SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA: A San Diego man whose livestream showed two US Navy ships almost crashing in the local harbor has been told by the military department to remove the cameras. As per Barry Bahrami, the National Park Service, and the Navy Criminal Investigative Service have told him he is prohibited from having a live stream since it depicts military operations in the region.
The man claimed to have been filming for ten years but only received an order after the near-hit event was documented. "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 said to Fox 5.
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Who is Barry Bahrami?
Barry Bahrami manages a group named San Diego Web Cam, which offers live streams from every corner of the city. Two Navy ships came dangerously close to colliding in November at San Diego Bay, as shown in Bahrami's footage. The episode, which is also known as "Warship Chicken," is the subject of a recent dispute. "Now we have government censorship simply out of spite because we showed something they didn’t like," stated Bahrami reported Fox 5.
Why were Bahrami's cameras taken down?
After the video grabbed huge attention, two of Bahrami's cameras at Cabrillo National Monument were taken down by the National Park Service at the Navy's request, citing the need to safeguard military personnel. The cameras were placed at the Cabrillo National Monument in Point Loma. Bahrami is wondering why his cameras were pulled down after a decade in the area and are calling the order an act of "censorship," while the government groups are claiming they just do not want him documenting any prospective military activities.
'We were there for 10 years'
The case is exceptional, as per a legal analyst, because of how long the cameras were on and the level of public attention. "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," said Wendy Patrick. "It’s also fueling the argument on why they want to know exactly why this request was made to take these cameras down." Bahrami claimed that his cameras, which had been in operation for nearly ten years, were taken down just days after the Navy probe results were made public last month. "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," stated Bahrami.
'It's time to express YOUR concerns'
Bahrami claims that his cameras pose no harm and are merely intended to help citizens of San Diego feel a connection to their community. The legal expert concurred but pointed out that their location might present a problem. "The cameras are taken down on private property and the footage is something that has a lot of views people are very interested in," said Patrick. "There are people that relied on those webcams to watch loved ones coming and going." The owner of the cameras stated that he intended to replace the removed ones by mounting two new ones. He added that he is working on an app that will enable anyone to install a webcam anywhere in the city.
What did NCIS say?
"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," read the statement. "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," as per Fox 5.
A GoFundMe page was set up to support the quick expansion of San Diego Web Cam after the National Park Service shut down its two cameras at Cabrillo National Monument. The money will go toward buying and setting up new equipment as well as paying outside contractors to take "our architectural diagrams and develop the Ranger App, which will enable anyone to be a San Diego Web Cam."
