LAPD Assaults Photographer, Then Charge Him With Assaulting Them
The mainstream media at first congratulated the Los Angeles Police Department for its restraint and professionalism in evicting the city’s Occupiers late Tuesday.
But that was only because they were corralled into a media pool, shielded from the real misdeeds and forbidden to even tweet about the raid until it was over.
They were even forbidden from interviewing activists, according to a Los Angeles Daily News reporter who broke the rules about tweeting during the raid.
However, despite the media embargo, a KCBS videographer captured a group of officers arresting a photographer for simply asking a cop’s name after he was thrown to the ground.
Tyson Heder was charged with assault on a police officer.
He remains in jail as of this writing on a $20,000 bond, according to his sister who responded to my inquiry on Twitter.
The video posted above shows he did not assault the officers. Instead, one cop walked up to him and shoved him down, then when he stood back up and asked the cop's name, several pounced on him.
His sister, Christy Collins, reported that her brother had two black eyes and was kept in handcuffs for six hours, but police assured her mother that he “has no broken bones.”
Adding an eerie element to the already absurd media blackout, the video had been removed for a few hours before it reappeared.
Heder was one of more than 200 people arrested that night, which included reporter Yasha Levine, a Soviet exile who broke the news earlier this year that the Koch brothers were funding the tea party.
Also that night, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa issued a statement designating a special "First Amendment area" on the steps of city hall.
The Los Angeles Times, who were included in the official media pool, reported the following:
Through a combination of effective tactics, daunting numbers and — significantly — restraint by both sides, police managed to bring the encampment to a largely peaceful end, avoiding the melees that marred the eviction of protesters from similar camps in Oakland, New York and elsewhere.
In the process, the LAPD took a major step toward shedding a reputation earned over decades for heavy-handed crowd control.
However, Occupy Los Angeles activist Ruth Fowler, who has been documenting the movement, reported the following:
No bad treatment of protestors occurred while the mainstream media was watching - it was only at the end that this occurred, when the non pool reporters were separated from the pool media, and the reporters not in the pool were shoved and hit by cops.
At this point I left, but other non-pool media refused to leave and wanted to stay reporting on the scene. Jared Iorio, our photographer, stayed for fifteen minutes after me and was hit repeatedly (twice) in the chest with a baton by a policeman until he left Solidarity Park. He joined a group of about 600 people on 1st and Main. After half an hour of being pushed back, the police called an unlawful assembly over the megaphone, and asked us to move or we would be arrested.
An attorney for the jailed activists said they being treated harshly, slapped with excessive bail amounts.
Ian Thompson told a news conference Thursday that about 250 of the 292 arrestees are still in jail on $5,000 bail although most have only been charged with the misdemeanor crime of failure to disperse.
He says California law clearly states that people charged with misdemeanors are to be cited and released.
At least one Los Angeles photographer doesn’t have much sympathy for the activists after they harassed him and another photographer last week.
Shawn Nee, who has been mentioned on this blog several times, emailed me the following last week.
Occupiers got in my face Today. (literally inches) and told me not to photograph them. Fucking hypocrites. I'll send you the video this weekend. Five minutes later these assholes started talking about how they need as much media as possible to cover the raid. I'm telling as many people I know not to go. They lost my support
Here are his videos.
Olympus' Micro Four Thirds 75mm prime
Can you fix the focus on a blurry photo after the fact?
The birth of Mirrorless Cameras
The Joy Of Winning A Photo Contest
Choosing your first dSLR camera
New York City can be beautiful!
Choosing the Right Light Stand
Photojojo iPhone Telephoto Lens review — AudioCast
My week with Q
How To Become A Successful Photographer
"When the Wind Stopped" — poem with 4 photos
Creating The New Family Portrait
Tips for Textures
Cast aways - saving those photographic memories
One Man Show: My 25 Years With Digital Photography
Studio, Flash, & Available Light — Three Books Reviewed
Portrait styling: dangerous pairings
Adobe Photoshop CS6 Product Managers Interview Audiocast
A gift of flowers: unfold your senses
On Set of "Love & Robots" the Film
No-Brainer Setup For A Digital Photo Frame Exhibit - Part 3











Planning “National Geographic” style photo travel
Wilderness Travel 1 Rainforests – Essential Gear
Backlighting Basics
What Moves You?
FIGURES IN MOTION: Decades of Evolving Personal Imagery in Photography, Part 7
Lomography Store, Austin, Texas — GALLERY
GALLERY — Up to $1,000 Reward for Cattle Rustlers
25% off on photography eBooks
eyePhone: The eBook for iPhone Photographers
Interview with Harold Davis — Closeup Maestro of Flowers & Water Drops
Interview with Steve Caplin — Photoshop Digital Artist, Commercial Illustrator, & Author
A Brief History Of Light & Photography: Part 3 of 3
A Brief History Of Light & Photography: Part 2 Of 3
Easy technique to select, edit and sequence keywords for web
How much should you charge for a photograph?

































