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St. Paul Police Chief Questioned
Expected response. Don't know. Will be investigated. Later. Probably much, much later.
Hopefully someone will ask guys like Herrington who the hell is exactly in charge of these operations. Is it everyone, via these "fusion centers", and thus no one? [My guess.]
Amy Goodman Grills St. Paul Police Chief About Her Arrest and Two Democracy Now! Producers - DN! - 03 Sep 08
"[AMY GOODMAN:] So, my question is, they have—they face PC riot, probable cause riot. I’ve already been charged with a misdemeanor. What is your policy with the press? How is the press to operate in this kind of environment?
And a last question is, our producers were here, but the police only allow in two people from each press, but this is empty, and all the police are here. They far outnumber us in the press. Why our reporters can’t be here?
POLICE CHIEF JOHN HARRINGTON: I don’t—I can’t—the last part of that, I can’t answer.
In terms of the policy, reporters have rights, and what we have tried to do is try and create a balance of that. If we announce, if there is an unlawful assembly or we are in the midst of a riot, we will announce—and I believe we announced routinely and rather loudly that we needed people to step out of the area—and that if reporters fail to do that, if they are in the midst of the riot, we can’t protect them, and it will be very difficult for us in a moment of that kind of chaos to be able to make those kind of fine distinctions.
What we have attempted to do is to expedite—if reporters are taken into custody—to expedite making sure that they are taken out of the general population, try to review their cases, and try and get them released from custody, pending further investigations. The fact that a person is a reporter or has a credential doesn’t give them additional rights to commit any crimes, though. And I don’t—while I don’t know your case—I haven’t seen your video, so I really can’t respond to what you’re saying happened there in that particular case.
AMY GOODMAN: What is the crime that the reporters committed but reporting on what is happening?
POLICE CHIEF JOHN HARRINGTON: And I can’t answer that question, because I haven’t seen your video. And I can’t really address that, because I think those cases are going to be eventually completely investigated. They will then be moved to a court for hearing, and that evidence would be part of that. And I really am not in a position to be able to argue the merits of the criminal case either way.
But what I would say is that if a reporter is committing a crime while they’re there under their credentials, I think they become regular citizens. And I—so I cannot answer your question about that."
Hopefully someone will ask guys like Herrington who the hell is exactly in charge of these operations. Is it everyone, via these "fusion centers", and thus no one? [My guess.]
Amy Goodman Grills St. Paul Police Chief About Her Arrest and Two Democracy Now! Producers - DN! - 03 Sep 08
"[AMY GOODMAN:] So, my question is, they have—they face PC riot, probable cause riot. I’ve already been charged with a misdemeanor. What is your policy with the press? How is the press to operate in this kind of environment?
And a last question is, our producers were here, but the police only allow in two people from each press, but this is empty, and all the police are here. They far outnumber us in the press. Why our reporters can’t be here?
POLICE CHIEF JOHN HARRINGTON: I don’t—I can’t—the last part of that, I can’t answer.
In terms of the policy, reporters have rights, and what we have tried to do is try and create a balance of that. If we announce, if there is an unlawful assembly or we are in the midst of a riot, we will announce—and I believe we announced routinely and rather loudly that we needed people to step out of the area—and that if reporters fail to do that, if they are in the midst of the riot, we can’t protect them, and it will be very difficult for us in a moment of that kind of chaos to be able to make those kind of fine distinctions.
What we have attempted to do is to expedite—if reporters are taken into custody—to expedite making sure that they are taken out of the general population, try to review their cases, and try and get them released from custody, pending further investigations. The fact that a person is a reporter or has a credential doesn’t give them additional rights to commit any crimes, though. And I don’t—while I don’t know your case—I haven’t seen your video, so I really can’t respond to what you’re saying happened there in that particular case.
AMY GOODMAN: What is the crime that the reporters committed but reporting on what is happening?
POLICE CHIEF JOHN HARRINGTON: And I can’t answer that question, because I haven’t seen your video. And I can’t really address that, because I think those cases are going to be eventually completely investigated. They will then be moved to a court for hearing, and that evidence would be part of that. And I really am not in a position to be able to argue the merits of the criminal case either way.
But what I would say is that if a reporter is committing a crime while they’re there under their credentials, I think they become regular citizens. And I—so I cannot answer your question about that."