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Dangerous To Video Out Of Control Cops: Eric Garner Videographer Jailed After “Being Targeted” by NYPD, Now on Hunger Strike (pictures, Video)
Eric Garner Videographer Jailed After “Being Targeted” by NYPD, Now on Hunger Strike
By Kate Briquelet, The Daily Beast
09 April 15
Activists are crowdfunding bail for the young man who videotaped Eric Garner’s death, who claims police are stalking him and that he’s afraid to eat the food in jail.
e filmed Eric Garner’s death by police and has been arrested twice since. Now Ramsey Orta will be released from a two-month stint at Rikers Island thanks to an outpouring of donations.
A crowdfunding page launched by Orta’s family has raised more than $25,000 and counting — allowing worried relatives to post the $16,250 bail to get him out. The donations will also support his legal fees.
But posting bail means more than just freedom. It will put an end to a sort of hunger strike.
Orta, 23, refuses to eat prison food over fears that New York Corrections Department officers will taint it with rat poison—a complaint echoed by 19 other inmates who filed a lawsuit last month claiming they were sickened by blue-green pellets found in their Rikers meatloaf.
The amateur videographer has stated he’s being targeted by law enforcement after his July 2014 footage of a policeman putting Garner in a deadly chokehold went viral, becoming a high-profile example of controversial police tactics. The Garner death, and a subsequent grand jury decision not to indict the officer involved, became a flashpoint for New York City and set off massive protests in December of last year. Orta claims that officers have been stalking and arresting him in retaliation for the video ever since it became public.
One of Orta’s attorneys, Will Aronin, confirmed his client is forgoing Rikers grub.
“Ramsey is afraid because of that [inmate poison claims] and other issues,” Aronin told the Daily Beast. “We’re thrilled to circumvent this by getting him home.”
Lisa Mercado, Orta’s aunt, said he’s been looking gaunt in recent visits.
“With everything he’s been through … he doesn’t belong in Rikers,” Mercado said. “He’s lost a lot of weight since being there. He’s still afraid to eat, and you can’t force him on that.”
For the last few weeks, Orta has survived on chips and cookies from the jail’s vending machines, she said. Without the money to post bail, his family feared for the worst—until activists circulated Mercado’s GoFundMe campaign and wrote about his plight earlier this week.
At least five New York supporters have also offered Orta jobs doing office work, Mercado told The Daily Beast.
“I am extremely happy and feel blessed,” Mercado said, adding, “People just want to help him, where they stay by his side at all times and make sure he stays safe.”
The aunt says Orta wants to attend college for journalism after learning that a Time.com video on his cellphone footage won an award, Mercado said. The prize is Orta’s, as far as family and allies areconcerned.
“He wants to continue helping people, walking around with a camera,” Mercado said.
Still, it’s unlikely the budding cameraman will be able to matriculate anytime soon.
Cops busted Orta at his Staten Island home on Feb. 10 for allegedly peddling drugs to undercover officers nine times. Authorities also arrested his mother and brother in the sweep.
In August 2014, police arrested Orta for criminal possession of a firearm—just one month after he taped the video showing Garner’s death.
Orta has claimed he’s being framed on trumped-up charges as vengeance. He faces felony charges for both incidents. MOREHERE
Your Right to Take Videos and Photographs
When in outdoor public spaces where you are legally present, you have the right to capture any image that is in plain view (see note below about sound recording). That includes pictures and videos of federal buildings, transportation facilities (including airports), and police officers.
- When you are on private property, the property owner sets the rules about the taking of photographs or videos. If you disobey property owners’ rules, they can order you off their property (and have you arrested for trespassing if you do not comply).
- Police should not order you to stop taking pictures or video. Under no circumstances should they demand that you delete your photographs or video.
- Police officers may order citizens to cease activities that are truly interfering with legitimate law enforcement operations. In general, a court will trust an officer’s judgment about what is “interfering” more than yours. So if an officer orders you to stand back, do so.
- If the officer says he/she will arrest you if you continue to use your camera, in most circumstances it is better to put the camera away and call the ACLU for help, rather than risking arrest.
- Police officers may not generally confiscate or demand to view your photographs or video or search the contents your cell phone without a warrant. In addition, it is possible that courts may approve the seizure of a camera in some circumstances if police have a reasonable, good-faith belief that it contains evidence of a crime by someone other than the police themselves (it is unsettled whether they still need a warrant to view them). (Note: This section has been updated to reflect the June 2014 US Supreme Court decision in Riley v. California, in which the court held that police need a warrant to search a cellphone.)
Using a Video Recorder (Including Cell Phones) With Audio Capacity
You have a right to capture images in public places, but you don’t always have a right to record what people say. Pennsylvania’s Wiretap Law makes it illegal to record private conversations – which can include conversations in public places – without the consent of all parties to the conversation. Conversations with police in the course of their duties are not private conversations, but many other things you may record on a public street are.
- You have the right to videotape and audiotape police officers performing official duties in public. It is not a violation of the Pennsylvania Wiretap Law to do so. That means you can record an officer during a traffic stop, during an interrogation, or while he or she is making an arrest.
- You can record people protesting or giving speeches in public.
- The Pennsylvania Wiretap Law does make it illegal to record any electronically transmitted conversation. Never record a telephone conversation without the permission of all parties to the conversation.
If You Are Stopped or Detained for Taking Photographs or Videos
- Always remain polite and never physically resist a police officer.
- If stopped for photography, ask if you are free to go. If the officer says no, then you are being detained, something an officer cannot do without reasonable suspicion that you have or are about to commit a crime or are in the process of doing so. Until you ask to leave, your being stopped is considered voluntary under the law and is legal.
- If you are detained, politely state that you believe you have the right to take pictures or video and that you do not consent to the officer looking through or deleting anything on your camera. But if the officer reaches for your camera or phone, do not resist. Simply repeat that you do not consent to any search or seizure. You don’t want to invite a charge for “resisting arrest.”
If you believe your right to protest has been violated, please contact the ACLU of Pennsylvania toll-free at 877-PGH-ACLU (Western Office) or 877-PHL-ACLU (Eastern Office).
You can order pocket cards with this information by calling either ACLU office at the numbers above. MOREHERE
