I was beat up, handcuffed and arrested by Miami police after photographing them against their wishes

[RagingInMiami]

The cops slammed me to the pavement even though I offered no resistance, causing a deep abrasion on my right knee.

One cop grabbed me by the back of the head and repeatedly bashed my forehead against the sidewalk, causing abrasions and swelling to the right side of my forehead.

Another cop grabbed my right hand and bent it backwards in a 90 degree angle, causing me to scream out in pain and continued to do so even after the handcuffs were placed on me.

As I verbally protested, one cop threatened me with a taser gun if I did not stop talking.

I was charged with five counts of disobeying a police officer, one count of obstructing justice, one count of obstructing traffic, one count of disorderly conduct and one count of resisting arrest without violence.

I ended up spending 16 hours in the Miami-Dade County Jail, a rat-infested building that is more Abu Ghraib than American Grade.

I plan on suing the Miami Police Department for false arrest, excessive violence, destruction of personal property, including a $400 camera flash and medical expenses incurred as I had to go to urgent care for x-rays. At the doctor's request, I also need to get an MRI to make sure there is no internal bleeding in my skull.

Today, I will contact the Miami ACLU office about this, where I happen to be a card-carrying member.

The incident occurred Tuesday night on Biscayne Blvd and 69th Street, where I was on a journalism assignment about the transition of Biscayne Blvd from seedy motel strip to trendy urban center. I had spent the day at the Anna Nicole Smith Media Circus
and I was now switching gears towards more serious journalism. I had just finished a cell phone conversation with one of my editors about the progress I was making on this story.

After hanging up, I walked over to an area where five cops were questioning a man, threatening him with arrest for reasons that were unknown to me. The cops were standing in a gravel construction area between the road and the sidewalk. I was standing on the gravel as well, but I was about 20 yards from them. The gravel area is part of the expansion construction that has been ongoing on the Blvd, which will eventually convert the street from two lanes to four lanes.

One of the cops told me to keep walking because this was a "private matter".
I said that I will not keep walking because this is a "public street".

Within seconds, the five officer left the man they were questioning alone and came after me. One cop escorted me across the road. As I stood on the sidewalk on the opposite side of the road, the cops began surrounding me, which was when I took several more photos.

That was when they slammed me against the pavement, bashed my forehead repeatedly against the sidewalk, pulled my wrist back in an extreme unnatural position and threatened to shoot me with a taser gun.

On the arrest affidavit, the cops lied several times in order to justify their arrest. They accused me of photographing them without identifying myself, which is not true (and not even against the law as far as I know). As soon as one of the officers questioned me about taking photos, I immediately identified myself by name and stated that I was a journalist.

They accused me of stating that “I can do whatever the hell I want” when I said no such thing. I remained professional throughout the entire incident, even as I tried to remind them that I had a full legal right to photograph them.

And they accused me of standing in the middle of Biscayne Blvd while I was taking photos, obstructing traffic, which is why they had to arrest me. This is not true, as anybody familiar with the street can confirm, I would have been struck by a car within seconds.

In fact, one of the photographs I took as they approached me clearly shows that Biscayne Blvd is behind them.



It is obvious that they arrested me because they did not appreciate me taking their photos. This is a clear violation of my First Amendment rights. I plan on fighting this all the way. Wish me luck.

[helderheid]

1. GET THIS TO KEITH OLBERMANN. K&R

[Whoa_Nelly]

26. Seconded on that! Here's KO's email addy

[e-mail]

Let it be known what was done to you, RIM!

Am keeping you in my thoughts as you go through all the processes, emotional, physical and legal.

[Maraya1969]

93. Better yet send a copy of this thread to the cop station.

[helderheid]

236. great idea

[mainegreen]

2. Good. It's important to punish the bad cops.

The best way to do that is make departments pay big bucks for keeping these loose canons on the force.

[donco6]

3. Good luck.

Sounds like a solid case for you, IMO.

[Richard Steele]

4. Is it a police state yet? Recommended.

[HardRocker05]

127. yes, but most americans don't care. that's the real problem. nt

[Lautremont]

5. Very good luck to you.

Buncha dirty harries.

[Selatius]

6. Give the ACLU all the photos, get eyewitnesses to back you up.

Build your case. Take them to court.

[Binka]

7. Good Luck

What a story. Sue the thugs!

[ThomCat]

8. I hope you nail them.

People who defend cops as supposed saints who defend us all always ignore stories like this, where entire groups of cops violate people's civil rights as a matter of routine, and usually get away with it. Every one of those cops should be arrested and thrown in jail, and if that means that we empty that precinct and put them all in jail, then so be it.

