San Diego man ordered to take down his live cameras pointed at the Bay for 10 YEARS days a
Posted For: Layla Godey
By HOPE SLOOP
A San Diego man whose livestream captured two U.S. Navy ships nearly colliding in the local harbor has been ordered by the military branch to take the cameras down.
Barry Bahrami says he was told by the Navy Criminal Investigative Service and National Park Service that he cannot have a live stream because it shows military activity in the area.
The man told one local San Diego outlet that his group has been filming for a decade, but was only ordered after the near-miss incident was captured
We were there for 10 years and then to suddenly make up a reason to take them down, that’s just bologna I don’t think anyone believes that,’ Bahrami told FOX 5.
‘Now we have government censorship simply out of spite because we showed something they didn’t like,’ Bahrami said.
Bahrami runs a group called San Diego Web Cam which provides live stream feeds across the San Diego area.
In November, one of Bahrami’s cameras caught two Navy ships in the San Diego Bay nearly colliding in an incident of ‘Warship Chicken.’
After the video gained online attention, the National Park Service reached out to him on the Navy’s request, instructing him to take the cameras down.
The cameras were positioned at the Cabrillo National Monument in Point Loma.
While the government organizations are claiming they simply do not want him filming any potential military activity, Bahrami is raising questions.
He is asking why his cameras were taken down after a decade in the area and calling the order an act of ‘censorship.’
A legal analyst who spoke with FOX 5 San Diego said the case is peculiar because of the length of time the cameras were up and the public interest.
‘One thing that is distinguishable about this web cam company is that they were very careful not to film anything that might cause privacy issues,’ Wendy Patrick said.
One thing that is distinguishable about this web cam company is that they were very careful not to film anything that might cause privacy issues,’ Wendy Patrick said.
‘It’s also fueling the argument on why they want to know exactly why this request was made to take these cameras down,’ Patrick continued.
The cameras were ordered to be taken down just days after the incident was caught on video and public interest has only spiked.
The man says his cameras are not a threat and are just there to connect San Diego residents to their city.
The legal analyst agreed but noted their location as a potential issue.
‘The cameras are taken down on private property and the footage is something that has a lot of views people are very interested in,’ Patrick said.
‘There are people that relied on those webcams to watch loved ones coming and going,’ she continued.
While speaking with the San Diego outlet, the camera owner said he plans to put up two new cameras to replace the ones taken down.
He also said he is developing an app that will allow anyone to set up a webcam in the city.
‘There are people that relied on those webcams to watch loved ones coming and going,’ said legal analyst Wendy Patrick
In a statement to DailyMail.com, NCIS officials responded, saying:
‘NCIS recently expressed force protection concerns to the National Park Service related to the privately owned webcams.
‘We look forward to continuing close coordination with NPS.
‘The private webcams and YouTube channel provided 24-hour webcam monitoring of vessels and equities located aboard Naval Air Station North Island, including aircraft hangars and flight lines, Naval Base Point Loma submarine assets, and the tracking of military personnel working aboard Naval Base Coronado.’
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