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California Family Fights For Privacy, Relief From Cyber-Harassment
theodp writes "Just days after his daughter Nikki's death in a devastating car crash, real-estate agent Christos Catsouras clicked open an e-mail that appeared to be a property listing. Onto his screen popped his daughter's bloodied face, captioned with the words 'Woohoo Daddy! Hey daddy, I'm still alive.' Now he and his wife are attempting to stop strangers from displaying the grisly images of their daughter — an effort that has transformed Nikki's death into a case about privacy, cyber-harassment and image control. The images of Nikki, including one of her nearly-decapitated head drooping out the shattered car window, were taken as a routine part of a fatal accident response and went viral after being leaked by two CHP dispatchers. 'Putting these photos on the Internet,' says the family's attorney, 'was akin to placing them in every mailbox in the world.'"
The family filed a formal complaint about the photos' release, and three months later, they received a letter of apology from the California Highway Patrol. An investigation had revealed that the images, taken as a routine part of a fatal accident response, had been leaked by two CHP dispatchers: Thomas O'Donnell, 39, and Aaron Reich, 30. O'Donnell, a 19-year CHP veteran, had been suspended for 25 days without pay. Reich quit soon after -- for unrelated reasons, says his lawyer. Both men declined requests for comment, but Jon Schlueter, Reich's attorney, says his client sent the images to relatives and friends to warn them of the dangers of the road. "It was a cautionary tale," Schlueter says. "Any young person that sees these photos and is goaded into driving more cautiously or less recklessly -- that's a public service."
If that does not satisfy you, I'm not sure what will. Sue your police department for large sums of money but it won't take the pictures off the internet.
Today the entire family is in therapy, and they've taken out a second mortgage to cover the costs of their legal battle.
Your life up until this accident has sounded fairly idyllic and easy. Apparently this has been a very rude wake up call. Your daughter took your hundred thousand dollar car for a 100mph tirade through town with cocaine in her system. We all do stupid things, some more stupid than others. She made a series of very serious mistakes and luckily no one else was killed or badly hurt.
If you do not put this behind you, it will consume you and your lives and her mistakes will end up ruining not just her life but yours. Mourn her, celebrate her life, remember her but in the end move on.
In my opinion, it would be more heroic of you not to spend a second mortgage suing your police department but instead using that money to create awareness of hazardous driving, starting a college fund in her name, donating that money to charity in her name or doing something less destructive with it in her name. Right now, the public's memory of your daughter is for the wrong reasons and you're just exacerbating the situation. Be above that. Change things for the better and remember her fondly, not as a never ending court case.
My work here is dung.
I would just call it harassment. If somebody keeps on getting prank calls on the telephone, it's still called harassment.
Take a random Joe like myself, who hasn't heard of Nikki Catsouras: now I'm aware of the existence of grisly photos of this unlucky young woman. Some of these random Joes will likely be interested in seeing those photos in spite of the family's wishes. And thus the number of people who saw the pics has increased.
Unfortunately, their only practicaly recourse is just not to look at those pics. I, who has not heard of this woman or her accident before, have not seen the photos, ever, so it is possible to avoid seeing them.
"The agriculture ministry is not in charge of Gundam" - Japanese ministry official.
And that's just the start.
I am so entirely baffle as to why people would want to view this sort of photo, let alone send such an email. I'm ashamed to be the same species.
I'm reminded of a story about the Buddha. Paraphrased: A woman came to the Buddha filled with grief over the death of her child. She asked the Buddha if there was anything that could be done to cure her grief. The Buddha said he knew of a concoction that would do so, and listed off ingredients. The woman got excited and said she would collect the ingredients post-haste. Before she left the Buddha said "The ingredients cannot come from a household that has experienced the loss of a loved one (child, parent, grand-parent, sibling)." The woman agreed to follow the directive and went off in search of the ingredients.
Everywhere around town she went she found people that were willing to give her the items she requested. However when mentioning the stipulation that it come from a home where no one had died, everyone had to turn her away. She went throughout the whole village and was unable to find someone that had not dealt with such a loss. Realizing this, she discovered the cure to her grief.
Life spares no one of suffering.
Are the people posting these all over for kicks utter twats? Yes. Is the family over reacting? Also yes.
No one should have to see their child in such a way, but plenty people do. If you live in a warzone like Iraq or another country that deals with terrorist bombings all year long, likely you've seen it live.
But by all means, let's make an emotionally charged issue out of this. Let's censor the Internet. That will surely stop these things from happening in the first place, right? Thank goodness!
No sig for you!!
Don't let your coked up daughter steal your sports car and go on a joyride if you don't want people to remind you that you're a terrible parent every day for the rest of your life.
