For Immediate Release
S.T.O.P. Condemns NYPD Arrest of Bystander for Recording Officers, Being ‘Disrespectful’
[NEW YORK, NY, 7/19/2019] -- Today, the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.), a New York-based privacy group, condemns the NYPD for arresting a Brooklyn man for peacefully recording officers as they searched a second individual. The arrest took place last night, at approximately 7:30 PM, in the Bedford Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. The episode was captured on video by a third area resident.
SEE: Video
https://web.tresorit.com/l#ttrRlqzaOZKnx8JHW8IIKw
“This is a clear violation of New Yorkers’ right to record officers and hold them accountable,” said Albert Cahn, Executive Director of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project at the Urban Justice Center. “We have the right to record officers when they are in public. Here, officers had finished their search and targeted this man simply for being ‘disrespectful.’ So long as we have the First Amendment, being disrespectful will not be a crime.”
The privacy group also expressed concerns that the NYPD had a pattern of targeting bystanders who record officers. The arrest occurred just 1 day after the fifth anniversary of Eric Garner’s death. Garner died after being placed in a chokehold by NYPD officer Daniel Pantaleo in an encounter that was videotaped by Ramsey Orta. Orta later alleged a pattern of police harassment in retaliation.
SEE: Fearing For His Life
https://www.theverge.com/2019/3/13/18253848/eric-garner-footage-ramsey-orta-police-brutality-killing-safety
The Surveillance Technology Oversight Project STOP is a non-profit advocacy organization and legal services provider hosted by the Urban Justice Center. STOP litigates and advocates for privacy, fighting excessive local and state-level surveillance. Our work highlights the discriminatory impact of surveillance on Muslim Americans, immigrants, and communities of color.
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CONTACT: STOP Executive Director Albert Fox Cahn;
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