Minneapolis Police Attack Photographers
April 11, 2012 2 Comments
Here’s video of the Minneapolis Police attacking photojournalist Chad Nelson on Saturday, April 7th, as he was documenting the arrest of Occupy activists.
I have two quick questions:
1. Where are the conservatives concerned about freedom when the government actually (literally) shuts down citizen protest?
2. What’s happening when there aren’t any cameras around?
SEE ALSO
Occupy Wall Street Analysis: The Impact of Police Brutality: OWS and the Arab Spring
Animal My Soul: MAKING TIME FOR OCCUPY
About Matthew
Answers to Questions:
1. The conservatives are nowhere, at least not out in the media. Nor would they be, as it goes against their immediate political goal. It’s funny how conservatives clam up on rights bestowed to citizens under the constitution when it’s politically expedient.
2. Lots, not that we’ll ever get a clear view on what may or may not have happened when the cameras aren’t rolling.
Also, on the legal issue involved, the photog/videographer has a very good case both criminally and legally. There’s plenty of legal precedent that backs up the notion that photographers/videographers, either professional or amateur, have the right to capture images of law enforcement performing their duties so long as the duties are being performed in a public space. This falls under the 1st Amendment freedom of speech and freedom of press clauses. If the KSTP legal team won’t press charges, Mr. Nelson should go to the ACLU. The ACLU has plenty of experience in dealing with cases like this.
I had thought there were some states where it’s illegal to tape the police, but you are (thankfully) right, it looks like those cases are always thrown out of court. Here’s a good summation from Infowars.com.
It’s extraordinary to me that there would be a question about the right to tape police when they’re performing their public duty.