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Australian Tourists Arrested On Brooklyn Bridge For Off-Limits Selfies
By
Scott Heins
Published Jan 26, 2017
Modified Jan 26, 2017
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By
Scott Heins
Published Jan 26, 2017
Modified Jan 26, 2017
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A pair of tourists from Australia were arrested by the NYPD yesterday for taking some corker out-of-bounds selfies on the Brooklyn Bridge.
Police say that at roughly 2 p.m. Wednesday, Rohan Wilis, 22, and Jordan Guthmann, 20, climbed onto a beam above the bridge's roadway, past "No Trespassing" signs and began snapping photos.
Cops directed both men to return to the pedestrian path, and according to an NYPD spokesperson, Willis and Guthmann were promptly arrested, and charged with criminal trespass and reckless endangerment.
On one hand, walking out on a narrow beam over speeding traffic is an incredibly dangerous idea (especially if it's only for a selfie), but on the other had, the illicit #bridgeselfie is practically a New York tradition at this point. Last month, 23-year-old Yazeed Elarjani of Fairfax, Virginia was also arrested for allegedly taking selfies in an off-limits area of the Brooklyn Bridge. Elarjani was charged with criminal trespass and reckless endangerment. Two other incidents of off-limits climbing were recorded on the bridge in 2016, including a pair of tourists from Connecticut and a wily bearded Frenchman.
Despite the fact that this keeps happening, no one from City Hall appears ready to take the long-overdue step of banning tourists from the Brooklyn Bridge. They could at least start with imposing a stiff tax on selfie sticks.
Tagged
brooklyn bridge
selfies
tourists
trespassing
Scott Heins
Scott Heins is a freelance photo and video journalist based in New York City, and a frequent contributor to Gothamist + WNYC. His work often centers around labor rights, housing, and policing. In 2018-2019 he traveled to four states while covering a wave of public school teachers strikes, with work featured in The New York Times, The Intercept, Getty Images, Splinter, and Bloomberg Photos. Scott is a dues-paying member of the National Writers Union's Freelance Solidarity Project.
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