"My Day..." Middletown, NY. 09•Feb.•12

"...started before 4AM..."

Law enforcement officers outside a home on Eisenhower Drive in the Presidential Heights neighborhood during coordinated early morning raids on suspected gang members in MIddletown, NY on Thursday, February 9, 2012. CHET GORDON/Times Herald-Record

"and the AP also moved this image on the wires this afternoon... ~cg"

"Blood Work..." FBI Gang Raids - Part III. Newburgh, NY 13•Sept.•11

Heavily armed FBI agents leave the scene at 433 Third Street in the City of Newburgh, NY, on Tuesday, September 13, 2011. Multiple law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, Orange County Sheriff's Office, NY State Police, DEA, and Newburgh Police arrested suspected Bloods gang members wanted for murder and other violent crimes, during coordinated pre-dawn raids throughout the city. CHET GORDON/Times Herald-Record

*More on this in a bit. I have been sorting out coverage of my third pre-dawn raids here in my city over the last 16 months or so... ~cg

"While You Were Sleeping..." Newburgh, NY 10•Feb.•11

6:20AM. An FBI agent walks along Bayview Terrace in the City of Newburgh, NY, on Thursday, February 10, 2011. Multiple law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, Orange County Sheriff's Office, NY State Police, and Newburgh Police made arrests of suspected Latin King gang members in coordinated pre-dawn raids. CHET GORDON/Times Herald-Record

Today's workday is part of a continuation of my street crime coverage here in Newburgh, NY, particularly last May during city wide arrests made on known gang members. Back then 78 individuals were taken into custody on various charges, but mostly on drug offenses of different counts. Some of today's "targets" as they're known by law enforcement personnel were wanted in connection with several unsolved murders here in the city as well. Earlier today, as the dawn was just breaking, the FBI again coordinated raids involving multiple law enforcement agencies at residences of know Latin Kings gang members. Thanks to good sourcing and organizational work by our Newburgh beat reporter here at the paper (at left in photo), we were able to have another good street reporter (center) and staff photographer (right) join us just after 5AM to begin our own coordination around the city's East End. Upon learning of the type of individuals we might get a glimpse of during these raids, my heart beat faster, and my breathing grew short and determined. I was getting nervous in the reporter's car, parked a few doors away from an address that we knew beforehand was going to be raided. It is almost an indescribable feeling, "a rush" if you will. I mean not knowing if the individuals being sought are considered armed and dangerous, may flee, or even the strong possibility of gunfire that might ensue. Certainly the officers were well armed, including a team of agents with a battering ram, and full body shield. Yea, all these thoughts raced through my mind in the final moments before we exited the reporter's car. It was about 7˚F outside, just before 6AM. My first frames were made moments later, mostly as a test under available light with the older Canon 1-D. Nothing usable there. It wasn't like the FBI agents and other officers didn't know who we were. They were still arriving on the scene in undercover cars, SUV's, and marked radio cars, and parking at all kinds of angles in the street, intentionally clogging up the nearby t-intersection. I always make it a point in these situations to purposely dangle my press credentials around my neck, particularly when I'm cautiously walking upon a scene, and at this time, still in the morning's shrinking shadows. I also give a short and to the point low angle wave to the officers that see and acknowledge me, making sure they all get a good look at me and my colleague. One FBI agent even jokingly commented to me that I needed the newest Nikon D-3 or D-3s like his as he retrieved his equipment from a vehicle, so I could shoot at high ISO's like 12,800. Boy that was a brief moment of acceptance, and it was then that I realized I was "in" and would possibly have a good opportunity of making a few images of a "target" when they brought him out of the house in the next few minutes. My main images would still have to be shot with flash though, as available light exposures were still only 1/20th. sec. at f/2.8, ISO 4000. That wasn't going to cut it. I had to quickly change AA's in the flash again atop the Canon 5D - Mark II, as the only flash image I'd made as a test (of the reporters above) was more than a half hour ago. I guessed the extreme cold drained those batteries quickly. Fortunately, I'd thrown a set of AA's in my coat pocket, and was able to drop those into the flash only a minute or two before the murder suspect was led from his residence (below). 6:30AM. Suspected gang member Luis Tambito (center) is taken into custody from his home at 45 Bayview Terrace in the City of Newburgh, NY, on Thursday, February 10, 2011. Multiple law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, Orange County Sheriff's Office, NY State Police, and Newburgh Police made arrests of suspected Latin King gang members in coordinated pre-dawn raids. Tambito was charged with two other men in the murder of Jerome “Rude Boy” Scarlett in the area of Farrington and Lander streets on May 11, 2010. CHET GORDON/Times Herald-Record

