Salon/Farley: Jailed for Covering the Wall Street Protests

[markpkessinger]

John Farley has a piece at Salon.com that further illustrates how indiscriminate the police were in their arrests at the Occupy Wall Street protests. At one point in his article, he discusses the fact that, although he clearly identified himself as a member of the press, he lacked an NYPD-issued press pass because he had not yet qualified for one. He writes:

When I saw the young women get pepper sprayed, I ran over to interview them. While holding a microphone and wearing a badge identifying myself as an employee of "WNET – New York Public Media," I found myself suddenly roped into one of the large nets. I was thrown against a wall and handcuffed with hard plastic zip-tie restraints. I sat on the sidewalk with about 50 others. I yelled over and over "I'm press! I'm with WNET MetroFocus! Please do not arrest me."

I did not possess the press credentials that NYPD allocates to journalists. (As MetroFocus is less than three months old, neither I nor my journalist colleagues have yet met the NYPD's qualifications.) So even though I work as a professional journalist, the NYPD lumped me in with everybody else.

I am surprised that Farley didn't discuss this in light of the recent First Circuit Court of Appeals decision in Glick v. Cuniffe, et al., a case where a citizen recording an arrest by police using his cell phone video camera was arrested and charged in violation of Massachusetts' wiretap statute. The First Circuit, in its decision in that case, makes it quite clear that there really is no distinction to be made between private citizens and members of the professional press, when it states as follows:

It is of no significance that the present case, unlike Iacobucci and many of those cited above, involves a private individual, and not a reporter, gathering information about public officials. The First Amendment right to gather news is, as the Court has often noted, not one that inures solely to the benefit of the news media; rather, the public's right of access to information is coextensive with that of the press. Houchins, 438 U.S. at 16 (Stewart, J., concurring) (noting that the Constitution "assure(s) the public and the press equal access once government has opened its doors"); Branzburg, 408 U.S. at 684 ("(T)he First Amendment does not guarantee the press a constitutional right of special access to information not available to the public generally.").

The import of this is that freedom of the press applies every bit as much to "citizen journalists" as it does to members of the press corp., and renders the NYPD's "press credential" passes meaningless.

[rhett o rick]

1. Yeahh but you dont live in a Democracy. nm

[ThomCat]

4. That's very true. The cops are a big part of the reason

that is possible. Our rights couldn't have been so thoroughly taken away without their cooperation and support. :(

[saras]

2. What the fuck business of the police is it who's a *real* reporter and who isn't?

I just don't see any legitimacy to that claim, in any way, shape, or form. Reporting is an activity, not a job.

[markpkessinger]

3. Wow -- hard to believe the "unrecc-ing" crew would take issue with this piece n/t

[vets74]

6. Digg Patriots, DailyKos Patriots, DU Patriots -- Same Difference.

Digg has adopted anti-shill rules and procedures. DailyKos protects the shills and their postings and unrec's, even from being called out for pro-industry shilling and echoing rightie/fundie talking points.

DU appears to be neutral. Anti-shill, but procedurally neutral.

[PA Democrat]

7. Here's a recommend to balance it out.

[louslobbs]

13. Let them do their best K&R there are more of us than them thankfully.

Lou

[fasttense]

5. A little fascism here, a little fascism there, and soon you have an entire fascist state. n/t

[vets74]

8. Here's some more. Cops claim "violent conduct" from the women. Good luck with that.

<object><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/iNyMr6VmGJo?version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="640" height="360"></object>

More -----------------

The arrest of my cell mate, Sam Queary, 24, adds another dimension to the issue: that of the inadvertent, spontaneous citizen journalist. Queary happened to be at work at Grey Dog Cafe near Union Square when the protesters marched by.

"I heard a commotion and went outside to find cops macing women and arresting people and hitting people with nightsticks, so I started taking pictures," said Queary. "I followed a young, black male as he was being accosted by five cops. As I tried to take a picture I was pushed away. I asked why I was pushed away and then the next thing you know I was being judo flipped."

Someone with a video camera documented John Farley's cell-mate Sam Queary being "judo-flipped" by NYPD and arrested as he was photographing others being arrested. The video, shot by an unknown citizen journalist, has been widely broadcast and linked to by media outlets around the world. The headline for this video was chosen by YouTube. Youtube/LibertyPlazaRev.

I also met Rosa A., 33, in the police van while we were being transported to the 1st Precinct for processing. She had been shopping at the Barnes and Noble on Union Square when she saw the protesters outside. As many New Yorkers do when they see something unusual, she snapped a picture. And she was arrested.

"I've never been arrested," said Rosa A., in visible pain from the plastic handcuffs. "I was just there looking at magazines." She laughed, lightening the mood in the police van. Even our arresting officer, in the van with us, chuckled.

------------------------------

So Rosa got charged with disorderly conduct. Shopping in New York while female.

[dana_b]

15. she "dared" to take a picture

jeezus... is this really what these men and the women of the police force signed up for? To bully citizens who are not doing anything wrong? these intimidation tactics will keep some from participating however I am hoping most will go on anyway. Tomorrow will be interesting.

[vets74]

16. "To Serve and Protect and Intimidate and Assault"

Whatever fits the circumstance.

[lunatica]

9. We better get used to it. This is the powers that be exposed but not stopped

The more resistance from the populace, the more they will crack down. They don't and have never given a rat's ass about the Constitution or regulations or laws. It has been a pretense to keep the population mollified. But when that no longer works they will use violence to quell and suppress any and all uprisings.

All we have to do is look at history to know this will happen.

[vets74]

10. Original article is at METROFOCUS on the CHANNEL 13 WNET site. Better pics.

Observations of a Jailed Journalist

and the journalist in nylon ties:



A maced woman:



Serve and protect:



And the attack by the cops:

<object><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/moD2JnGTToA?version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="640" height="360"></object>

The claim that these gals did "violent behavior" ain't on the videotape.

"Sergeant Pepper Spray" and everybody who tries to cover up for him should be prosecuted fairly. Personally, I expect to see a typical police conspiracy -- it's New York.

[firehorse]

11. I have a friend that is a NYC reporter. He's been in jail and pepper sprayed before too.

He also been followed and photographed and has had his phone tapped after reporting on Critical Mass bike rides. What happened to the reporter from Salon is not surprising to me at all. It comes with the job of being a reporter / news photographer.

[gratuitous]

12. It comes with the job

Which makes one wonder why we don't see Matt Lauer or Diane Sawyer in zip ties . . .

Okay, I don't wonder at all.

[Hissyspit]

14. "It comes with the job."

It's not supposed to and it doesn't have to.