[Leica] The story of my detention by the NYPD

[tedgrant at shaw.ca (Ted Grant)]

Kyle posted: his side of the story:

Hi Kyle,
After a story like that I figure now it's time when involving any kind of
"political meetings & demonstrators" even when it's a paid assignment from
ordinary company good guys. It's time to leave the country instead.

Having been in a few "political events with good, bad and ugly people on all
sides" it's best to say to the assignment.............. "Screw it, it ain't
worth the bull shit!" And get an assignment shooting Goth girls and flowers!
Life's too short!  Or better, a travel magazine assignment on a warm South
Pacific island with beautiful models. ;-)  Goth girls and palm trees? Now
that's a heck of a combination. :-)

ted



















From: "Beddoe, Neil" <nbeddoe@lehman.com>
To: "'Leica Users Group'" <lug@leica-users.org>
Sent: Thursday, September 09, 2004 8:46 AM
Subject: RE: [Leica] The story of my detention by the NYPD


> Thank you Kyle for the lucidity and completeness of your description.
>
> There's a cold wind coming.
>
> Neil
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: lug-bounces+nbeddoe=lehman.com@leica-users.org
> [mailto:lug-bounces+nbeddoe=lehman.com@leica-users.org] On Behalf Of Kyle
> Cassidy
> Sent: Thursday, September 09, 2004 4:07 PM
> To: 'lug@leica-users.org'
> Subject: [Leica] The story of my detention by the NYPD
>
>
> Marc dared me with his strong suspicion:
>
> >Without knowing anything about your detention, I strongly suspect that
you
> >are being more than a bit coy by claiming that the reasons for your
> >detention were "inexplicable".
>
> >If you dare, give us your version of just what occurred which led to your
> >detention.
>
> So here it is.
>
> I'd been hired by Silicon Alley, to photograph the Republican National
> Convention. Silicon Alley is primarily focused on technology so they were
> interested in what the Republicans are going to do for the technology
> industry. I was on "radio row" on the third floor of Madison Square Garden
> -- Imagine a bunch of booths lined up along walls, each with a talk radio
> host in it screaming into a microphone. It's sort of like that. (I was
> between Sean Hannity and G. Gordon Liddy) Now, drop into this room a
random
> list of political celeberties who walk from booth to booth being
> interviewed. Radio producers wander down the halls, looking for people who
> will add life to their show, then drag them over to their booth. I ran
> around with a camera and photographed this.
>
> Here's a photo of Newt Gingrich and Trent Lott:
>
> http://www.asc.upenn.edu/usr/cassidy/pix/2004/rnc/aDSC_4279.jpg
>
>
> The delegates arrive around 6:00 and I trundle out to the floor to
> photograph people in silly hats and the speakers, most of the crew from
> Silicon Alley took that time to edit interviews and file stories. Between
> the morning when everybody shows up and the evening when the convention
> starts, there's a lot of dead time, it was dead on Tuesday so Susan, the
> reporter I was working with, and I decided to go find some delegates on
the
> street and interview them. We figured the place to find them would be
Ground
> Zero. So we jumped on a train. Down at the WTC site we didn't find any
> delegates, at least none wearing their credentials, but we found a few
> anti-bush people milling about. So Susan interviewed the Iraqi Veterans
> Against The War and a few other people.
>
> http://www.siliconalley.net/rnc/831/vets1.jpg
>
> We spotted a guy carrying a big sign that said "VOTE FOR RALPH NADER" we
> weren't sure if he was a Republican or a Nader supporter. So we went over
> and started talking to him. He told us he was about to start marching, but
> we could walk along and talk with him.
>
> http://www.asc.upenn.edu/usr/cassidy/pix/2004/rnc/aDSC_3745.jpg
>
> There were about two hundred people, about twice as many more turned out
not
> to be marchers, but rather simply tourists milling about ground zero. As
the
> group I was in crossed Church street (the first 50 steps of the march), a
> policeman with a bull horn announced "This march does not have a permit.
If
> you break any New York traffic laws, you will be subject to arrest." My
take
> on this was "do not j-walk, do not stand in the street, do not block
> traffic, don't do any hippy-civil-disobedience-type stuff." We crossed
with
> the light and Susan was still talking to the Nader guy and I'm still
taking
> pictures of him. The time from us meeting him up to this point was
probably
> about 45 seconds.
>
> We were about 1/2 way down the block when bicycle cops pulled up along
side
> us and blocked our way.  An officer in a white shirt ran past in the
street
> shouting "Everybody on this block is under arrest, they're all under
> arrest!" I walk away from where Susan and the Nader guy are still talking
to
> see what's going on in front of us.
>
> One of the marchers tried to work out a solution with the police, but it
was
> clear they were having none of it.
>
> "I don't know what we're being arrested for. Tell us what you want us to
