing contest at a fight club in Savannah, Ga., in February, he
didn't expect to be on the main card. Nor did he dream that soon he would snap a self-portrait of himself — in the slammer.
Moyer, 28, a three-time National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) award winner on assignment for the alternative weekly Connect Savannah, spent the night in jail charged with obstruction of an officer and disorderly conduct. Last week, a judge tossed out the case, finding that Savannah Police Corporal Reginald Owens had no probable cause to charge Moyer with any criminal behavior.
As the "Tough Man" competition was ending, Moyer saw a police officer handcuff a patron at Jarrell's Boxing Gym. Moyer followed the policeman and the perp outside and clicked. "'If you take another picture of me, I'll throw you in jail,'" Moyer said he was told by Owens. The soft-spoken Moyer tried to explain it was his job to take pictures, and also began interviewing witnesses.
"The officer turned, and handcuffed me behind my back," Moyer said. "I asked him to be careful with my camera." At that point, the officer dropped the camera on the ground, according to Moyer.
Before his release from Chatham County jail a few hours later, Moyer got permission to try out his camera, and snapped the black-and-white self-portrait in his cell. Having been cleared by the court, Moyer plans a lawsuit against the city and the department.

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(copyright: Editor & Publisher May 15, 2000) [Caption]