NYPD Beat, Targeted News Photogs During Floyd Protests: Lawsuit

NEW YORK CITY — A group of photojournalists who say New York City cops beat, harassed and arrested them during the George Floyd protests are now suing the city to protect their First Amendment right to collect news and record police, court records show.

Five photographers and the National Press Photographers association filed suit against New York City Thursday morning in Manhattan’s federal court, records show.

"This outrageous interference in their constitutionally protected activities is a threat to the most basic freedoms of a democratic society and to the public's right to know," said attorney Mickey H. Osterreicher. "It must not go unanswered."

Law Department spokesperson Nick Paolucci told Patch the protests presented an unprecedented challenge for NYPD officers tasked with protecting the rights and safety of New Yorkers, including the media, amid a global pandemic.

“Journalists’ mission to record events at these protests can sometimes present additional challenges for officers," Paolucci said. "We’ll review these specific claims when we are served.”

Paolucci also noted the responsibility of issuing press passes will soon be transferred from the NYPD to the Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment after the passing of a City Council bill earlier this year.

The photographers contend they did not challenge police or interfere with law enforcement as they covered multiple anti-police protests across New York City in the early summer of 2020.

The 79-page complaint details allegedly violent encounters that ensued.

“I Don’t Give A F— About Your Press Pass.”

Amr Alfiky, a National Geographic photography resident, was covering a protest near the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on May 29 when a line of police officers charged toward him, legal papers show.

Alfiky shouted, “I’m a journalist, I have a press pass” and, according to the complaint, a baton-wielding cop replied, “I don’t give a f— about your press pass.”

The officer shoved Alfiky to the ground, which ruptured a cyst on the photographer’s back, then continued to attack with a baton, according to the complaint.

The alleged beating didn’t stop until two protesters pulled Alfiky away, the legal papers note.

"Lucky"

Mel D. Cole, a freelance photographer, was arrested July 15 on the Brooklyn Bridge footpath despite not having participated in the protest, the complaint reads.

He was held for several hours in Manhattan’s fifth precinct before an NYPD sergeant told Cole he never should have been arrested, the report contends.

The sergeant pulled down his mask and suggested Cole thank him and told him he was lucky not to be locked up all weekend, the complaint notes.

"Mr. Donnelly’s camera has still not been fully repaired."

Jason Donnelly, a Daily Mail contributor, was covering an after-curfew protest in Hell’s Kitchen on June 2 when he was hit in the face by a cop, according to the complaint.

The Daily Mail photographer wore U.S. State Department-issued press credentials, which he attempted to show the officer who chased him down West 53rd Street, the complaint reads.

The cop shoved Donnelly to the ground, the complaint says.

"Mr. Donnelly suffered abrasions and large bruises on his arms and legs, head trauma, and a hematoma on his cheek," the complaint reads.

"Mr. Donnelly was not able to take photography assignments for weeks, until his lenses were repaired."

"Splitting Her Lip Open"

Diana Zeyneb Alhindawi, a documentary photographer, was taking pictures of cops beating a young man outside a downtown Manhattan Foot Locker on June 1, the complaint contends.

Neither photographer’s professional gear nor her Frontline Freelance Register press pass protected Alhindawi from an officer who ran forward, according to the complaint.

"[The officer] swung her baton at Ms. Alhindawi, striking Ms. Alhindawi in the face and splitting her lip open," the complaint reads. "[The officer] then returned to stand in front of the Foot Locker store."

"Insufficient"

Adam Gray, on assignment for the U.S. Sun, was covering mass arrests near Union Square during a May 30 protest when a cop shoved him to the ground without warning, legal papers said.

Four officers handcuffed Gray, ignoring the U.S. State-supplied press credentials hanging around his neck, according to the complaint.

Gray showed the officers his U.S. State-issued press pass, but they told him it was insufficient because it had not been issued by the NYPD, the complaint contends.

Attorneys for the five photographers and the NPPA are demanding damages and a declaratory judgement that punitive actions against those who recorded police were unconstitutional, court papers show.

"The right of journalists to record the activities of police officers engaged in their official duties in public places is fundamental," attorney Robert D. Balin said in a statement.

"Yet the NYPD has demonstrated a longstanding custom, pattern, and practice of unlawfully interfering with this First Amendment right and that pattern was revealed with dreadful clarity during the George Floyd protests."