Posted on 08/28/2015 3:53:16 PM PDT by csvset
BBC journalist Franz Strasser has filmed through rubber bullets and tear gas in Rio de Janeiro and has at times been told by police to stop filming while on assignment.
But he had never been ordered to delete footage until Wednesday, after he and a fellow journalist came upon the scene on Interstate 66 where Vester Lee Flanagan crashed a car following a pursuit by Virginia State Police.
A trooper told Strasser that police would need to seize his camera because his footage could be evidence, but then ordered him to delete the footage. The trooper watched as the journalist deleted it, Strasser said in an interview Friday.
Strasser tweeted about the incident on Wednesday. Corinne Geller, the State Police spokeswoman, tweeted back that police would look into it because such actions would violate police policy. Geller said Friday that after seeing tweets about the incident State Police began an administrative investigation by its Professional Standards Unit that is ongoing.
Strasser has worked as a video journalist for BBC in Washington, D.C., for six years, covering features and breaking news across the United States.
He reported on the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings, covered the fatal shootings of children and adults in 2012 in Newtown, Conn., and flew to Ferguson, Mo., numerous times to cover of the fatal police shooting of Michael Brown last year.
After the fatal shooting of Roanoke TV journalists Alison Parker and Adam Ward on Wednesday, Strasser and BBC White House reporter Tara McKelvey began driving to Roanoke in a rental car.
They heard police were in pursuit of the shooter but decided they should continue to Roanoke. As they drove on I-66 west, Strasser noticed no oncoming traffic and then saw about a dozen police cars and a silver car in the ditch on the other side of the interstate.
He knew what they had stumbled onto.
“Police were just standing around … so it didn’t seem like an active situation,” he said. “There was no commotion.”
He later realized they had arrived after Flanagan shot himself but before an ambulance had arrived. Flanagan later died.
Strasser stopped the car about 200 yards away, grabbed his camera and began filming as he walked through brush in the median to get to the other side.
He filmed the silver vehicle from 200 yards away. About six police officers then began running toward him, shouting, “Get back to your car!”
Strasser retreated to his car, where he opened the trunk to put his camera inside. An officer, presumably a state trooper, came up and closed the trunk.
“You’re not going anywhere. Your car is being towed,” the officer told him. “You’re parked illegally.”
The officer then asked about the footage: “What’s on that camera? That could be evidence. We need to seize that.”
The officer took the camera and fiddled with it for a few seconds. Strasser said he needed it to go to Roanoke. The trooper then told Strasser he’d need to first delete the video footage.
“He couldn’t figure out how to delete it,” Strasser said. “He gave it back to me and said, ‘I’ll watch you delete it.’”
As Strasser pulled up a prompt to delete the footage the officer said, “Now push it,” watching every step of the process.
The officer allowed Strasser to keep his camera and the journalists left for Roanoke. Strasser removed the video card, hoping he could later retrieve the deleted footage.
He tweeted about the incident but was more concerned about preparing mentally for the reporting they’d be doing.
“You kind of go a little bit on autopilot when you go to a scene like this because you have to talk to people, you have a job to do,” he said.
He said the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown were the worse tragedy he’s covered, but “this one hits really close to home as a fellow journalist.”
State Police are doing an internal investigation of the incident over Strasser’s footage following a complaint by BBC.
Mickey Osterreicher, general counsel for the National Press Photographers Association, has trained police in Dallas, Los Angeles, Washington and other cities in how to avoid overstepping their authority.
He said reporters and citizens taking pictures or video are interfered with, threatened or harassed on a daily basis by police.
There are narrow circumstances in which police could ask for video footage or obtain it with a search warrant, he said. For instance, if a serious crime was committed and police believe that if they didn’t seize a camera, evidence would be lost or destroyed, they can ask for consent to view the images or get a search warrant, he said.
In this case, the trooper violated the reporter’s First Amendment right to free speech, his Fourth Amendment right to be free of unreasonable seizure and his 14th Amendment right not to be deprived of property without due process, Osterreicher said.
“It would seem from that conversation that the trooper was very interested that whatever images (Strasser) had never see the light of day,” he said.
He wrote a letter to State Police about the association’s concerns.
Patrick Wilson, (804) 697-1564, patrick.wilson@pilotonline.com
My 1st thought
The coffin is unusual but the 20 or so cops who likely self-responded to the scene is normal. Some of them are like a pack of dogs chasing a cat. A friend of mine who is California Highway Patrol complains about how there will be a chase with two or three CHP units involved and then every local unit in the world shows up on their own. Same thing probably happened here, too. The killer was dead and a bunch of cops showed up with their adrenaline pumping and they took it out on the reporters. Good thing the BBC people didn’t get shot.
Probably something to transport the body only he wasn’t dead yet.
If this is how he found out, he got ready quick.
I am not sure this report is true... I live near the place where the event climaxed and if you are driving in the west bound lane of I66, you CANNOT see the spot where the silver car ended up on the side of the road in the east bound lane.
Personally, I think that is why the police chose that place to force the car over as the culprit could not cross the median there. There isn’t an emergency crossing across the median and the bank on both sides was very steep. A fine place to corral a car.
Think about it, if the reporter, could not see the event from the west bound lane, how much of this story is true?
What flaming Aholes. What right do they have to delete what he filmed? NONE, that’s what right.
And I hope he was smart enough to outwit the idiot cop by deleting the video. And then as long as he doesn’t tape back over it, simply go back home and recover that deleted file.
Childs play.
News shows sometimes “tease” an upcoming story the day before it happens. So it’s possible that the previous day’s morning news shows mentioned that they’d be talking about the upcoming celebration of Smith Mt. Lake. So one drives over to location early in the morning and chances are one will see the news crew setting up for their live remote.
Some of these cameras have two cards for recording. I would have had both cards recording at the same time or switch the recording card to the unused card and delete that one.
“How did the shooter know Alison and Adam were going to be there? Was he tipped off? If so, by who? It was an out of the way location at 6:45 am. How in the world did he know they were there”
How? He worked at the place. It was ridiculously easy. He had a rented car so they wouldn’t recognize his mustang. He waited for them to leave at 6am to go wherever the live shot would be, just as I’m sure the morning people did every morning when he worked there.
Followed then to wherever they went.
Think how hard it would be if you decided to follow an ex coworker who still worked at the same physical location. You pull up outside, and wait. You could probably guess within an hour of when you should be waiting.
My girls; Salt & Peppa, back when Hip Hop was fun.
Where’s Spinderella?
“A trooper told Strasser that police “
The trooper would have a name tag. My BIL is in the Va State Police
Thanks. Hadn’t thought of that. And to everyone else who jumped down my throat for asking the question, have a nice day. lol
Looked back through, saw a lot of suggestions and ideas. But didn’t see anyone jump down your throat. If THAT was rough on you, you are likely in for some real treats during your second month here!
Yeah, I thought about that too.
Sounds like the cop wouldn’t have known if he’s had done something like that.
Wikipedia says she’s a DJ in LA.
Great Pic, Had to use it on FB!
He could have followed them from the station to the location of the interview.
Oh, I’ve been ‘treated’ already, believe you me. lol
That is new information.
Couldn’t see the eastbound lanes from the westbound lanes.
They said they noticed a lack of traffic.
Could they have seen the VSP lights from their lanes?
I have encountered traffic stops where I couldn’t see the cars themselves, but noticed the police cars “disco” lights through trees.
Even in broad daylight.
Just asking as I have little knowledge of the area.
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