Video: Cops shove, choke, arrest ABC reporter taping Democratic senators meeting with top donors; Update: Edwards pal Fred Baron at meeting?
posted at 8:52 pm on August 27, 2008 by Allahpundit
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In fairness, his assignment might have had nothing to do with his treatment here. Supposedly it was hotel management that got annoyed and called the cops because they objected to him blocking a private sidewalk. The cops came, he wouldn’t leave, so naturally they had to … shove him across the street and grab him by the throat. According to the Denver Post, it wasn’t just Boulder County police involved; at least one officer there, probably the one doing the shoving in the clip, was a hotel security guard wearing a sheriff’s uniform for whatever reason. Smart thinkin’ roughing a guy up from a national news bureau with cameramen standing by.
Speculative exit question: Which senators, do you think? Click the image to watch.
Update: I can’t tell if the meeting referred to in this report is the same one that ABC was investigating when their producer got busted. But wherever there’s trouble a-brewin’, you’ll find Fred “The Best Friend Anyone’s Ever Had” Baron!
Fred Baron, a wealthy Texas trial lawyer and former finance chairman for Edwards’ presidential campaign, was seen Tuesday at a private luncheon for top party donors and key senators.
Baron, a longtime major contributor to Democratic candidates, would not answer questions from ABC News and walked away when he saw cameras.
The exclusive lunch was organized by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee for its highest level donor group known at the Legacy Circle.
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Don’t taze me bro!
lorien1973 on August 27, 2008 at 8:54 PM
I question the timing.
Weebork on August 27, 2008 at 8:54 PM
Let the be no sunshine when the buyees are meeting with their buyers.
MB4 on August 27, 2008 at 8:55 PM
It’s good to see that the peacenik mentality of a Democratic convention hasn’t loosened the iron grip of the law. I’ve always said that the liberal media needs to meet a steel-toed boot or law enforcement baton now and then.
bayam on August 27, 2008 at 8:55 PM
Freedom of the press.
powerpro on August 27, 2008 at 8:55 PM
Let there be no sunshine when the buyees are meeting with their buyers.
MB4 on August 27, 2008 at 8:56 PM
hmmmmm
Terrye on August 27, 2008 at 8:56 PM
And some of my fellow conservatives wonder why I oppose police brutality and the Patriot Act…
philnewkirk on August 27, 2008 at 8:56 PM
Frustrated cop, simple as that. Doesn’t mean that the cop shouldn’t be suspended, but it also doesn’t mean that Denver is in a police state.
DanStark on August 27, 2008 at 8:57 PM
I’m usually the one to defend the cops in these threads (I did when the cop tackled the biker, I did when the cops shot those dogs), but I just don’t feel like it tonight.
I loathe journalists as a rule, so I’m neutral here.
jimmy the notable on August 27, 2008 at 8:57 PM
Interesting.
carbon_footprint on August 27, 2008 at 8:58 PM
Because power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely?
MB4 on August 27, 2008 at 8:58 PM
heh I am just trying to imagine the M$M being so blase if this were at the GOP convention….
Would it have looked more like this??? in hysteria?
sven10077 on August 27, 2008 at 8:58 PM
Is that a mug of beer about to spill in his hand?
Crisis averted- just the credentials hanging around his neck.
Valiant on August 27, 2008 at 8:59 PM
If I’m not mistaken that’s a commonly brought up quote, but is actually a mis-quote. It’s kind of a dumb quote to boot.
jimmy the notable on August 27, 2008 at 8:59 PM
Were this to happen next week in St. Paul, it would be a major scandal reflecting the general fascistic attitude of both the police in general and the delegates in the convention hall, their president, and their presidential nominee.
In Denver? Half-day of controversy, if that, and ABC files a protest, local law enforcement officials promise to conduct an investigation and that’s that.
jon1979 on August 27, 2008 at 8:59 PM
Y’know what’s great about this? If this had been at the RNC, or at the World Trade conference, or at one of President Bush’ speeches. I would’ve heard about this from every media outlet and lefty website 10 times over plus a slew of “learned people” explaining exactly which civil rights had been violated all about gestapo nazi-esque tactics and how only the Democrats can save us.
Not. One. Peep.
Skywise on August 27, 2008 at 9:00 PM
My favorite part was when the cop shoved him in the street and then told him that he was blocking traffic! Seriously, this looks really really bad. Also, how can the police say he was blocking a sidewalk? Were they not expecting reporters taking pictures and video outside this week? Unless there is more back story here-like an hours worth of producer vs. cop arguing-then I don’t see how you can come to any other conclusion than the Denver police were wrong in this.