do,
> and we'll do it," he said. The police didn't say anything.
>
> http://www.asc.upenn.edu/usr/cassidy/pix/2004/rnc/aDSC_3751.jpg
>
> It was at this point I realized things were getting serious and they
weren't
> going to just let people go. I asked the policeman immediately in front of
> me if I could leave, since I was press. He shook his head and said "no".
>
> Note baffled Reuters photographer trying to figure out why we're under
> arrest:
>
> http://www.asc.upenn.edu/usr/cassidy/pix/2004/rnc/aDSC_3750.jpg
>
> And baffled dude with a Leica wondering the same thing:
>
> http://www.asc.upenn.edu/usr/cassidy/pix/2004/rnc/aDSC_3748.jpg
>
> Also note not-very-blocked sidewalk.
>
> Great. I'd been in New York eight hours and was already being detained. I
> figured I was going to spend the next week in jail in nyc, which is not
what
> I wanted. As far as I could tell, nobody had done anything illegal. Susan
> came up to where I was standing and I asked another cop the same question.
> Susan waved our press credentials, he looked around for someone to ask,
> apparently there was nobody. Finally after about 10 minutes, he let us go,
> moving his bike back about a foot he said "go ahead." We hurried across
the
> street where the rest of the media was gathered.
>
> http://www.asc.upenn.edu/usr/cassidy/pix/2004/rnc/aDSC_3866.jpg
>
> Police warned the media not to step out in the street or we could be
> arrested. We stayed on the sidewalk and watched as the protesters were
> surrounded by orange portable fencing and one by one flex-cuffed and taken
> away.
>
> Photos of the dangerous protesters being taken away:
> http://www.asc.upenn.edu/usr/cassidy/pix/2004/rnc/aDSC_3977.jpg
> http://www.asc.upenn.edu/usr/cassidy/pix/2004/rnc/aDSC_3986.jpg
> http://www.asc.upenn.edu/usr/cassidy/pix/2004/rnc/aDSC_3997.jpg
> http://www.asc.upenn.edu/usr/cassidy/pix/2004/rnc/aDSC_3901.jpg
> http://www.asc.upenn.edu/usr/cassidy/pix/2004/rnc/aDSC_3930.jpg
>
> Word later that night was that the arrests were for walking more than two
> abreast on a sidewalk. However, delegates, press, and various others were
> walking more than two abreast with impunity right outside madison square
> garden when I got back:
>
> http://www.asc.upenn.edu/usr/cassidy/temp/2004/crowd.jpg
>
> So ... Having been there, I think the detentions and arrests were
> inexplicable.
>
> > The NYPD were on guard:  one of their
> >members was put into the hospital in critical condition by a battering
from
> >one of the "peaceful protestors", after all, and that, alone, would put
> >every officer on the beat on guard.  And, on this, I am on their side:
the
> >right to protest does NOT include the right to violence, a minor factoid
> >generally ignored by the US media.
>
> I thought you were a libertarian! (and for the record, "peaceful
protesters"
> don't batter anyone. Thugs do and they should be arrested, charged, and
> prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
>
> Keep pushing that shutter button, but don't walk in groups,
>
> kc
>
> -------------- ripped from CBS.COM --------------------
>
> (CBS/AP) A judge ordered the immediate release of nearly 500 protesters
> Thursday - just hours before President Bush's speech at the Republican
> National Convention - and then fined the city for refusing to comply with
> his order.
>
> State Supreme Court Justice John Cataldo fined the city $1,000 for every
> protester held past a 5 p.m. deadline that he had set for their release.
It
> was unclear how many detainees were still in custody, but Cataldo had
> ordered the release of 470 people.
>
> "These people have already been the victims of a process," state Supreme
> Court Justice John Cataldo told the city's top lawyer. "I can no longer
> accept your statement that you are trying to comply."
>
> The detainees had been in custody for anywhere from 36 to 66 hours. The
> decision was immediately hailed by attorneys for the demonstrators.
>
>
> Kyle
> _______________________________________________
> Leica Users Group.
> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
> This message is intended only for the personal and confidential use of the
> designated recipient(s) named above.  If you are not the intended
recipient of
> this message you are hereby notified that any review, dissemination,
> distribution or copying of this message is strictly prohibited.  This
> communication is for information purposes only and should not be regarded
as
> an offer to sell or as a solicitation of an offer to buy any financial
> product, an official confirmation of any transaction, or as an official
> statement of Lehman Brothers.  Email transmission cannot be guaranteed to
be
> secure or error-free.  Therefore, we do not represent that this
information is
> complete or accurate and it should not be relied upon as such.  All
> information is subject to change without notice.
>
> _______________________________________________
> Leica Users Group.
> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information