They couldn't pull this kind of shit without knowing it would be supported by their higher-ups. This isn't one or two bad cops. This is a disease that infects the entire police department.

[barbtries]

250. excellent point

and it goes all the way up to the bloody white house

[ceile]

Good luck!

Keep us posted.

[babylonsister]

9. Holy shit, Raging. I hope you are okay and your lawsuit prevails.

Where did our America go, or have I been living in fantasy land?
It's looking more and more like fascism every day, isn't it.
Thanks for sharing your account, and I hope you keep us posted.

[ProudDad]

241. FYI - This IS Amerikan "justice"

This is the way it is, has been and until we change the system always will be.

The cops who attacked you are the guardians of capitalism... That's always been their job and it gets worse every year as the cops become more and more militarized.

Sue THEIR F*CKIN asses off. I hope you're awarded $100,000,000! Until those F*CKS feel the pain, they'll still be pursuing business as usual.

And please folks, don't think this is an aberration performed by some cowboys on the force. This is business as usual where I live -- where the bottles break and the pavement's broken. This is standard operating procedures for the guardians of capitalism, the defenders of the rich.

[TahitiNut]

10. Please contact the ACLU. Please.

This interference with civil rights in contravention of the First Amendment is reprehensible.

[Touchdown]

11. Good Luck RIM. This is a violation of your rights.

Check out the Pop Photography archives for the article "The War Against Photographers". It's chilling. A guy was just taking morning shots of a refinery wit6h the sun rising in silhouette, and his camera was confiscated...always under the guise of "fighting terrorism".

Go get 'em.

[AikidoSoul]

111. Greg Palast complained about being harassed for taking photos of oil refineries on the Gulf Coast --

the argument against him was that he was showing terrorists where these refineries are located-- or something idiotic like that. Palast said he was aided by powerful friends who made some calls and the dogs were called off -- but it's scary to know that evidence can be contrived to ruin you if authority figures make you a target.

Best of luck to you.... and please keep us updated, although your attorney probably won't want you to talk about this case until it's settled.

Best of luck to you.

[Wednesdays]

301. And a friend on another board had his camera broken

And threatened with arrest because he was photographing trains:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

[qanda]

12. Oh gracious

I hope you're okay and I hope you'll get justice. That is awful.

[Sequoia]

13. That is terrible, just terrible. I hope you are safe and will be okay.

You better let Amy Goodman know about this on Democracy Now. They love to cover stories like this and expose the police state. That is if it doesn't interfere with your legal rights. I hope you get a very good lawyer. Were there any witnesses who could come to your aid or would they be threatened too. (Probably). I'll say a little prayer for you. Peace!

[Sydnie]

14. Be interesting to track down the guy in the black car

behind them. He was checking out what was happening and could testify that you weren't in the road, as he as driving in the road at the time.

Good luck!

[jollyreaper2112]

15. I think this is so beautiful

Really, it is. Ebony, ivory, oppressing in perfect harmony. It's so nice to see that white cops and black cops can come together in the interest of kicking the fucking snot out of an innocent citizen. I mean, this is what racial progress is all about! Remember when it was just white cops beating people up?

[EFerrari]

16. Good god.. Well, at least there's no doubt about who was there.

What a disgrace these people are.

I'm happy you're safe now.

[peace13]

17. I am sorry to hear this.

I wish you a speedy recovery. I can't imagine being in that situation. Be safe. Peace, Kim

[agtcovert]

18. K&R

Sorry you had to endure this. Keep fighting the good fight.

[Dangerously Amused]

19. Get the bastards! A little media attention wouldn't hurt, either.

Best of luck to you, and please keep us updated. This should be a very interesting case.

[EFerrari]

20. AFTER you talk to a lawyer:

[e-mail]



/oops

[LSK]

21. Send this to Olbermann and I wish you luck with your lawsuit

[malaise]

22. Glad you're alive to report this

Sue them.

[EFerrari]

25. No kidding. The trauma of being beat up by armed people

is bad enough, though.

[malaise]

92. It's shocking

but increasingly less surprising.

[EFerrari]

211. Poor people have always gone through this kind of abuse.

That it's spreading now to the middle class is predictable and a real cause for concern.

[zbdent]

23. With today's penchant for the cops using video evidence to protect themselves

(especially in even just a minor traffic violation), I wouldn't be surprised if the surveillance video which would capture this "disappears" ...