Weight of Glory on August 27, 2008 at 9:00 PM
Quite a few more active cops there, then when Michelle was being surrounded by people saying “Kill Michelle Malkin”.
aikidoka on August 27, 2008 at 9:00 PM
Nice, was that one cop smoking a cigar as he was arresting the guy?
carbon_footprint on August 27, 2008 at 9:01 PM
You said it!
carbon_footprint on August 27, 2008 at 9:01 PM
Never mind, its not a misquote.
jimmy the notable on August 27, 2008 at 9:01 PM
It’s similar to “Above all else do no harm”. It’s not meant to be taken as an absolute, just as prudent guidance.
MB4 on August 27, 2008 at 9:02 PM
Ask and ye shall receive
Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton left the historic Brown Palace Hotel in downtown Denver tonight at around 7:45 p.m., rushing through traffic amid a cacophony of sirens and flashing police lights.
During a visit to the famous cigar bar at the Brown Palace Hotel, Mell and his entourage spotted Massachusetts Senator and 2004 also-ran John Kerry. Mell and 39th Ward Alderman Margaret Laurino, who were hanging out with delegate Linda Murphy, a professor at Wright College, spotted Kerry. “Margie says to (Murphy), ‘Would you like a picture taken with John Kerry?
Fred Mayerson will be one of the hosts at a reception honoring the legacy of Robert F. Kennedy on Wednesday afternoon in Denver as part of the Democratic National Convention.
Mayerson, managing general partner at downtown-based private equity and venture capital investment firm the Walnut Group, serves on the board of the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial. That organization runs several programs aimed at tackling the toughest of society’s problems.
Mayerson is one of 24 members of a board that includes musician Harry Belafonte, actor Danny Glover and Sen. Ted Kennedy.
William Amos on August 27, 2008 at 9:02 PM
You oppose police brutality? Wow. I wonder if that’s why it’s illegal. You must be very powerful. Me, I’m all in favor of police brutality, unless I’m the one being arrested. Sarc off.
austinnelly on August 27, 2008 at 9:02 PM
Chah-lie Wrangler.
jgapinoy on August 27, 2008 at 9:02 PM
Man, I am so stressed out by this! I cannot figure out who to back in this one…
trailboss on August 27, 2008 at 9:03 PM
OK, Chah-lie isn’t a senator.
jgapinoy on August 27, 2008 at 9:03 PM
Papa Barack, our very own President-for-Life, is just testing out his new civilian
Gestaposecurity corps.This is only the start. Welcome to the Democrats’ vision of Hope and Change. Watch out for the guys in the heavily tinted sunglasses.
MrScribbler on August 27, 2008 at 9:03 PM
Hee hee….yeah, that “private sidewalk”…..yeah, that’ll work in court. As for the private security in a sheriff’s uniform…isn’t that called impersonating a police office?
Or is this incident ‘different’ and ‘distracting’ because they were protecting Democratic high rollers?
GarandFan on August 27, 2008 at 9:04 PM
Sorry there are 3 different stories there but it looks like a lot of the biggest names in democratic circles were all there
William Amos on August 27, 2008 at 9:04 PM
Obama’s brown shirts have co-opted the local police. I’m not a big fan of ABC but that’s immaterial . . . this type of police behavior is frightening in a free society. Obviously the purpose is to protect the identity of Democratic big wigs and their money-laden lobbyists. I have a bad feeling that this is only the beginning.
rplat on August 27, 2008 at 9:04 PM
ROFLMAO! We all have standards.
TheBigOldDog on August 27, 2008 at 9:04 PM
Dude! Great catch.
Weight of Glory on August 27, 2008 at 9:04 PM
Lawsuit!!! More taxpayer money down the drain. There you go Denver, you asked for it.
American on August 27, 2008 at 9:04 PM
Heh, I totally missed that. People always seem to think that whatever violent, dumb things that cops do…that because the cops are doing it it must be legal, and we must strip cops of their power.
jimmy the notable on August 27, 2008 at 9:05 PM
cant we all get along
custer on August 27, 2008 at 9:05 PM
Harry Pelosi?
Nancy Reid?
jgapinoy on August 27, 2008 at 9:05 PM
BTW I love there kerry link it seems that after this incident the dems had alot of people tossed out.
William Amos on August 27, 2008 at 9:05 PM
Just wonderful
Where is the outrage from the so called progressives?
What is it with Colorado cops and the “Nothing to see here” attitude?
TroubledMonkey on August 27, 2008 at 9:06 PM
Always look for the union label, whenever you’re (a Democratic politician) buying a policeman.
RBMN on August 27, 2008 at 9:06 PM
Follow the money.
MB4 on August 27, 2008 at 9:07 PM
Al Gore’s mom used to sing him to sleep with it….
back when he was 27 years old that is.
sven10077 on August 27, 2008 at 9:07 PM
I wanna see the before and the middle that was cut.
- The Cat
MirCat on August 27, 2008 at 9:08 PM
Too bad it wasn’t a MSNBC reporter… namely Kieth Olberman.
