Florida cops arrested journalists for covering a Justice for Corey Jones rally in the public areas surrounding the Palm Beach County Courthouse last week.
In the new video originally published by the Daily Haze on Thursday, which you can see below, it shows that in addition to arresting the media, police forced protesters off of public property and refused to identify themselves too.
Some of the unlawfully arrested journalists wearing press passes were stoic.
Others can be seen openly weeping as police conducted their mass arrest.
Corey Jones was killed by an undercover cop last October under suspicious circumstances at 3 a.m. on the side of a dark highway, sparking numerous protests.
Jones was legally armed with a gun, but didn’t fire a shot as Palm Beach Gardens cop Nouman Raja fired fatally on the side of the road.
Raja had left his post against orders, and it’s unknown why he stopped that night.
The group was protesting Palm Beach County’s State Attorney David Aronberg, whose decision not to charge former police officer Nouman Raja for the shooting death of Corey Jones upset the community.
Aronberg instead referred the case to a grand jury.
Now, one of the reporters arrested for trespassing at a protest last Friday is speaking out against “aggressive” police tactics that he saw used against peaceful protesters.
Meko Haze, a reporter for the Daily Haze, told PINAC News over the phone on Thursday that he was forced to spend hours in a Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office holding cell.
Haze told PINAC News he didn’t see any violence from the protesters and that the police were acting “aggressive.”
Another video posted to Daily Haze’s Facebook page late Wednesday shows officers ran interference against the protesters in the run up to the arrests.
Protesters stood outside of the Palm Beach County Courthouse where one officer of the West Palm Beach Police Department – joined by another officer riding a Segway – menaces the crowd using his bike as a barrier, gradually walking the protesters back onto a sidewalk.
The officers told the protesters that they weren’t permitted to protest near the courthouse.
A protesters asks the officer on the bike for his name, which the officer refuses to provide. In one shot, both the officer on the Segway and the officer on the bike appear to be wearing name cards. In another shot, both badges are missing.
“You are required by law to carry [your name badge],” a protester tells the officer on the bike.
“What law?” the officer responded.
The officer on the Segway eventually tells the protesters the officer’s name, although the name isn’t audible in the Daily Haze’s video.
Haze told PINAC News that the officer also refused to honor a protester’s request to speak with his supervisor.
When the protesters crossed train tracks to join another protest forming outside Aronberg’s condo, police moved in to inform them that they were all under arrest.
Footage of the arrest was posted to the Daily Haze’s Facebook page last Friday.
“The cops just zeroed in and I knew we were going to get arrested,” said Haze.
Another reporter shooting video for the Daily Haze went unnoticed by police officers
“[Y]ou were all witnessed and videotaped crossing over railroad tracks which is a Federal trespassing [sic],” an unidentified West Palm Beach officer says in the video.
Officers had tailed the protesters looking for “any reason to arrest them,” Haze says in the video’s narration.
The Palm Beach police officers initially did not believe Haze was media, despite his prominent media pass and camera gear.
“I asked [the officer], ‘are you arresting press?’ Haze said.
Haze tried to show his media pass to officers, the video shows.
“When I showed [an officer] my press pass, that’s when he was like ‘well, I guess we are arresting press.’”
The issue of use of public spaces by protesters is contentious.
Rules requiring permits for the use of public property, for example, have been “routinely upheld” according to the ACLU of Florida.
The Palm Beach Post’s George Bennett was also arrested at last Friday’s protest, as we reported on Saturday.
Florida Cops Arrest Peaceful Protesters, Including Newspaper Reporter
Florida Cops Have Lost Lawsuits Over Bullying Tactics at Other Protests – They Violate First Amendment Free Speech Protections
In September 2015 Miami-Dade Police Department settled with animal-rights activists and the ACLU of Florida over a “red zone” policy, which restricted protesters to 40 feet of sidewalk outside the Miami Seaquarium.
West Palm Beach officials did not return calls from PINAC News inquiring into whether the city issues protest permits or routinely denies access to the grounds surrounding the courthouse.
Floridians routinely ignored trespassing signs until 2013 when law enforcement agencies in Palm Beach County and other surrounding areas began a rigorous enforcement campaign, handing out fines and notices to appear in court to trespassers.
Still, many of those arrested last Friday, including Haze, said they were unaware that crossing the tracks was against the law.
Haze told PINAC News that he hadn’t seen any “no trespassing” signs, however The Palm Beach Post reports that a “no trespassing” sign was posted near where the group crossed, but it is unknown if they determined it was posted before the protest or afterwards.
After initially being booked in West Palm Beach Police Department, Haze was transferred to Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office holding cell where he spent the next six hours. He was released with a notice to appear in court, scheduled for June 14.
Haze said that some of the protesters who were arrested were communicating with Jones’ family about planning a possible follow-up protest scheduled for June 14.
Jones’ family attorney did not respond to PINAC News’ inquiry asking whether a protest would take place.
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