Groups Complain About Police Tactics

G20 protesters and members of independent media organizations are calling for more police accountability in the wake of the rallies and arrests Thursday and Friday. Nigel Parry is with the Minnesota based group “Twin Cities Indymedia” which got its start documenting police and protester interactions and the Republican National Convention last summer. He says National Special Security Events like the G20 and the convention are like tornadoes- they tear into town bringing a city some money and international notoriety while leaving lawsuits and public unease in their path. Parry and others complain that members of the media were forced away from the areas where arrests were being made and any journalists that remained were arrested and their recording confiscated. He says the first amendment and the right to a free press is squashed when the act of gathering facts via notes, audio recording, still photos or video recordings is prevented. Others at a news conference at the Thomas Merton Center Garfield called for the city to be held accountable for the actions of the officers and to hold hearings and independent investigations on the matter. Independent journalists Dan Fiedt called on police to make the videos they took and the radio communications among officers available to lawyers representing those arrested. No one at the news conference said they had field suit against the city but several said they are talking to lawyers about the possibility of taking such action.