Ed Garcia Conde found himself in handcuffs shortly after he left the Bronx Documentary Center’s latest show on March 14.
His crime? “Creating a dangerous situation,” said police. Videotaping police misconduct, says Garcia Conde, a well-known Melrose resident who runs a popular blog about the neighborhood and is an active volunteer in a number of community campaigns.
In Garcia Conde’s account, posted on Facebook, he used his phone to make a video record of police who, he said, were harassing another man. The short video, posted on YouTube, shows an officer Conde identified as Sergeant Delgado, saying “Alright, do me a favor. Put the camera down, and Conde responding, “It’s my legal right; you cannot tell me to put it down.”
The officer immediately moves in on Garcia Conde, who says he “was slammed against the windows of the BDC and then put into the cop car.” (According to the 40th Precinct, Sgt. Angel Delgado is assigned to Patrol Borough Bronx, not the local precinct.)
Police issued two summonses: one for having an open beer container in a bag, which Garcia Conde says was actually garbage—a broken bottle he was about to throw in a refuse container–the other for interfering to create a dangerous situation.
The NYPD did not respond to several requests for comment sent to its public information office.
According to the New York Civil Liberties Union, “Taking photographs of things that are plainly visible from public spaces is a constitutional right – and that includes federal buildings, transportation facilities, and police and other government officials carrying out their duties.”
However, the organization adds, “There is a widespread, continuing pattern of law enforcement officers ordering people to stop taking photographs from public places, and harassing, detaining and arresting those who fail to comply.”
Garcia Conde was released shortly after arriving at the 40th Precinct, and said he was cheered to find a group of supporters waiting for him.
Update: After this story was posted, Det. Cheryl Crispin, a spokesman for the NYPD, wrote in an email response to questions: “The individual in the video was being issued a summons for having an open container on a public sidewalk. He refused to follow the officers’ instructions and began recording. He was handcuffed and removed to the station house where he was issued two summonses for Open Container and Disorderly Conduct.”
This post has been revised to reflect the following correction: the broken beer bottle was in a platic bag, not a paper one.
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He’s lucky that’s ALL that happened.