Like the tape which would have put McKinney away for good when "she assaulted" a security person ... strangely in the very area which was NOT covered by security cameras ...

[ThomCat]

31. It's funny how often evidence disappears when

it would implicate cops.

[nadinbrzezinski]

84. Not all departments have cameras in their cars

that is truly a misconception, and I would not be too shocked if Miami Dale doesn't

[Dr.Phool]

24. First contact the ACLU, then the FBI for civil rights violations.

Keep several copies of your photos. Also contact the District Attorneys office to file criminal charges, and the cops Internal Affairs unit.

[barbtries]

253. and don't keep

'em all in one place. you have one here on DU, i'd love to view the whole roll

i mean you can skip the anna nicole smith ones.

[ensho]

27. wishing you good luck and good lawyers

politics in Miami is vicious

[PLF]

28. chickenshit assholes, everyone of them.

[swimboy]

29. Nail their asses.

I hope to heaven that you prevail and they are majorly chastised. This cannot continue to happen. I am sorry you were injured but I am proud that you stood firm against their intimidation.

Keep us up to speed. You are fighting for all of us. Many thanks.

[verse18]

30. Glad to hear you're OK.

Thugs like these need to be put UNDER the jail.

ETA: The fact that they left the other guy alone to harass you is very telling.

[snappyturtle]

OMG! This is HUGE! K&R n/t

[WinkyDink]

32. What does "disobeying a police officer" entail, though?

"When a private, law abiding citizen encounters police, the amount of intrusion a Law Enforcement Officer is allowed to demand is limited. Some areas have laws against "disobeying a police officer" or "obstructing an officer from their duties", but the bounds of what officers can reasonably require someone not suspected of any other criminal activity in a peaceful situation have not been clearly drawn by the courts."
http://72.14.209.104/search?q=cache:cTKu0EBmm_0J:www.er...

[grasswire]

33. if you enhance that photo...

...you could probably get the license plate of that black car.

I'm sure you've thought of that already.

Be sure to let the police department know that you've posted the photo and the narrative to an activist message board with 100,000 members who stand ready to pass the information to their media contacts and extensive lists of email contacts nationwide.

[demrabble]

34. SUE EEEE!

Those pigs look like the swine they are.

And you should SUE the City of Miami, Miami/Dade County, the Police Department, and each cop individually.

It just is one more sign of how * (and, in Florida, his brother, Jeb) have turned this once proud democracy of ours into a fucking Police State!

Good Luck on obtaining J.U.S.T.I.C.E.

[ninkasi]

35. The things they charged you with

are really just smokescreens, because your real offense apparently was to exercise your Constitutional rights. Those with power in the country today are doing everything they possess to eliminate those rights. This goes from low-level thugs like the police officers who beat you up and arrested you on bullshit charges, to the president himself, whose opinion of the Constitution is that it's "just a god-dammed piece of paper". I wish you luck, and hope you sue the pants off them.

[Bozita]

36. If Bush is looking for people who "hate us for our freedoms," this thread should give him a clue.

[montanto]

37. K/R bigtime. Good Luck and go get 'em.

What first amendment?

[Junkdrawer]

38. Have you contacted People Magazine? What did they say?

[Cobalt Violet]

39. I hope we still have the right to take photos in public.

I hope your okay and something is done about this.

[Joe Chi Minh]

40. The scum of the earth. Police run amok.

[TheBaldyMan]

41. only four of them? I think your out of court settlement will be huge.

I dare say police forces are getting used to paying out over cases like this.

[RagingInMiami]

309. Five

There is one hidden behind the cop on the left. And on the extreme left, you can see the right arm of the Sgt who was leading the assault.

[TheBaldyMan]

310. take it easy, don't get too wound up - it's bad for the blood pressure

and think of the payout as well

Imagine you are basking in the sunshine in the Bahamas as a tax exile and those guys are pounding the beat in stifling heat.

peace

[tsuki]

42. They need to be gone from the police force. Attacking a journalist?

Brainless. n/t

[Mrspeeker]

43. Protect and serve!

Themselves.

[Straight Shooter]

44. Why in gawd's name do they need five officers to question one man?

Belly-boy on the far right of the photo looks like he's already spoiling for a fight. What's he reaching for?

Go for it, Raging. These officers were waaaay out of control.

[proud2BlibKansan]

45. Wow talk about brown shirted thugs!

Hope you are doing better physically. What a nightmare.

