Making First Amendment Violators Pay

Good news today for the First Amendment  in New York City: the city has agreed to pay out $583,000 to fourteen people whose constitutional rights to peaceably assemble, guaranteed under the First Amendment to our Constitution, were trampled by police officers who arrested them on trumped up charges during the Occupy Wall Street protests at the end of 2011.

That's important and welcome news indeed.  But I'm wondering: what will happen to the NYPD cops who made the illegal arrests?   What will happen to the supervisors, to then Police Commissioner Kelly, and then Mayor Bloomberg?

The answer: nothing.  And that's why these violations of the First Amendment continue.   Violating the Constitution should be a pretty serious crime - after all, it's the Supreme Law of the Land.  And yet, pepper-spraying officers in California, officers in New York who claim demonstrators are blocking when traffic when they are not, continue to act if they're illiterate or other can't understand what the right to peaceably assemble means.

Fortunately, in our age of omni-present video, it's more difficult than it was in the past for police to get away with these crimes.   Tim Pool's video, for example, got Alexander Arbuckle acquitted a few years ago, when he was arrested on bogus charges in New York City during an OWS demonstration. Video also played a role in the city's decision to compensate the 14 people wrongfully arrested with almost $600,000, after the DA wisely decided not to prosecute the nonsense charges.

But what can be done to stop this police and Mayoral abuse in the future?   Putting the culprits behind bars, including the former Mayor, would be a good way to start.

The Newsroom 2.2: The Power of Video

The power of video was in evidence in The Newsroom 2.2 tonight - including what can happen in its absence.

At an Occupy Wall Street protest, the NYPD - who in reality and on this show demonstrate a blissful and vexing disregard of the First Amendment - Neil is arrested for doing his job, i.e., reporting on the event.   Fortunately, he live streamed his unconstitutional arrest, so even though the marauding NY cops took and likely broke his phone, the video of his outrageous arrest survived.   Will is able to use it to get Neil released.   Journalists arrested by constitutionally illiterate cops weren't quite so lucky in our reality.  But Tim Pool's video did get the case against OWS reporter Alexander Arbuckle thrown out of court last year. (I was pleased to have Tim Pool guest lecture in my class at Fordham University a few months earlier.)

Video, of course, can also incriminate, and it lands Maggie in increasing hot water - that is, a video of her, recorded by a bystander and put on YouTube, when she was in effect proclaiming her love for Jim. Determined to get the video off of YouTube, Maggie (with Sloan insisting on accompanying her) track down the video poster via Foursquare.   The poster is not prone to remove the video - it's getting lots of hits and is connected to her blog, after all - but Sloan tries to buy the poster's compliance by offering to tweet a pointer to the poster's blog to Sloan's nearly half a million followers on Twitter.  The poster agrees, takes the tweet - only to write a blog post about the whole event, anyway, which of course garners even more to attention to the video, which she hasn't removed, and her blog.  A savvy and amusing lesson about the labyrinthine power of social - or what I can "new new" - media, and the wheelers-and-dealers who try to use these media for their often conflicting purposes.

But the final lesson about video in this episode, about the impact of no video, is not amusing at all. Troy Davis is executed for killing  a police officer in Georgia.   He proclaimed his innocence until the end.   If only a video existed of what really happened to the cop.   Just as justice would have been better served if a video existed of what George Zimmerman did to Trayvon Martin.   We don't yet live in such a world, but we're slowly getting there.

See also The Newsroom Season 2 Debuts on Occupy Wall Street and More ... and (about Trayvon Martin) If Only There Was a Video Recording

And see also The Newsroom and McLuhan ... The Newsroom and The Hour ...The Newsroom Season 1 Finale: The Lost Voice Mail



#SFWApro

If Only There Was a Video Recording ...

As I lament the killing of Trayvon Martin, and the acquittal of his killer in Florida a few days ago, I can't help thinking: if only there was a video recording of the crucial events of that evening.

One thing which everyone agrees upon is no one other than George Zimmerman now can know with 100% certainty what happened that night.   In the absence of eyewitnesses, and, even worse, a video of the events, we are forced to rely on our ever fallible logic and emotions.

Eyewitnesses of course can be mistaken or can lie.  A video can on its own do neither, but can certainly be spliced or pointed in directions which distort the truth.  Still and all, it provides a record of events in general more reliable than eye-witness testimony.

Video recordings have already righted serious wrongs in our society.  A video recording in 1991 brought Rodney King's beaters - Los Angeles police officers - to trial.  And although they were acquitted of assault in state court, two of the officers were found guilty in Federal court of violating King's civil rights, and were imprisoned.  Video recordings brought the cop who killed Oscar Grant in 2009 in San Francisco to at least some justice.  In New York City last year, Alexander Arbuckle was acquitted of bogus charges brought against him by the NYPD during an Occupy Wall Street event.   Fortunately for Arbuckle and the truth, Tim Pool had recorded the event and what preceded it on his smartphone.

