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April 19,
2003
It's Not Just
Protesters Anymore
When Police
Attack Journalists
by
WILL POTTER
I have reported on mass protests where police
attacked protestors, but I tended to accept- and even wrote in
some articles- statements by police that protestors provoked
this violence. The crowd got out of control, I thought. Surely,
someone threw rocks, threw punches, or did something to instigate
these assaults. The police would not attack people for no reason.
After witnessing, and feeling, attacks
by multiple baton-wielding officers during the permitted anti-war
march in the capital on April 12, I realized I have made a mistake.
As a reporter, I have mistakenly placed the burden of proof on
the protestors, rather than the police. And now, as I see coverage
of the protest where I was beaten, I see other journalists doing
the same.
A local news station showed video footage
of an officer beating a restrained protestor. So D.C. Police
Chief Charles H. Ramsey assigned the officer to "desk duty."
He said, "I'm not just going to hang this guy out to dry
just because someone made an allegation."
Media reports of the attacks have towed
this line. When journalists state "protestors and police
clashed," and "protestors scuffle with police,"
it leads the public to believe that the protestors brought it
upon themselves. If unofficial sources (protestors) say they
were beaten, they are making allegations. If official sources
(police) say it was an "appropriate response," we often
treat it as fact.
I attended the march as a freelance journalist,
and was beaten by police with batons while I was wearing my Congressional
press pass. These attacks were not just "allegations."
Here's what happened at one point on
the march: Near the intersection of 9th and G Streets police
buzzed the crowd on motorcycles, hitting one protestor. A scuffle
ensued, about 40 feet in front of me. Police pepper sprayed some
protestors, and then went after everyone in the intersection.
Because of the national uproar over last
year's controversial mass arrests of World Bank-IMF protestors
in Pershing Park and lawsuits now pending- police say they
have reevaluated their policy on such arrests. True to their
word, they didn't go into the crowd arresting innocent people.
Instead, they beat them.
The melee worked its way back to me,
as I tried to walk my bicycle toward the sidewalk. Without warning
I was struck on my back by a police officer with a baton, who
then started yelling, "Clear the streets."
At least five officers used batons to
push the crowd toward the sidewalk and against another group
of officers. We were caught between two lines of cops swinging
batons. When the crowd pushed me against one officer I told him,
"I'm not assaulting you, I'm not trying to touch you, I'm
being trampled, please help."
He looked me in the eyes, almost like
he was sorry, and said, "I know." I fell from the pressure
of panicked people trying to flee. Others collapsed on top of
me. I couldn't breathe, and yelled for help. An officer behind
me pulled at my neck and throat, tearing my shirt, yelling, "Get
up." I couldn't, I told him, because I was being trampled.
When I managed to stand and take a few
steps, a police officer struck me twice with his baton, held
horizontally in both hands. I flew back onto the mass of flailing
people. "Clear the street," he yelled. "Back up."
The pile slowly unraveled and I went
for my bike. The same officer who hit me moments before now intentionally
stomped on the rear portion of the bike as he yelled, "MOVE!"
I surveyed the damage to my bike, and
my body, and asked officers for badge numbers. They pretended
they didn't hear me. Some turned and walked away. Even those
that I knew were not directly involved remained silent: they
acted like a gang, covering for each other. One turned around,
pushed me with his baton, and yelled, "Get the hell out
of here!"
For white, upper-middle class reporters
like me, it may come as a shock that police can do these things,
and get away with it. I would like to believe that freedom of
speech is protected in our country, and that the police exist
to protect such freedoms. I hope that, unlike me, other journalists
do not need to endure attacks by police to begin reporting critically
on police conduct. We have a civic responsibility to stop accepting
police statements and start holding these people accountable.
Will Potter
is a reporter for the Chronicle of Higher Education. In his spare
time he independently covers politics and social movements. He
has written for the Chicago Tribune, the Dallas Morning News
and the Texas Observer. He can be reached at: will.potter@lycos.co.uk
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