I was lucky this morning. Real lucky. Something told me to change those batteries in the flash at the last moment, as well as creeping up to the bumper of the unmarked car in the street after I'd gotten the unofficial OK from an agent. I'd even asked another agent if I was "OK here" when the suspect was quietly led down the stairs by a few FBI agents without incident. Looking back, I didn't even realize he was cuffed, as the walk to the car only took about 5 seconds. In my mind's eye witnessing this scene seemed liked 20 minutes passed as I managed only about 5 or 6 frames, especially with my auto-focus going nuts in the dark. *(note to self - switch to manual focus at future perp walks, especially with flash under these conditions...)
When that scene was over, I managed a few "B-roll" images of agents, vehicles, etc. and we drove to another known address and just barely missed another "target" being led out his apartment. More backup images made there of agents entering the ground floor apartment with their evidence boxes and bags. And oh yea, remember to wave to the NY State Police helicopter overhead, who were no doubt filming all the active arrest scenes... ~cg.

Click HERE to read our story in today's paper and HERE for last May's story below:

"Knock - Knock...!!!"

An FBI agent (left) and a Hudson Valley Safe Streets Task Force officer serve a search warrant at 113 Lander Street in the City of Newburgh, NY on Thursday morning, May 13, 2010. Upwards of 600 officers from multiple law enforcement agencies raided gang hideouts and made arrests of Bloods and Latin Kings street gang members as part of Operation Blood Drive and Operation Black Crown at various locations throughout the City of Newburgh. CHET GORDON/Times Herald-Record

FBI agents gather outside the former National Guard Armory in the City of Newburgh, NY on Thursday morning, May 13, 2010. Upwards of 600 officers from multiple law enforcement agencies raided gang hideouts and made arrests of Bloods and Latin Kings street gang members as part of Operation Blood Drive and Operation Black Crown at various locations throughout the City of Newburgh. CHET GORDON/Times Herald-Record

Pre-Dawn Gang Raids in Newburgh, NY. 13•May•10

"Knock - Knock...!!!"

An FBI agent (left) and a Hudson Valley Safe Streets Task Force officer serve a search warrant at 113 Lander Street in the City of Newburgh, NY on Thursday morning, May 13, 2010. Multiple law enforcement agencies raided gang hideouts and made arrests of Bloods and Latin Kings street gang members as part of Operation Blood Drive and Operation Black Crown at various locations throughout the City of Newburgh. Times Herald Record/CHET GORDON

FBI agents gather outside the former National Guard Armory in the City of Newburgh, NY on Thursday morning, May 13, 2010. Multiple law enforcement agencies raided gang hideouts and made arrests of Bloods and Latin Kings street gang members as part of Operation Blood Drive and Operation Black Crown at various locations throughout the City of Newburgh. Times Herald Record/CHET GORDON