There are whole industries based on helping us laugh and yuk it up at the expense of other human beings. Like the Romans packing the Coliseum to watch people fight to the death or be eaten by wild animals we as a race revel in the misery of others. All of the so called 'reality shows' out there allow you to look in on many aspects of misery and discomfort of other people. Marry a Millionaire, The Bachelor, even your game shows are there not so you can see someone win but so you can see lots of someones lose and lose miserably. Let's get that close up of the woman who debased herself for weeks chasing after 100 thousand dollars and who puts her future in the hands of some good looking bachelor fellow and who just lost, the tears streaming down her perfectly done make up job are priceless. The latest internet sensation is a woman who came onstage and everyone was already laughing at her and her awkward, less than attractive ways. Nobody was there to hope that Susan Boyle could sing, they were there to make fun of her and most of the contestants on those shows are there for us to laugh at and even when it gets to the few good singers those of you who watch are hoping to see someone fail more than you're hoping that everyone does well. We love the misery and we love to wallow in it. On the internet isn't the main reason for the website 'The Smoking Gun' so we can see people debased and brought low so we can laugh at them? Every week with the cooperation of Police all around the United States they find the mug shots of people at their lowest point and collect the ugliest, the prettiest and the most absurd photos they can find so we can all laugh at them. We're not told that the attractive woman whose picture becomes internet fodder was arrested after fighting with her boyfriend, mother or for not having her Driver's License when stopped for going five miles over the speed limit. No, we get to laugh and guffaw and make jokes like 'bath her and bring her to my tent' for our own amusement. Meanwhile, there she is, forever on the internet because the dignity of human beings isn't our concern and it certainly isn't the concern of the people who get those mugshots and post them for all to laugh at. Human dignity isn't high no the list of things that Police concern themselves with as witnessed by the weekly mugshot review from The Smoking Gun and posted at Fark. But the Police are only a reflection of the rest of society they come from and the posting of grisly car accident photos is a reflection on us. There should be privacy rules and laws against that since common decency isn't one of the more common attributes of people if it ever was except in our best, most rose colored visions of ourselves.
Enjoy your Karma, after all you earned it. Feel your Karma Joe, feel it burn.
The solution may be to prevent such photos from being taken. Alternatively, as a society we might simply shun those who enjoy such activities, asking them kindly to look at their naughty pictures in the privacy of their own home, not on the public street.
"She's a scientist and a lesbian. She's not going to let it slide." Orphan Black
Every visit http://www.stileproject.com/ ? It's full of death, accident, and medical photos. It's interesting. If you've ever wondered what happens, for example, when a motorcycle loses against an 18-wheeler, you can see for yourself.
It's plain old curiosity.
Everyone is fascinated with images of mortality, for in them they see their own possible demise.
A work that expires before its copyright never enters the public domain and thus enjoys eternal copyright protection.
I have the right to complain about the stupid callous behavior of others. And I also have a right to point out when my police department violates protocol. The family of course has no right to censor the internet, and they can't even if they tried. They would just end up having to see the photos more often in an attempt to censor them.
Such photos have to be taken as part of police protocol, records must be kept. How those records are disseminated are of critical importance to all of us.
Generally speaking, as a society we do shun people waving banners of dead mutilated babies in the street. And most people aren't brought over to someone's side because of disruptive and shocking photos (referring to various protesters who use gory pictures as part of their demonstrations). Also society, generally speaking again, shuns people who would take a picture of a dead teenager and place captions on them at an attempt at humor.
I think fake gore is hilarious, you dress someone up with blood and brains everywhere, comedy gold to me. But if someone had to die to make the picture well it's a little harder to laugh at it. Sure laughter can be good medicine, but so far all the jokes with the photos were unfunny and in poor taste. For a tragedy to be a comedy I think there needs to be some irony, and there is no here. Deaths like these are just some stupid shit that happens all too often.
“Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
...Streisand Effect.
For once, I actually feel sorry for the family, and would much rather the images never made it out. However, the consequences of having an Internet capable of silencing something like this, once it's out, are unacceptable.
Don't thank God, thank a doctor!
She wasn't mentally ill. It stated "doctors told her parents the effects of that treatment on her young brain might show up somedayâ"perhaps by causing changes in her judgment, or impulse control"
Acting like she was some kind of mental handicap is a bit silly. There is no guarantee that had anything to do with this and it'd be my opinion that it would more likely be plain old peer pressure that caused her to try cocaine.
While this may have started off for those reasons. Their fight only makes things worse because people go through this same sort of thing all the time and they don't have rich parents wanting to make a scene and change their law for their child.
It's no surprise they're all in therapy if they're basically putting themselves in the poor house over this.
I personally rather run the risk of seeing pictures of dead family members online rather do something that could lead to the hindrance of free speech because as it's been said this isn't a problem with free speech. It's a problem with some clowns not taking their job seriously and it's rather common as I knew a volunteer fireman who kept a photo album of accident pictures and he had shown them to people like it was his pride and joy.
People have always been like this and always will and you can't stop it by passing a law. You only end up ruining life for those with decency.
Harassment is breaking the law you dumb motherfucker!
Post a picture of anybody with a good story to go with it and within a week you will have their name, their dogs name and who they bought their house from.
"I personally rather run the risk of seeing pictures of dead family members online rather do something that could lead to the hindrance of free speech because as it's been said this isn't a problem with free speech. It's a problem with some clowns not taking their job seriously and it's rather common as I knew a volunteer fireman who kept a photo album of accident pictures and he had shown them to people like it was his pride and joy.
People have always been like this and always will and you can't stop it by passing a law. You only end up ruining life for those with decency."
Yes, but it will be grandstanded by the legislature in the interest of "protecting us". This is the same reason we have the "Patriot Act" and "Fusion Centers". The politician will say that it is better to take away the rights of millions to save a life - hence the nanny state which is another name for fascism.
"I say we take off, nuke the site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure."
I seriously hope they do. E-mailing these pictures to her family? That is the dickest move of all dick moving time.
to be frank she was unidentifiable from the picture. second it was in a public place. and well yes people had little sympathy, she was a rich girl who drove recklessly in daddys expensive car. shows what happens when you go face first into concrete. not the censored actress has a bloody nose/scratched forehead you get from media/tv/movies. images like this do have educational value.