ABC Producer Arrested In Denver
Police in Denver arrested an ABC News producer today as he and a camera crew were attempting to take pictures on a public sidewalk of Democratic Senators and VIP donors leaving a private meeting at the Brown's Palace Hotel.
Police on the scene refused to tell ABC lawyers the charges against the producer, Asa Eslocker, who works with the ABC News investigative unit.
A police official later told lawyers for ABC News that Eslocker is being charged with trespass, interference, and failure to follow a lawful order. He also said the arrest followed a signed complaint from the Brown Palace Hotel.
Eslocker was put in handcuffs and loaded in the back of a police van which headed for a nearby police station.
Video taken at the scene shows a hotel security guard, wearing the uniform of a Boulder County sheriff, ordering Eslocker off the sidewalk in front of the hotel, to the side of the entrance.
The sheriff's officer is seen telling Eslocker the sidewalk is owned by the hotel. Later he is seen pushing Eslocker off the sidewalk into oncoming traffic, forcing him to the other side of the street.
About 15 minutes later, on-duty Denver police arrived and placed Eslocker under arrest after Eslocker asked why he was being ordered away from the front of the hotel. Dozens of pedestrians can be seen walking by the hotel, located in the heart of downtown Denver.
This is so wrong, I don't even know where to begin. I just hope the Denver police dept. has a good amount of money put away. Makes you wonder who the Denver Police Department works for.
95% of the time the police work well with the media. This is when the five percent rears it's ugly head.
2 comments:
I hope this dude sues - and wins. What he encountered on a public street is an outrage.
Stuff like this is a major reason I ended up leaving the TV news biz 12 years ago - all the stress of dealing with "the authorities" how some are misguided in the way they handle media relations.
When I was a news photog in Jackson MS - the cops and the media got along great. When I took another job in Rochester NY - the opposite was true. I hated covering spot news there because more often than not the cops hassled the media - and the Rochester PD and Monroe County Sheriff's Department tended to be the worst agencies to deal with.
It's taken me a very long time to start shaking out the cynicism I have about law enforcement officials - and my bad experiences in Rochester. Dealing with rude and pushy riot police during the WTO riots in Seattle (while I was just trying to get to the ferry terminal downtown) just reinforced my negativity.
Only recently have I even begun to turn my attitude around when it comes to the cops. At this point, I can say that I've canned a lot of the negativity I used to express about law enforcement officers - I'll be happy if I can just keep a neutral attitude about them. Seeing incidents like this doesn't give me a lot of encouragement to change my attitude.
Love the new look!
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