[indepat]

46. Welcome to fascist Amurikkka: good luck in your fight

[Name removed]

47. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[wicket]

48. K & R

Good luck!

[meldroc]

49. K&R

Hope you nail their asses to the wall.

One of these days, some brownshirts are going to go too far and end up shot.

[VP505]

50. If you haven't heard

of this forum, have a look and by all means post you info, don't know if it will help but it's worth trying! http://www.copwatch.com / BTW best of luck in righting this wrong!

[Tsiyu]

51. Look at those cocky assholes!

You can see they're just itching for a fight. "Keeping the peace" isn't in the officer's lexicon these days.

Today's cop mission: inflict pain on and deny the Constitutionally protected rights of as many Americans as you can! Cuz we badass mofo's!!!!!!

Sorry you went through this. Good luck with your lawsuit.

[theboss]

52. In general, I believe everything I am told by complete strangers on the Internets.

But for some reason, I'm not completely buying it today.

Why am I guessing there is more to this story than what you describe?

[Hissyspit]

238. I know Raging In Miami and I have read his posts for years.

There is no reason to believe he is not being accurate.

Yeah. Miami police. They clearly should have the advantage on trust and veracity.

[sodenoue]

304. pigs count on people believing them over you

never trust scummy low paid cops. Not to discredit any good cops there may be, they are just few and far between.

I hope this guy gets those 5 fired. A-Holes.

[Seldona]

53. K&R

If this does indeed go to court, please let us know. I for one will give up a weekend fun trip with the kids to pitch in on your legal fund. Not that you should need it. This is an open and shut case as far as I can see.

I wish you good luck, and hope you are feeling well.

[Katherine Brengle]

54. No offense, but why exactly were you interfering in a situation with which

you had no familiarity?

It sounds like the police response was over the top, but you had no business getting involved in their work.

[Junkdrawer]

56. Say what???? There are now "Free View Zones" where citizens...

can watch what police are doing on public streets?

You know, like "Free Speech Zones"...

[Katherine Brengle]

60. The original problem was him interfering with a police matter --

AFTER that the other charges came about.

If he had left them the hell alone, none of this would have happened.

I'm not saying the violence was necessary or called for, but who the fuck walks up into a situation like this that has literally nothing to do with them?

[Junkdrawer]

64. Ah... a reporter????

[wicket]

66. "but who the fuck walks up into a situation like this that has literally nothing to do with them?"

A journalist, which is what the OP is.

[ThomCat]

69. Even if he wasnt' a journalist.

In public we all have a right to keep an eye on our police. Even if he wasn't a journalist the police have no right to dictate where someone can be or what someone can do unless there is a valid public saftey reason for their order. boosting their own egos and insulating themselves from monitoring are not valid public safety reasons.

[RagingInMiami]

71. Exactly

A journalist does not have any more right than a non-journalist when it comes to these matters.

The law states that all citizens have the right to photograph police on a public road as long as they are not interfering. This is a First Amendment right.

[wicket]

73. Amen to that

[Hosnon]

82. Cheers to that! Or is the rule now that only journalists connected to the event in some

non-professional manner can report on it?

[ThomCat]

67. That is crazy.

You're saying that if we ignore everything police do, don't watch them, don't report on them, don't ever put ourselves in any position where were could hold the police accountable for anything then there wouldn't be a problem.

Yes, let's mindlessly obey police and never monitor them at all. That will prevent police brutality.

Wow.

[RagingInMiami]

68. There is no law against photographing police while they are in the line of duty

And I was not interfering. I was more than 20 yards away.

Do you believe the guy who videotaped the Rodney King beating was "interfering with a police matter"?

[RandiFan1290]

75. Exactly

The biggest threat to these thugs is a camera. That is the only way they will ever be caught. Even then they stick together and deny the video evidence.

Anyone doing police surveillance should have at least two camera persons. One to film the thugs and one to film the other camera person when the thugs attack them.

If there was no video of Rodney King no one would have believed him over those pig's bullshit story.

[ProudDad]

244. I'm sure the cops who were

beating up on Rodney King thought the guy videotaping was "interfering with a police matter." They'd probably say (and probably did say), "if it hadn't been for that guy everything would have been fine."

Good luck Raging. Keep up he pressure!

[Shakespeare]

87. He was NOT interfering, he was merely standing nearby.

And that is NOT illegal. He's a photojournalist and was doing his job in a public place.

When you're a journalist, you walk up on lots and LOTS of situations that "have nothing to do" with you.

Jesus Christ. No wonder this country is becoming more Orwellian every day.

