Here’s an idea: If your city’s strapped for cash, don’t open it up to a major lawsuit by arresting reporters who attempt to cover city council meetings.
That’s what happened last week in Kinloch, Missouri, just outside the infamous town of Ferguson, where massive protests erupted last year.
Kinloch is apparently so broke that it can’t afford to register or insure its police cars anymore. Local news station Fox2 picked up on the story and sent its reporter, Chris Hayes, to cover it during a special meeting of the city council Thursday. But when Hayes attempted to bring a camera into the meeting, he was apprehended by police.
Here’s Hayes’ account:
A Kinloch Police Captain allowed citizens to enter the public meeting but told me we could not bring a camera inside.
I told him, “I’ve never heard of a closed public meeting.”
The Captain said, “You won’t be coming in sir.” He motioned to other citizens behind me, “You two wanna come in? Come on.”
I said, “It’s a public meeting.”
The Captain answered, “No recordings. No video.”
Hayes asked the officer which statute was preventing him from taking a camera inside, but the officer didn’t respond. When Hayes protested, he was cuffed and shackled to a bench. He was then given a court summons for “disorderly conduct” and “failure to comply” and released with bail.
We would find it hard to believe too, but the whole thing was captured on video. The footage shows a sign outside council chambers that says no video or audio recording equipment is allowed without prior approval. The reporter says he received that permission, even though he was under no legal obligation to do so.
Hayes says he has covered plenty of Kinloch council meetings in the past and that the use of a camera has never been a problem. Residents who were in attendance—some of whom had cameras, themselves—expressed disbelief at the decision to shut out a reporter.
Members of the press without recording equipment said the council discussed possibly disbanding the police force as a cost saving measure during the meeting. They ultimately decided not to.
Image Credit: Flickr User banspy, https://flic.kr/p/6RFiyQ via (CC BY 2.0)