April 14, 2014Dallas, Texas

J. D. SpillerChief of PoliceDART Police DepartmentP.O. Box 660163Dallas, Texas 75266-7268

Copy to Gary C. Thomas President/Executive Director Fax 214-749-0281

Morgan Lyons Asst. Vice President Communications & Community Engagement mlyons@dart.org

I am in receipt of a letter of April 9, 2014 (copy attached), wherein DART’s Interim General Counsel states DART has not been able to locate any documents that meet the following qualifi cations

• Any and all documents relating to any and all DART policies regarding of photography by the public at any DART station, facility, or other locations under the control of DART

• If any policy is in force that prohibits photography by the public at any DART station, facility, or other locations under the control of DART, then please provide the relevant documents which explain the prohibition policy, the reason for the prohibition, who(m) initiated this policy, when it was put into force, and any legal cites and references for this prohibition, along with a copy of the policy as distributed to DART employees.

• If any policy is in force that prohibits photography by the public at any DART station, facility, or other locations under the control of DART, then please provide a list of any person(s) arrested or detained by DART employees for violation of the policy, including, date, time, location and fi nal disposition (and court of record for such action), including fi nes, detention or court-ordered punishment.

• Any and all documents, memos, or orders given to DART employees which explain DART’s policy(s) regarding photography by the public at any DART station, facility, or other locations under the control of DART, whether prohibited (as noted in previous paragraph) or not.

On 10/17/2012 at 11:38 AM, Morgan Lyons wrote:

Actually we don’t allow photography at Convention Center and Cityplace stations because of security. There are signs posted to that effect.

Mr Lyons later noted this action was taken at the request of the Homeland Security Agency and the Transportation Security Administration. That prompted me to contact your agency for the document(s) containing that request(s).

In light of the failure of DART to fi nd any supporting documents prohibiting non-commercial photography (photography by the public for personal use, not profi t), I make the following requests...

• Any and all signage posted at any DART station or transit center which states there is a prohibition on photography should be removed immediately.

• DART Police Offi cers should be notifi ed that photography by the general public is NOT prohibited. In 2009, the Director of the Miami-Dade Transit authority sent an email to a blogger clarifying their policy regarding the taking of photographs in and around their vehicles and system. This message could be used as a template to developing DART’s guidelines regarding photography. (see attached).

• In the case of DART, all train stations, transit centers bus stops and other facilities are by defi nition ‘areas open to the general public access and occupancy’. This would not include service areas, power stations, control rooms, offi ces, and similar working areas where safety and confi dential information are an issue. Safety concerns could include standing too close to the tracks, for example.

I look forward to your reply. In the near future, I will visit various stations to determine what signage is posted (or not).

Regards,

Avi S. Adelman

5620 East Side AvenueDallas TX 75214

Telephone 214-923-3562Email Avi@AviAdelman.com

The photos included here were shot on Friday April 11, at approximately 4pm.The images were NOT included in the letter mailed early Friday morning.

From: Kapoor, Harpal (MDTSent: Tue 5/26/09 11:25 AMTo: newshawk@gmail.comCc: Muntan, Eric (MDT); Chen, Hugh (MDT); Forbes, Clinton (MDT)

Thank you for your electronic correspondence in which you advised Miami-Dade Transit (MDT) that you would like clarifi cation as to whether or not individuals are allowed to take photographs of the Metrorail system. In your correspondence, you indicate that you were told that you could not photograph unless you possessed a permit.

MDT regrets any inconvenience or embarrassment this incident may have caused you. MDT is not aware of any federal, state, or local law which would prohibit personal photography at our facilities. The incident that you experienced appears to have been the result of the misinterpretation of local county law, specifi cally Miami-Dade County Code 30(B), which requires permits for commercial photography. MDT also requires permitting for photography when it involves equipment other than a hand-held camera (i.e. tripods, cables/wires, screens, etc.), which could pose a potential safety hazard to other patrons.

Although not prohibited, security personnel and/or any MDT employee are encouraged to inquire as to what objects/images a patron is photographing. This is done not with the intent of harassing patrons or station occupants, but rather as a means of ensuring the security of our infrastructure and the general public and ensuring that commercial activity is not being performed.

Miami-Dade Transit certainly acknowledges the efforts of your work. We have advised the MDT Offi ce of Safety and Security and our security contractor, The Wackenhut Corporation, that there are no prohibitions against taking photographs for personal purposes and that the public should not be prohibited from doing so, as long as taking these photographs does not violate Miami-Dade County Code, Chapter 30B.

On behalf of MDT, I thank you for bringing your concern to our attention. Should you have additional questions or concerns about security on the MDT system, please call the MDT, Offi ce of Safety and Security at 305-375-4240.

Harpal S. KapoorDirectorMiami-Dade Transit701 NW 1st Court, 17th FloorMiami, Florida 33136