NEW YORK (PIX11) -- For more than half a century, John Roca has immortalized life in New York through the thousands of photos he has taken for local newspapers.
More than 50 years later, he is still chasing the news in his 14-year-old car that has amassed 199,000 miles. The lifeline of his career has been the police scanner which alerts him to breaking news events.
PIX11 News recently spent the day with him as he chased news stories. He pointed out the value of listening to police calls. “The scanner is as important as the camera," Roca said. "It’s a piece of equipment I couldn’t live without also a big part of my income, also the excitement that comes with it.”
But Roca and the rest of the media are due to be silenced from future communications.
The NYPD is installing a half-billion-dollar upgrade that will encrypt police radios, which means the public, including the press, will no longer be able to listen in.
According to Roca, “They feel too many bad people are using them in an unlawful way. To encrypt it is going to be a big problem. It is sad. Besides, we often show police hard at work, show them in dangerous situations."
While news organizations and others are challenging the encryption process arguing that it inhibits transparency, Roca is still out there chasing the news. As PIX11 News drove along in pursuit of a story to cover, the scanner alerted us to a train derailment in Coney Island.
Roca immediately called the photo desk at Newsday. “It’s a subway derailment," he told the editor. "No reported injuries at this time, I’m on the scene here.”
With the energy of someone half his age, Roca charged into action. “It’s thrilling, the shutter is going, the adrenaline is running trying to get one angle to another," Roca says with excitement. "I made elevations that nobody else has so that makes it even better. My shots are exclusive.”
Roca has had his share of exclusives. In 2003 Roca managed to interpret unusual jargon on his police scanner to get him to Harlem early enough to get a shot of a tiger holed up in a 4th-floor apartment. He remembered it well.
“That is the most iconic photo I made in my entire career. The only photo everyone says is amazing. I remember seeing that photo.”
The scanner in his car and a handheld device have gotten Roca to the scene of many breaking news stories. Having seen his share of tragic events, Roca says there are times he has gotten emotional and even had difficulty sleeping afterward.
Roca is still enjoying an exciting career. He attributes his staying power to "perseverance and being attentive and being able to drive like a lunatic with hair on fire.
It was a productive day for John Roca.
The scanner alerted him to a breaking news story, and he sold his photos to a local newspaper. Once he no longer has access to scanner information, he says that is the time to hit the final shutter on his illustrious career.
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