Press Freedom Violation? Officials Defend Arrest of Man Filming Protest in Missouri

Amid charges of violation of the time-honored freedom of the press, officials of Ferguson, Missouri, are defending the arrest by the police of a man who was filming an anti-police protest last month, saying he violated instructions to keep off the street.

The police said Scott Kampas was arrested "for violating police instructions for everyone in the area to keep out of the street and remain on the sidewalk," the Huffington Post reported.

The arrested man "jumped into the street rapidly and encroached into the immediate area of an arrest-in-process," said Carl Lumley, a lawyer representing Ferguson, and Stephanie Karr, the city attorney who also acted as municipal prosecutor.

Kampas, a National Lawyers Guild legal observer, was filming the protest last April 14 near the Ferguson Police Department.

In his affidavit, Kampas said protesters tried to block off the street, but the police ordered them to move onto the sidewalk.

The police arrested protester Deborah Kennedy, who was on the sidewalk, and Kampas, who was focusing his camera on her and the arresting police officers. Kampas said as he was filming the scene, "the Ferguson police officers moved to block my view of her arrest."

As Kampas moved to get a better angle, a police officer grabbed his arm and pulled him onto the sidewalk and placed him under arrest. He was held by the police until the protest was over.

City officials told a federal judge that it should not be held in contempt for violating an earlier order that protected the rights of journalists and citizens to record in public places.

Last November, the judge told the City of Ferguson and its employees that they "shall not enforce or threaten to enforce any rule, policy, or practice that grants law enforcement officers the authority or discretion to arrest, threaten to arrest, or interfere with any individual, including any member of the media or member of the public photographing or recording in public places unless that person is threatening the safety of others or physically interfering with the ability of law enforcement to perform their duties."

The American Civil Liberties Union in Missouri filed a motion to supplement its lawsuit against the city because of Kampas' arrest.

U.S. District Court Judge John Ross ruled in favor of the Missouri Union and ordered the City of Ferguson to explain why it should not be held in contempt for its action.