[Seldona]

203. Agreed.

Now these guys are good cops.

[JackBeck]

326. kcik

[nadinbrzezinski]

90. 'splin this one to me

how is taking a photograph 20 yards from the scene inferfeting with emergency workers?

Now ther are ways to interfere with the work of emergency workers, but having been one at one time, a photograph is not one of them. (unless of course, you do not want any photographic evidence of things that you were doing that are not kosher)

Jeebus H Chirst what is this about cops are always right and civies are always wrong?

[Solon]

107. Uhm, a reporter, duh, another freelancer reporting in...

Of course, I wasn't a photographer, but my notepad was always with me, and I scrounged up my own stories for a local news magazine. But, I've done plenty of stuff related to photography or writing that involved walking up to a "situation" that had nothing to do with me. I'm also working on a book for the history of University City, its an update of a book by my Grandmother, she worked for the city from the 1960s to the 1990s, she penned the Integration legislation in the city. The original book was her own, written in the 1960s, but the city backed her on it, and at this moment, I've been working on the graphic design and photography. I've walked up and down Delmar Loop, even took photographs of the U-City cops, unlike Miami PD, they were photogenic, and SMILED for the camera.

At the time they didn't know what I was working on, but, to their credit, they didn't beat the crap out of me for taking some pictures. By the way, RaginginMiami, I hope you sue the crap out of them, and able to retire, this abuse is inexcusable.

[uppityperson]

179. How was this "interfering"? Seriously? How?

Is taking pictures for a ways away "interfering"? Is noticing that something is happening "interfering"?

Are we supposed to look the other way whenever police appear, not notice them? Are we supposed to let police do whatever they want? I am amazed and appalled at what you write. You do realize that police are public servants, and we are the public, don't you? Who the fuck stops to watch police do something? Who the fuck should not?

[John Q. Citizen]

201. It's like Frank in Blue Velvet. "Don't look at me!" smack! n/t

[NashVegas]

217. You Keep Using That Word, "Interfering." I Do Not Think It Means What You Think It Means

Interfering would mean he was doing something that prevented police from doing their lawful job.

[Junkdrawer]

323. Inconceivable!

[northofdenali]

251. Read the constitution and remind yourself, or try to -

that until people like you take over, it's still a free country, and a public thoroughfare is just that - public. At 20+ yards away, "interfering" isn't even in the equation.

Most cops are okay. These guys weren't. Get over it.

[tsuki]

257. A real journalist? n/t

[HughMoran]

265. I guess you are for a police state

Where people are thrown into jail for looking the wrong way.

This is the second time I've read a completely outrageous position from you.

What is up with that?

[rman]

312. "interfering"?

[digitalterrain]

322. What exactly is a police matter?

A crime scene I can understand, but even then, journalists are allowed to film them from whatever perimeter is set up. AFAIK, a "police matter" is hoey for "we don't want you photographing us". The first amendment is the first amendment. I read no such terms in that amendment, in fact, quite the opposite. He was on public land. If they lie in concert well enough, they will prevail. The real shame in all this is there is an arm with three stripes to the left of the shot - when supervisors enter into this type of basic rights violation, that's where the REAL crime occurs.

Wilk

[ThomCat]

58. Taking photographs in public is interfering?

You really go over the top defending cops, don't you? It's always the victim's fault somehow.

[snacker]

129. A couple of years ago...

my teenage daughter had just gotten a digital camera and was taking pictures in the parking lot of a mall. She was innocently snapping photos of a movie theater sign across the lot (fascinated with the ability to take nighttime photos with her new camera) and a mall security guard drove up and told her to stop because you can't take pictures of buildings like that. Of course, she got scared and obliged.

[Cobalt Violet]

59. How is 20 yds. away "interfering" or "getting involved"?

[soup]

70. Watching what's going on on a public street is interfering?

Sounds to me like they 'involved' RagininMiami rather than the other way around.

[Hosnon]

81. I have to disagree. A public space is a public space. If the city can videotape

the citizenry, the citizenry can videotape the city.

[ArbustoBuster]

105. "Interfering in a situation with which you had no familiarity"?

Every American has a right and responsiblility to "get involved with the work" of the police. They are not our overlords.

There is a difference between taking photographs of the police from across the street and, say, pulling a cop off of a person he or she is arresting. The first of these things is enshrined in our Constitution. The second of these things is interfering. Kindly learn the difference before you go accusing a journalist of improper behavior again.

[graywarrior]

270. That is a cool picture!!!