Comments
I love how some of these Occupy douche bags want to have "secret" meetings in a public area. If they want to have secret meetings they either need to rent a hall somewhere or have them in someones home. And of COURSE the all time douche comment: "you're not media". Everyone thinks to be "media" you have to be part of some multimillion dollar corporation. That is just bullshit, when the constitution was written they had small operations, one or two guys spitting out one page fliers.
You note there is NO size or monetary income requirement to be considered press under the 1st amendment.
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
You are considered press the moment you grab a camera or try to gather information to report on it later. Whether it's for TB/newspaper/blog.
You are a douche for attributing the actions of a few to an entire group. The same kind of antics occurred at Tea Party events. The majority of Occupiers are intelligent citizens with legitimate complaints and concerns. They have no problem with public photography.
Asshole, I didn't say bad behavior was right at Tea Party events, did I? Occupy Boston is a GREAT example of how things should be, I was there and no one taking video or stills was harassed. I HAVE pointed that out many times in the past.
However there are some nasty people in some of the Occupy factions which Carlos has documented well. Occupy Oakland was probably the worst, even though the majority were peaceful they welcomed the black bloc shitheads who smashed windows referring to those actions as "a diversity of tactics".
There may be good people in Occupy LA, but where were they when that photographer was being harassed? I didn't see even ONE PERSON stick up for his 1st amendment right to take photographs.
UC Davis incident in full:
http://www.youtube.com/embed/hhPdH3wE0_Y
If you're only press if you're employed as a journalist by a big corporation, then I would submit that the Occupiers aren't actually protestors because they are not employed as such by a big corporation, therefore, by that "logic" they seem to be subscribing to, they have no right to occupy anything as a protest. Because only a protestor with first amendment rights can do that.
"wrist lock" -- a solution to having a hand thust into your face like that.
Just so people know, none of these videos are the one I mentioned to Carlos in the email I sent him the other day. Which, is much worse than any of these and it happened on the previous day. My Vievu is not mounting on my computer so it's being sent to Vievu in order to retrieve the files.
Once I get it back, the video will be posted to YouTube so everybody can see about 6 of these assholes (one of them drunk and wearing hospital scrubs) surrounding me, telling me I can't photograph their "private" meeting even though it's being held in public space during one of the most historic movements/uprising in America's recent history.
But these assholes where doing this to everybody who approached them with a camera, except for MSM who were holding giant cameras and press badges. Then they would puss out.
It's like a contemporary Stanford Prison Experiment with these ass-clowns, running around with their gay little white bands tied around their arms doling out orders with their false authority to all these brainwashed wannabe Jim Jones kool-aid drinking, storm trooper lackeys.
You know some of these jackasses actually put up private property sizes around their tents—that's their mentality and way of thinking.
Also, everybody should know that the passive-aggressive asshole with the beard who couldn't look me in the eye the entire time, and still can't when I see him (like yesterday back at City Hall) was too much of a pussy to get arrested for his movement.
However, an 80 year-old woman was, and she's still locked up.
That's the kind of douchebag this guys is...all talk.
Lol. We don't know what he did before the video starts, what he said, if he was told to disperse, etc.
Then, when shoved and he falls down, he moves right back at the police swinging his arms.
Nothing wrong there in my eyes except the idiots were likely protesting without a permit (likely, I do not know for sure).
I am far from a fan of cops, but that guy deserved to be arrested as soon as he came back at the cops flailing his arms around and yelling. Disorderly, disturbing the peace, whatever.
Notliberal
Doesn't matter if he was told to disperse.
Also, protesting with a permit is a laughable thing... The founding fathers did NOT intend for us to have to get permits... Not at all. If we have to get permits, then protests can be controlled, as the King did... Which is what they wanted to avoid.
http://www.youtube.com/embed/hhPdH3wE0_Y
The cops are targeting any social media that doesn't tow the line, you know, just play the part their mouthpiece.
I am slowly losing pity for these guys because of their harassing of social media reporters. They seem to feel their first amendment rights surpass other people's first amendment rights. Personally, I can't confront them like you guys do as I don't have the patience not to use violence when they act like that.
What if they made us get permits just to
get permits.
Hell, I'd do it.
Me good slave.
Don't know about this case, but I know Carlos likes to show only one point of view and does not get all the facts. He is only interested in the money shot and not getting the truth. He is not the only one as big media does the same - so we can't blame him right. Oh, you want an example...sure..Remember the UC Davis mess... Take a look at this video (it's long but provides a more appropriate level of truth)
http://www.youtube.com/embed/hhPdH3wE0_Y
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