Opportunities for video recording are increasing.  Not only does every smart phone come with video recording capability, but developments like Google Glass will make them even easier and less intrusive to use.   We can not go back in time and see what happened to Trayvon Martin.   We can and should fight racism on every level, but we can never rid the world entirely of bad people.   In the difficult course of attempting to bring them to justice, we need all the technological help we can get.

The Good Wife 4.1 Meets Occupy Wall Street

The Good Wife was back on CBS for its fourth season last night, with a bunch of good punchy stuff including Kalinda's husband, but Zach stole the show with his deft use of viral video.

The defining incident began with Alicia, Zach, and Grace driving back from a college visit through a neighboring county in Illinois.  They're pulled over by a cop on a bogus charge.  He gets agitated when he realizes that Zach has been using his smartphone to record the cop's illegal activities - much like NYPD pushing around people with cameras during the NYPD's unconstitutional restrictions on demonstrators and press last year - and, indeed, much like what happened in NYC, Zach is arrested.

Alicia and Peter do their best to get Zach out of this, including getting the officer to apologize, but law enforcement in the neighboring county refuses to be pushed around.  Fortunately, Zach has the savvy to put up a video of the cop and his actions - Zach discovers that the cop had several other innocent victims - and when the video goes viral, charges against Zach are dropped, and the cop is told to apologize.

Not exactly the same as happened in New York City in reality, but close enough.  Citizen photographer Alexander Arbuckle was arrested in NYC on New Year's Day 2012 for "blocking traffic" during an OWS demonstration.  Fortunately, citizen video journalist Tim Pool recorded the whole sad NYPD spectacle, and when this video evidence was offered in court, Arbuckle was acquitted. A victory for the First Amendment and what I "new new media" - aka social media.   Every since Rodney King, a video camera has the victim of police misconduct's best friend.

There was not much political content in Zach's story, but it hits the same point nonetheless. It is gratifying and satisfying indeed to know that we now live in a world in which police cannot just get away with anything they please because there are no witness other than the victims of police misbehavior.  Good for The Good Wife for bringing this point home in such an entertaining and impressive way.  It's a tonic and warning for NYPD and other police harassment of demonstrators and press that is still going on.





See also The Good Wife 3.1: Recusal and Rosh Hashanah ... The Good Wife: 3.2: Periwigs and Skype ... The Good Wife 3.7: Peter v. Will ...  Dexter's Sister on The Good Wife 3.10  ... The Good Wife 3.12: Two Suits  ... The Good Wife 3.13 Meets Murder on the Orient Express ... The Good Wife 3.15: Will and Baseball

And see also  The Good Wife Starts Second Season on CBS ... The Good Wife 2.2: Lou Dobbs, Joe Trippi, and Obama Girl ... The Good Wife 2.4: Surprise Candidate, Intimate Interpsonal Distance ... The Good Wife 2.9 Takes on Capital Punishment ... The Good Wife 2.16: Information Wars

Timcast on UStream Doing Great Covering NYPD Violation of First Amendment Tonight

In between the usual New Year's Eve celebrations, I've been watching Timcast and his live UStream coverage of Occupy Wall Street, and the New York City Police (NYPD) once again violating the protesters' First Amendment rights.

I'm going to continue to talk even more about this trampling of the First Amendment - one of my New Year's resolutions - but I wanted to take a moment to thank Tim, and say how inspiring it is to have his continuous coverage of Occupy Wall Street.

There was nothing about this on CNN, MSNBC, or Fox.  Nothing on the major broadcast networks.  CNN is especially irksome - they gave us Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin, who were funny enough, broadcasting from Times Square in New York City.   But there's nothing funny about the NYPD continuing its systematic flouting of the First Amendment, and the damage that does to our democracy, just a few blocks away..

But, as the mass media failed in their jobs tonight, Timcast soldiered on.  For no pay.  Motivated by the noble goal of getting world out to the world about what's been happening in New York City on this New Year's Eve and now Day.

I just saw on Timcast's live feed the NYPD block the sidewalk, then order protesters to stop blocking the sidewalk, then start arresting the group.  And Tim Pool - the Tim of Timcast -  covering this, was grabbed and pushed by police, and threatened with arrest.   Another outrageous abrogation of the First Amendment.

Tim just reported that a National Lawyers Guild observer was arrested by the NYPD, after he disobeyed their order to put his phone down!

All of this on 13th Street and Second Avenue in New York City.

You know what?  As long we have people like Tim,  democracy will never be defeated.  He just said he's "beat, hungry, and carrying this 40-pound bag".  That would be the bag with his video equipment.  It's also the bag of our freedom and future.

Most of my 2011 commentary on Occupy Wall Street is here.

-Paul Levinson, PhD
Professor of Communication and Media Studies
Fordham University