The police state is here folks. In terms of the particular officer, he was clearly harassed but had enough time to move away a video journalist when there is people milling all around. The video journo took an interest in person being arrested as would any decent person. The passers-by, well, just keep on shopping....

You know, I've just watched the film and the policeman is really quite civil about it - although I can understand that all of that might be lost on a foreigner through his thick Scottish accent! The camerawoman really was right next to them, although as we saw at the end of the film she had no problem in zooming in to film from further away.

The policeman did NOT tell her to stop filming, as this posting suggests, but simply to move further away ("there's no hassle, just move further away"). This did not prevent the capturing of the event on video.

The police do have a right to be concerned about hindrance in carrying out their duties. Granted, in these circumstances it looked a little extreme to call that "hindrance", but it's been a tense few days and it's understandable.

whilst i agree with much of the previous comments, the charge of inaccuracy may be challenged. although i get your point, and filming could continue, that film is then but a video document containing no applicable sound. it would appear that the police moved the journo out of earshot, therein allowing the police to follow any line of questioning they preferred, without independent documentation. whether they chose to verbally harass the arrestee is, unfortunately, something we may never know. further, the journo, on offering ID (part of the police' rhetoric was 'we dont know you'--funny, i dont know them, nor they the people that walked past etc etc) was brushed aside and the ID ignored. not even given a cursory glance. maybe 'inaccuracy' is overstated?

Well the policeman was perhaps being a little harsh asking her to move away; it clearly wasn't all that distracting for them.

But he didn't tell her to stop filming, he wasn't rude, and he didn't object to her filiming from what looks to be about 20ft away.

I don't think anyone's got much to complain about either way on this one.

Oh calm down. Filming wasn't stopped, and the Police officer was perfectly polite.

Of course the chap being questioned may have wanted filmed. On the other hand, the police can point out he have been reluctant to respond fully in the face of a camera...may have felt in some way constrained. Might have given information they needed to act on quickly, without some dimwit in earshot giving the game away by mobile 'phone.

Tenuos, yes. But I'm just trying to show that you can look at things several ways.

I was several meters away from the cops, and as you can see in the video. They did not even realize i was there in the beginning. Right up to the moment when the the cop told me that i would be arrested if i wouldn't move away. I was never asked to move away in order not to distract them, but I was right away threatened with arrest for a hindering the police which clearly did not even take place. The rest of the cops did not even react when their colleague was moving me away. So honestly: where was his reason to threaten me with arrest?

Yes, they let me film further from a distance, but as you also see that meant that i had people walking back and forth between me and the arrest I was trying to document.

The second point is: i had my international press card ready. But the cop is clearly saying that he doesn't care about it. What kind of role is given to media in this country? Is it not the role of media to document what is going on? As a journalist, I know that I am not allowed to distract police work, and when I am out as a journalist it is my goal to document. If he would have asked me to move out of their way: okay fine. I have filmed enough arrests before to know that journalists are usually are not allowed to stand in the way of the cops. But yet again: you can see that i wasn't. I showed him my international press card, but he wouldn't even bother to look. I know there are countries where the police stands above the media, but in a democratic country it should be the right and the obligation of the media (and of course of everybody else) to observe what the police is doing. And of course that is exactely why there are International press cards: so that for example cops see that they are dealing with those who are not part of the immediate action but those reporting about them, and also that they can assume that the holder of a press card know the kind of rules under which the they are protected in their work.

So, if the cops are threatening with arrest in such a simple situation: do you think that journalists will be able in this country to report about serious incidents? I don't even claim that they were doing anything wrong with the guy they were holding. compared to other arrests it looked all within the rules of normal arrests. (there footage from very different arrests around). I just think that it is the right and responsibilty of the media to document the way the police works.

And as a last point: that i didn't understand what he was saying had nothing to do with his accent, i understood that perfectly. I just didn't understand how I was distracting the cops, when they hadn't even glanced at me.

