The four journalists detained by police—Scott Olson, a photographer with Getty from Chicago; Ryan Devereaux a New York-based reporter for The Intercept; and two German reporters—add to the list of other professionals who have been detained, arrested, or otherwise impeded from covering the ongoing Ferguson protests that have become international news. Olson—who has so far captured some of the most iconic images from Ferguson—was arrested late afternoon on Monday as he continued to document events in the community. Reportedly told to move by law enforcement officials, Olson refused and was handcuffed and arrested before later being released. The two German journalists, Ansgar Graw and Frank Hermann, were also handcuffed and detained for several hours before being let go. According to the English-language German outlet The Local.de: The journalists had wanted to take pictures of a burned out gas station on Florissant Avenue, the street at the centre of the week-long protest. The building was looted and burned the night of Browns death. The street was empty at the time, there was no hint of violence or riotous assembly, Graw wrote for Die Welt of his ordeal. Police told him that journalists were gathering on the other end of the street, in the large shopping mall, for security reasons. We felt there were no threats, everything is completely peaceful, and we said that we would stay on and take the photos we wanted, Graw wrote. Then a young police officer says: Okay, but only if you keep moving. The moment you stay standing, youll be arrested. Thats the last warning. Graw took the pictures walking around in small circles in an attempt to assuage the officer, but was then cuffed in zip ties anyway. The officer gave his name as Donald Duck. The journalists were processed, relieved of their personal belongings and transported to a jail in St. Louis. Requests for water were ignored. Requests for a phone call were always answered with later. After three hours, the journalists were released without explanation. The Intercepts Devereaux, who arrived from New York to cover the protests on Monday, provided hours of running on-the-ground coverage via his Twitter account throughout Monday night until his feed went dead just after midnight local time:
Posted on: Wed, 20 Aug 2014 00:10:39 +0000
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