Why We Care About the Two Reporters Arrested in DC

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Why We Care About the Two Reporters Arrested in DC

Wednesday, June 29, 2011 - 12:17 PM

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Peter Tucker's arrest (Youtube)

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Two reporters were arrested at a public meeting of the DC Taxi Commission last week. The arrest of Peter Tucker, a freelance reporter who writes on a site called thefightback.org, was filmed by another reporter, Reason’s Jim Epstein. Epstein also ended up getting arrested. The video of Tucker’s arrest was pretty shocking. Tucker repeatedly says he’s a journalist and he insists he has a right to report at a public meeting.

Here are a couple of reasons why I think you should care about the arrest of these two guys. I think it's fun (maybe that’s an inappropriate word? illuminating? counter intuitive? I don't know.) to learn about incidents like this happening here in the U.S. In Washington DC no less! We spend so much time covering the lack of journalistic freedoms in other countries. It’s a reminder that this sort of thing happens here too.

The other reason you should care is that these guys were reporters. They knew their rights. They (rightfully) publicized this incident and the charges against them were dropped. I’ve been wondering what would have happened if they were just ordinary people. Just someone recording the hullabaloo on their cell phone. Chances are, they would have their memory card confiscated or they would have deleted the photo upon the request of a police officer or security official or they may have resisted the request and ended up getting arrested too…but perhaps minus the media attention afterwards. That does happen. People are regularly told they don’t have a right to record or photograph things they have a right to record and photograph all across the country. Many of the incidents just fly under the media radar.

Comments [4]

http://getlocalne.ws

Such acts violating the freedom of the press should be condemned and deplored by one and all.

Jul. 07 2011 05:01 AM

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Pat Bee

I follow similar stories on a blog by Miami photographer Carlos Miller, http://www.pixiq.com/contributors/248, who was arrested and jailed in 2007 for photographing police and who has been reporting a continuous parade of similar stories of others around the country ever since.

I have nothing but praise for the folks who, armed with nothing but the knowledge of their rights, choose to stand their ground in such situations risking arrest and unpleasant treatment by law enforcement. In almost all cases the bogus charges are ultimately dropped, how quickly depending on the degree of enlightenment of the local DA.

Looking forward to OTM's continued coverage of these events.

Jul. 02 2011 08:40 AM

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Nazanin Rafsanjani from New York

Hey Mort,

Brooke and I are working on a story about incidents like the one you described. Thanks for posting the story about Emily Good.

Best,
Nazanin
producer, OTM

Jun. 30 2011 11:38 AM

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Mort Moore

One incident of "told they don’t have a right to record or photograph things they have a right to record and photograph" happened just last week in Rochester, NY. Emily Good was taking video of local police during a traffic stop. One of the policemen told her to stop recording, and to go into her house--on the pretext that he didn't feel safe with her behind him, videotaping the proceedings. She refused, insisting that she had a right to do so since she was on her own property. (Had she been on a public sidewalk, she would also have had the right to do so...right?) She was arrested, on the ill-defined charge of "obstructing governmental administration."

Public opinion is divided. Many people view such a person as a "troublemaker," deferring to the judgment of the authority figures. Her case was dismissed on the request of the DA, who said that there was no case. http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20110628/NEWS01/106280326/Charge-against-Emily-Good-dismissed

Jun. 30 2011 08:10 AM

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