By Maddie Hanna
Concord Monitor
CONCORD. N.H. — The Concord photographer convicted earlier this year of impersonating an emergency responder for coming to a fatal crash scene dressed in firefighting gear can once again take pictures of car accidents.
A Merrimack County judge last week granted Brian Blackden’s request to drop the bail condition that prevented him from going within 500 feet of emergency scenes. The condition was set last year after Blackden was arrested and charged with impersonating emergency personnel for his presence at the August accident scene along Interstate 93 in Canterbury.
But the restriction remained in place following his May trial in Concord’s district court because Blackden announced his intention to appeal.
At a bail hearing Wednesday in Merrimack County Superior Court, Blackden’s lawyer, Penny Dean, argued that Blackden - a freelance photographer who also owns a pepper spray supply shop on North State Street - was being penalized for exercising his right to appeal.
Blackden’s sentence consisted solely of fines, and if he hadn’t appealed, “he would be around taking pictures like he has for years,” Dean said. “What this is doing is keeping him from earning a living. We believe this is punitive.”
Assistant Merrimack County Attorney George Waldron said the bail condition was supported by the charges that Blackden “went to the scene, impersonated a firefighter.” The district court judge likely set the condition to keep Blackden from further interfering, Waldron said.
But Judge Larry Smukler said he was persuaded by Dean’s argument, since nothing in Blackden’s sentence barred him from going near accident scenes. He dropped the bail condition and also granted Blackden’s request to have the state police return his photographer business cards.
Besides the conviction for impersonating emergency personnel, Blackden was also found guilty of displaying red lights without authorization on the ambulance he drove to the Canterbury accident scene, a violation-level offense. He appealed that conviction to the state Supreme Court, which recently accepted his case.
Blackden’s case for the impersonation conviction was transferred yesterday to the superior court, where he will be able to receive a trial by jury. The lawsuit he filed against the state police for seizing his camera following the August accident has been put on hold pending his appeals.
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