The NPPA and the New York Civil Liberties Union, along with New York law firm Davis Wright Tremaine, today filed a federal civil rights lawsuit on behalf of photojournalist Phil Datz, who was arrested last July as he was attempting to film the conclusion of a police chase on Long Island.

Datz was on a public street when he was arrested.

“Mr. Datz’s arrest was not an isolated event,” said Robert Balin, a partner with Davis Wright Tremaine and lead counsel on the case. “Suffolk County police officers have a pattern of unlawfully interfering with the recording of police activity conducted in plain view. As a journalist, Mr. Datz has a responsibility to cover police activity in public places.” Read more

WITI photojournalist Clint Fillinger was arrested on Sunday night following a confrontation with a Milwaukee police officer who was trying to restrict Fillinger’s access to the scene of a house fire.

Fillinger was shooting video behind the yellow police tape, where a small group of people had gathered to watch.  He says that a Milwaukee police sergeant singled him out and ordered him to move back.

Video inside… Read more