"The FBI..." 21•May•09

It always starts with a phone call.*(For good assignments & good pictures) Never fails. You take the call. Here's the scene at home, as best as I can remember - 11PM or so - I was settling-in and nodding off with the headphones on, watching a movie on the Mac, totally engrossed with the second DVD of a gift box set of the old TV series "Homicide: Life On The Street." Ironic that it would be our street reporter Doyle Murphy calling at 11:26PM. (we've been covering the homicides & funerals here in Newburgh the last 2 years - see my earlier posts here on the blog) Ironic too that I'd left the work cell phone turned up loud enough to even hear it ring on the windowsill just inches from my head. "State Police SWAT teams have Broadway closed uptown, and had I heard about the bomb plot earlier that day...?" He asked. "What?" I replied as I sat up like a bolt. (I'd been out all day Wednesday on the usual hectic Spring day in our coverage area and finished up covering HS championship golf up in Poughkeepsie. I'd even made an attempt to get to bed a little earlier Wednesday night because I was facing another hot day on Thursday morning in Kingston for a HS championship track meet...) Little did I know, I'd be up all night right in my city, and then with literally no sleep (Note: less than 2 hours) back down in White Plains in Westchester County, with all the NYC media, staking out the federal courthouse, hoping for even a glimpse of these four "terrorists" who had been arrested on charges of shooting down military aircraft here at Stewart Air National Guard Base, and bombing synagogues in the Riverdale section of the Bronx. "Yea man, I'm up. I'll be there in 15 minutes..." It was classic NYC style hustle to jump into my clothes, grab enough gear and speed up Broadway. I'd actually passed the second scene with heavily armed FBI agents outside the tenament building on Broadway & Lutheran Streets. "Wow..." I remember murmuring to myself. Serious shit. I reached the scene at 11:40PM or so and immediately began making pictures as best I could under the street lights. Pumped up the ISO on the Canon 5D Mark II to 3200. Steadied the camera on the back corner of a Caddy Escalade to make the top image. Told Doyle about the scene down at the other end of Broadway I'd passed. We headed down there, and I made frames there - this time with the ISO pumped up to 5000. Was kind of bummed at myself, as I'd forgotten the monopod & 300mm f/2.8 (used for golf that day, and for track on Thursday...) Keeping the newsdesk editors informed of what we were seeing, I knew I had time to get back home and move a few images to make the later editions of the paper, and web stories. Back home by 12:20AM and sent in these first two images at 12:36AM. Got back on the street (this time with the 300mm & monopod) and began making images of what appeared to be at least 20 armed FBI agents milling around. It was now after 1AM.
We stayed at this scene past 3AM, moving around the neighborhood, looking for different views of the building, and at times even joking with one of the Newburgh City Police detectives, and a talkative FBI agent in plainclothes who ventured across the Broadway to chat us up. Made images of the agents removing evidence from the building (images I'd made countless times on stories in NYC through the years), so I knew we'd have something that no other media would have.









We "owned" that scene for a few hours - well past 3AM. No coffee needed for this all-nighter. Adrenaline was keeping us on top of our game. This was going to be big. Really big. I eventually left the area around 3:30AM and was too keyed up to go right to bed. Decided to edit my second take from out on the street, and sent in 9 more images at 4:32AM. If memory serves, I was back in the bed a little after 5AM, as the morning birds were already chirping and the morning glow of sunrise was already on the horizon...

*Jump to early Thursday morning. Another phone call - this time from the boss. "Pictures look good. You should head to White Plains for the arraignment of these guys.." Great I'm thinking. This could all work out and I might get to see one of the perps if the authorities move them to / from the federal courthouse in Westchester (some 70 miles south of me - and right in the heart of my old coverage area at the Journal News in the '90's. )


Now, on literally no sleep - I'd call it a hard nap actually, here I was racing down the highway to another stakeout. The uniform of the day would be shorts, as I'd knew it'd be a long wait. The suspects were already in the fortress of a courthouse, so the all day waiting game began. No breaks, no bathrooms, only an occasional food run by the assembled media types. The only pictures to made here were of the lawyers speaking to the press, and the US Marshal's Service vans transporting these individuals into / out of the building.
Smoked van windows and a drive-in sally port proved to eliminate any views of the subjects. I was on the scene for 9 hours, before heading to a Kinkos in the city to send in my photos from the day's take.

Forget about the time factor, workday hours and just silently make the commitment to yourself to stay on the scene, keep your antennae up to cover an event like this.

Chatting it up with old photo colleagues from Westchester and NYC, TV cameramen, and other reporters helped the time pass by too. (the stories shared among longtime journalists are great & the jokes just as scathing.) Just like the old days... -cg.