NYPD Reportedly Targeting Photographers At Occupation Of Wall Street
Found on Gothamist on Tuesday, 27 September 2011
Witnesses, including our own photographer, tell us that the NYPD has been specifically targeting photographers and videographers for arrest. Two protestors who were maintaining the live video feed of the protests were arrested on Saturday, the first claiming that she was detained solely because she was holding a camera.
"I was standing off to the side so I could document what was going on—you couldn't really see much from within the group," Ross says, "And he kept saying, 'You either join them or I'll arrest you.' I wasn't blocking traffic or harming anything, it was obvious it was because I was holding a camera."
It's actually a logical move. When there is no evidence, the words of the police weighs more. Of course this drastically changes when someone can show a video and prove that the officers are lying. Hopefully more people will take videos now instead of getting intimidated by excessive police force and the abuse of power.