Hi all,
Well, from what I saw and heard, all that was needed was for the police to tell the crew what to do. The reporter repeatedly asked where they wanted the crew to go and as far as I heard, that question was never answered. I would have to agree that whoever it was that made the decision to arrest the reporter and crew seems to have some pretty serious control and authority issues. He seems to have expected the crew to be mind readers and do something. Since they didn't move, without being given any order or request to move, they were arrested. That's a dangerous person in charge of this incident.
Talking of things that the police 'knew', i.e. the camera and mic were up and running, the police knew that there was racial tension tearing apart the city. They should have known that hassling a black man on the street for no reason, without just cause, rather than merely giving him the chance to do whatever it was that the police wanted him to do, wasn't going to be good optics for the overall situation.
There are a lot of people who are in jobs for which they aren't particularly well qualified. I would say whoever gave the order to detain and arrest this reporting crew is likely one of them. I believe that it's only going to exacerbate the problem for a law enforcement officer to merely detain and arrest someone for no apparent reason. Surely the person who gave the order 'knew' that the best course of action would be to just tell a professional news team to clear the area or direct them to where they felt they might be safer...not arrest them!
According to follow up activity, i.e. the mayor now apologizing for the incident, this is exactly what the social unrest is all about. That people not like good ole white boys can be detained or arrested based purely on someone's personal whims. That's what I believe the police making this move should have known. Of course, it likely won't be long before the glorious American Oz praises and encourages the actions of the police. He'll be using this footage to promote his belief that CNN is a 'do nothing, liberal' news organization and that the police acted appropriately in the face of such a tyrannical news agency. That they're so bad at their job that they get arrested.
God bless,
In Christ, ted
