NY Videographers Are Harassed At RNC, Even Before It Starts

The Glass Bead Collective may not be a household name, but a video it got out a few weeks ago showing an NYPD Officer maliciously body-slamming an innocent cyclist certainly made waves in the press. Well now that you know the connection, GBC is gearing up to show us a side of the RNC next week that CNN or Fox News would never dare. Unfortunately, the Twin Cities police have not taken kindly to their mission.

From The Gothamist:

Late Monday night three videographers from the New York-based Glass Bead Collective were detained by Minneapolis police officers, who spent about an hour questioning them and searching their belongings. In the end, they were released without charges, but they say officers confiscated a number of personal belongings, including their video and computer equipment, cell phones and clothing.

According to the group's lawyer, they were walking from a bus stop to the place they were staying in Northeast Minneapolis around 2 a.m. on Tuesday when two Minneapolis squad cars stopped them. They were first told that there had been car break-ins in the area, then the officers frisked them, photographed them and questioned them individually about their travel plans and what they intended to report on. “We kept saying we do not consent to any search,” Anita Brathwaite told the Twin Cities Daily Planet. To make matters worse, the group claims that police refused to give them a receipt for their equipment and personal belongings.

I can't imagine this year's RNC being any worse than four years ago in NYC, but if we are seeing the police state bulge to this degree a week before it starts....we might be in for even greater 'fireworks.' Thankfully this year, I hope, that collectives like Glass Bead is able to disseminate information regarding abusive police tactics that may occur in the Twin Cities next week.