Dear imcitsa,

In today's world everyone is afraid of the camera. It can get a lot of people in to trouble; sometimes for very innocent actions. A camera makes people nervous.
If i was the Policeman there I would ask you to move away. The Police are human beings after all guys, lets not forget that, they have been slated on this wesbite. They are trying to do a job, just like you imcista.

People let you do your job, let them do theirs.

I think a huge fuss is being made about nothing here.

The Policeman was polite, more than can be said for some of the so called 'protestors' at G8.

Leave the Police be.

Imcista,

When he first came to you, he was a bit harsh. He fired from the hip with a "move away or I'll book you" line. I agree he didn't explain it very well, and can understand your ire on this particular point. Thereafter he calmed down pretty quickly.

But just stop a wee second. He didn't tell you to stop filming. He just asked you to move away. He obviously saw that you continued to film, and took no further action - in fact all the officers ignored you completely.

I would suggest that you would get exactly the same treatment if you tried to film an arrest at an Old Firm game on any Saturday. And he didn't look at your press card, but maybe he wouldn't know a real one if he saw it - is there a standard for accrediated cards recognised by the Police? Would he know it from a fake anyway? Was it for the Mongolian Free Gazette or some other blatt that he'd never heard of.

You immediately said to the other person audible on the recording that you had been told to stop filming, and continued in similar vein.

Now I think you have to take a step back on this. You feel agrieved, but truth be told you're making a drama out of not much of a crisis. If you feel that bad, though, go and see a lawyer. You've got good evidence. Make a complaint. Or give it to Tommy Sheridan.

It is a clear breach of the law, since there was no hinderance whatsoever. The Police moved in on the camerawoman just as she was getting their name. The person was a civilian witness, and could be used were there a court case about these acts of the Police. The police's methods were unlawful and should be challenged in a court of law.

I sure would like a lawyer's opinion.

Anyone who views this clip can clearly see that the lady in question was not prevented from filming the arrest - she was just asked to move further away & she contnued filming the incident. Therefore the title is bollocks & just goes to undermine the cause.

Please keep these bullshitters off the site & keep the site for real stories not some stupid fucking student borrowing daddy's camcorder for the week whilst playing at being a fucking anarchist before she settles down to a career as a fat corrupt corporate pig!!!

funny how everybody jumps to conclusions and then just shouts abuses...

(1) my press card is an official international press card. but as you hear in the video, the cop didn't care whether it was real or not, because he stated clearly that he didn't care about media.

(2) documenting arrests is an important part of any of these kind of actions. on the one hand to document if people were abused by the cops during the arrests, or for example to prove that injuries happened in police custody. In an situation like this filming an arrest is also simply done to inform the legal team so that they (and fellow activists) know who is arrested and needs legal support.

Imcista

I'm afraid that you have misunderstood the various postings, which do seem to be pretty uniform in their view that the policeman (although certainly rather blunt at first) did not in fact tell you to stop filming, as you claim. Once you moved aware the officers were quite clearly aware that you kept filming, but none of them made any attempt to prevent you from keeping the camera rolling. In fact you are then heard advising an unseen person off camera that you had been told to stop filming.

And what is an "official international press card"? Do you mean an IFJ card? Ask yourself; would a policeman have been reasonably expected to recognise a genuine card if he had taken the time to look at it? Have you ever done a goggle search for false press cards?

I don't think that we're unsympathetic, but you are continuing to make a drama out of not much of a crisis.

Pete

I witnessed things like this at the G8 this year. I saw a crowd at Dungavel being surrounded by police for no other reason than they were singing a song the police didn't like.

I don't think the reaction of the police on a lot of these occasions is undersatandable. Two members of the SSP were arrested and then told to stay out of Edinburgh. They were let go and rearrested before they could get out!

The unnecessary boarding of buses and hassling of pensioners and young people for id, whilst the police covered up their id numbers was uncalled for; especially as the buses were being ran by known legal political and NGO's.