Police in Denver arrested an ABC News producer today as he and a camera crew were attempting to take pictures on a public sidewalk of Democratic senators and VIP donors leaving a private meeting at the Brown Palace Hotel.
Police on the scene refused to tell ABC lawyers the charges against the producer, Asa Eslocker, who works with the ABC News investigative unit.
A cigar-smoking Denver police sergeant, accompanied by a team of five other officers, first put his hands on Eslocker’s neck, then twisted the producer’s arm behind him to put on handcuffs…Video taken at the scene shows a man, wearing the uniform of a Boulder County sheriff, ordering Eslocker off the sidewalk in front of the hotel, to the side of the entrance.
The sheriff’s officer is seen telling Eslocker the sidewalk is owned by the hotel. Later, he is seen pushing Eslocker off the sidewalk into oncoming traffic, forcing him to the other side of the street.
A police official later told lawyers for ABC News that Eslocker is being charged with trespass, interference, and failure to follow a lawful order. He also said the arrest followed a signed complaint from the Brown Palace Hotel.
During the arrest, one of the officers can be heard saying to Eslocker, “You’re lucky I didn’t knock the f..k out of you.”
Eslocker and his ABC News colleagues are spending the week investigating the role of corporate lobbyists and wealthy donors at the convention for a series of Money Trail reports on ABC’s “World News with Charles Gibson.”
Welcome to the Obama Age.
Found by Wayne Bronikowski.
Hmm. I thought he was arrested for trespassing and complaint from the hotel. I’ll have to see if the police report shows:
CRIME: Taking pictures of Senators, Big Donors
I love paparazzi too but the story tag line feels a bit off. Just a bit.
Say it ain’t so! The people’s party taking $ from wealthy special interest groups and having journalist’s arrested for trying to report on it?
ROFL!
#1. Read public sidewalk, the Hotel doesn’t own it.
Obama + Patriot Act= Scares the living hell out of me.
#1
He was on the sidewalk in front of the build. Unless Denver’s law is different that most other places. That’s public property. He’s not paparazzi. He’s a reporter seeing which Senators are meeting with Big Donors.
I hope your commit was sarcasm.
I think there’s a mistake here. This guy was at the Republican convention, not the Democratic convention, right? There are no rich Democrats, and Democrats believe in free speech.
There you go John, making stuff up about the Demos again. Mustard is not going to be happy!
#5 Actually, after looking into it – it IS bad. Going to ABC.News.com was the LAST place I would look for accurate info buy this is outrageous.
Hey, but at least the Dems were meticulous in their making sure that all the statistically significant minorities were represented among their delegates in the exact proportion to their existence in the general population. “Diversity” as a talking point is super duper awesome.
I’m still hoping for they day that those in charge will stop trying to herd us into convenient categories and start accepting that we are all unique individuals. But, since individualism is bad, fat chance of that I guess.
Welcome to the Obama Age?
If it where the current admin. This guy would be on his back blindfolded with water going up his nose.
This is a GREAT (unique) article for all of us!!
LIBERAL RESPONSE:
The Liberals (like me) are complaining about the arrest of a news person on public property. The conservatives don’t care because, well, they sold their rights and those of their children to George Bush.
CONSERVATIVE RESPONSE:
Why those slimy Democrats are taking money from lobbyists. How dare they! We are at least more careful about it!
So there you have it. An article we can both debate yet talk past each other. Dvorack needs to save this one.
I don’t see the usual dem apologist’s on this thread. Maybe they were arrested while trying to see the dem leadership in Denver?
#11, I’d venture down one of those two tracts, but I’m too busy going off-topic.
#11 “CONSERVATIVE RESPONSE:
Why those slimy Democrats are taking money from lobbyists. How dare they! We are at least more careful about it!”
Actually,
Conservative response:
Why are the dems so hypocritical? And, why are they against the 1st Amendment? They already hate the 2nd, now the 1st too?
# 4 GigG said,
> Obama + Patriot Act= Scares the living hell out of me.
That’s exactly the point. You need checks and balances so that when someone from the “other side of the fence” from you is in power, things still work.
That’s why you cannot vote for 4 more years of the same Republican mafia. That’s guaranteed to erode even more the balance of power and the constitution.
Think about it. Even if you don’t like Obama, voting for McCain (who voted almost 100% with Bush on everything) means more of the same. Don’t get fooled, the self-titled “maverick” McCain of 2000 is lost, nowhere to be seen anymore.
You are living in a Police state.
Get use to it.
“During the arrest, one of the officers can be heard saying to Eslocker, “You’re lucky I didn’t knock the f..k out of you.””
There’s the difference. If this happens in Minneapolis they will “knock the f..k out of you.”
That guy acted more like a security officer then a cop.
IF ABC wanted to be SNEAKY, they could have been.
they should have mounted remote cameras, Across the street.
#14 I agree on the first point. Republicans don’t have a monopoly on taking money from lobbyists. Democrats also do it and hence are hypocrites if we say we are not and I believe we ‘imply’ we are not. I agree. You also claim Dem’s hate the first two amendments.
The 1st is Freedom of religion, speech, Press, Petition, and to Assemble. I like that one but I may have missed the email that this one is bad. The 2nd is Right to keep and bear arms. I like that one too and actually pack one at home in case a bible thumper steps on my lawn.
I believe the confusion lies not so much on the “amendment”, but rather it’s interpretation. That’s why we hire nine “unbiased” old farts to apply those laws onto the modern age.
#20 “You also claim Dem’s hate the first two amendments.”
I only said that as I haven’t heard one of the dem attendees of the meeting condemn the police action…
Some cities have an ordinance where a business can sign a complaint against someone on a public sidewalk within say 40ft of their front doors. The officer who pushed the guy in the street could be facing a nice law suit for endangering his welfare. This story is hot and I am expecting the money shot say 2012.
McCain
Obama
It isn’t a choice
Vote No!
Does Denver have a smoking law? I would think that an officer smoking a cigar within X feet of a public building’s door would be breaking the law.
Can anyone criticize Barack Obama and the Democrats without someone else shrieking that they want more of the same?
Outrageous! I think Officer Fathead needs to lay off the donuts and pick up a copy of the constitution. Eslocker being mobbed and grabbed by the throat was a nice touch.
I don’t think I’ll be visiting Denver anytime soon…
You can’t be trespassing without someone in apparent authority asking you to leave.
This assault on free speech and the press is VERY disturbing and will test the role of the media. ALL MEDIA should ban together and sue the shit out of everyone involved. Name every person, cop, political official, hotel owner etc. The Free Speech Zone in America IS America.
The test is before us. Is Mainstream Media about reporting and safeguarding the news, or is it about corporate fascism in bed with the power structure?
If anyone can find an RSS feed to keep tabs on this issue, please post it.
What the hell?!!! The “Obama” age?! What the hell is wrong with you, John? Police answer to the Executive Branch, which is run by Bush. This horrible behavior is Bush’s fault.
#26 “Is Mainstream Media about reporting and safeguarding the news,”
No, it is about promoting an Obama candidacy. And then, getting jailed as a thank you!
ROFL!
What is WRONG with YOU, John? You are getting weirder and weirder by the week! “Obama age”? You keep coming up with these lame, cynical, but totally unfounde anti-Obama statements.
The police certainly has nothing to do with the Obama campaign. I will go further and bet you that these cops are McCain supporters. Should we blame the Republicans then? The answer is that we should be ashamed of corporate fascism and that this is yet an example of it.
Here in Hollywood, we have a saying that perhaps Mr. Bama and da Dems have never heard:
“Don’t mess with the Mouse.”