Hog Wild on August 27, 2008 at 9:08 PM
AHA Caught a big name that the dems might not want to be seen with
At a restaurant thank-you reception at lunchtime at the Brown Palace Hotel in downtown Denver today, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton paid homage to her supporters – and said she’d do it all again, despite the outcome, according to an attendee.
After an introduction by her husband, Clinton mused about whether she would have relived the past few months even knowing how it ended, she replied, according to a source, “In a New York minute.”
On hand was a mix o fundraisers – Hassan Nemazee, Maureen White, Robert Zimmerman – and elected officials like Nita Lowey and Jerrold Nadler.
William Amos on August 27, 2008 at 9:09 PM
MSNBC does not have an ideology, and it is totally coincidence we do not have any serious conservative commetators……
the Americans are not entering Baghdad….
sven10077 on August 27, 2008 at 9:09 PM
Forgive me for having just a bit of a small amount of sympathy for the media.
SouthernGent on August 27, 2008 at 9:09 PM
Not quite sure what the Patriot Act has to do with cops shutting out the free press, but that’s okay. And, umm, police brutality is illegal pretty much everywhere. Except in, apparently, Denver.
malan89 on August 27, 2008 at 9:11 PM
Is this the change we want? Pushing people into oncoming traffic and silence the press. This is not why I served in USMC to see this in my country.
Wade on August 27, 2008 at 9:11 PM
Nah SG you’re cool by me….takes all kinds.
Me I like wolverines, you you like reporters……had a friend once who really got a lot of joy out of studying bubonic plague….some scourges just have fans is all.
sven10077 on August 27, 2008 at 9:11 PM
Can’t be certain which, but I’ll bet a lot they had “D” after their names…
drjohn on August 27, 2008 at 9:14 PM
Wait till we see the carnage when Hussein Obama is defeated by McCain, and he will be beaten like donkey in a ass kicking contest.
Wade on August 27, 2008 at 9:14 PM
I’ve been called a commie pinko countless times for always questioning police brutality.
philnewkirk on August 27, 2008 at 9:15 PM
Got one confirmed celeb spotted from a celebrities blog.
William Amos on August 27, 2008 at 9:15 PM
If only he was a Democratic operative flunky trespassing in a invitation only news conference in a Washington State Police Union Hall. He would have been politely begged to please stand across the street.
ronsfi on August 27, 2008 at 9:16 PM
Smoking maybe, mostly chomping. Classy guy, kinda like John Gotti. Do you think Barry will demand a justice department investigation?
Buy Danish on August 27, 2008 at 9:18 PM
Seems all democrap gatherings are only “complete” when some lecherous former politician mentions Katrina.
And now, cigars and Klinton, again.
Zorro on August 27, 2008 at 9:22 PM
It always helps to avoid the police at all costs, even if you’re looking for help (a lazy cop might think that you’re guilty when you’re really a victim).
If you have to deal with police, it should be filmed by someone who isn’t interacting with them, for your own protection.
Hopefully these cops will be fired. More likely, though, they’ll be promoted.
Sydney Carton on August 27, 2008 at 9:22 PM
Who are the Boulder County “Police”?
jdkchem on August 27, 2008 at 9:22 PM
What exactly was the guy arrested for? He was on a sidewalk, the cop pushed him into the street. Then pushed him to the other sidewalk. No resisting arrest, no violence. I smell a lawsuit.
cannonball on August 27, 2008 at 9:23 PM
Word.
klickink.wordpress.com on August 27, 2008 at 9:24 PM
That seemed quite unnecessary.
CP on August 27, 2008 at 9:28 PM
Just another union louse screwing things up.
The Race Card on August 27, 2008 at 9:29 PM
Maybe ABC should grow a pair, and dump some of the dirt they have been keeping quiet for the Dems. Looks like it didn’t help them.
I am not joking here.
drunyan8315 on August 27, 2008 at 9:30 PM
Private sidewalk? Um, look at the video at the beginning, I see all sorts of people walking along a wide concrete sidewalk along a public street. Just when do public sidewalks become “private?”
I work with cops. I have a great deal of respect for cops.
There was no call for this and those so-called “cops” bring disrepute upon their honest brethren.
Suspend them now. Investigate the DNC for paying them to act that way.
Darleen on August 27, 2008 at 9:30 PM
Imagine if this had been a black producer. Now that would have grabbed some big old headlines.
Buy Danish on August 27, 2008 at 9:31 PM
Those cops should have it in their file.
You shouldn’t be allowed to kick a reporter off a sidewalk. “Private” sidewalk? What? I remember a buddy who owned a flower shop in a huge office complex. Some people stood on the street and protested a company in his office. It fully ruined business for the day. When he tried to get the people removed for tresspassing, the cops said, “Sidewalks are public.”
The pig (yes, I called him that) who was choking the guy deserves to be suspended and forced to write an apology for being a stereo-typical prick of a cop that gives good cops bad names.
Tim Burton on August 27, 2008 at 9:32 PM
Darleen on August 27, 2008 at 9:30 PM
Agree completely. If it really is a “private” sidewalk, then there is video evidence of gross selective enforcement.
Loxodonta on August 27, 2008 at 9:37 PM
That’s the only fair reaction to this, IMO.
RushBaby on August 27, 2008 at 9:37 PM
Retaliation for this.
jdkchem on August 27, 2008 at 9:38 PM
China in the Rockies?
Elizabetty on August 27, 2008 at 9:38 PM
Under what circumstances is it OK for anyone to be pushed backward into moving traffic?
Loxodonta on August 27, 2008 at 9:39 PM
I’m no fan of the MSM but…couldn’t they have saved this for Olby?
SuperCool on August 27, 2008 at 9:39 PM
Ah, AllahPundit, here we go yet again. More knee jerk cop smear and misinformation. Why do you always insist on making these things what they are not?
That is not a choke hold. That is not a choke. He’s not even grabbing the guys throat. He’s applying a hand pinch technique to two pressure points at the jaw line that is commonly taught and used in Police & Sheriff Departments across the country to gain compliance.
You place your hand under the jaw line and apply pressure, preferably with your thumb and middle finger (but index finger works too) on two pressure points under and behind the jaw line where the curvature of the lower jaw is. It doesn’t work on everyone, but on those it does, it works very effectively. I’ve used it myself several times over my 20 years, and it has worked well for me.
The end result, as should have been expressly obvious even to you, was that the subject of the arrest did not choke, or gag. He sure as hell got on his toes though, and that’s what it’s supposed to do.
The more you know AllahP… the more you know.
*not saying the cops were wrong or right here, and the big ol’ stogy was rather much in the whole scene, but it wasn’t what you wish and would have your readers believe it was.
SilverStar830 on August 27, 2008 at 9:39 PM
He already managed to threaten Fox and CNN good enough to prevent them from running the Ayers ad. Then they went to the Justice department asking that they investigate the group. Not a single claim in that ad has been proven misleading never mind false. This is what Obama has in store for America.
TheBigOldDog on August 27, 2008 at 9:40 PM
Obama doesn’t like snoopy reporters.
profitsbeard on August 27, 2008 at 9:42 PM
LOL
Sir Loin on August 27, 2008 at 9:43 PM
Recreate 68′!
canopfor on August 27, 2008 at 9:43 PM
Gotta’ love the cop at the end following along munching on what I presume to be a jelly doughnut.
cgoode777 on August 27, 2008 at 9:44 PM
Welcome to the world of Obama! lol j/j…um maybe not
lsutiger on August 27, 2008 at 9:44 PM
You can beat the rap but you can’t beat the ride.
Many cops forget that they are there to protect and serve.
TheSitRep on August 27, 2008 at 9:47 PM
Notice the cop chewing gum with his mouth wide open in uniform. Is that allowed ?
StuLongIsland on August 27, 2008 at 9:47 PM
Silverstar
The reporter was NOT RESISTING ARREST.
That was done to punish him. Those are bad cops who make good cops cringe.
DO NOT defend them.
keeerist! Do you have ANY idea what hell cops like that make for other cops and deputy district attorneys who have to go infront of juries who now look in suspicion at any cop who uses any kind of force? Do you know how many “wobblers” DDA’s have got to refuse to file on because they know they won’t get a conviction when this stuff is taints juries?
DAMMIT TO HELL. These guys, who held the reporter on the sidewalk for a few hours refusing to tell him/or his lawyers what the charges were ARE/WERE WRONG.
Darleen on August 27, 2008 at 9:48 PM
I work in the law enforcement/judicial arena. Have for over 10 years.
There is no defending the fat f**k who shoved Eslocker into traffic and across the street. None. Zip. Nada.
Darleen on August 27, 2008 at 9:49 PM
If you read my whole comment, you’d see that I’m not defending anyone other than to say the so-called “choke”, wasn’t.
So unbunch your panties.
SilverStar830 on August 27, 2008 at 9:51 PM
Hey Team Messiah…the Presidency is a job not a freaking calling to godlike sooper powers.
sven10077 on August 27, 2008 at 9:52 PM
Is that grapple hold officially sanctioned by the police department?
Watch for the Big Blue Wall of Silence to cover this up.
fossten on August 27, 2008 at 9:52 PM
Any one with any common sense ought to find the attempts to muzzle free speech worrisome. The instances cited worry me more that the incident with the reporter.
TooTall on August 27, 2008 at 9:52 PM
Not too smart of the cop pushing a civilian towards a moving bus.
The officer is a likely union-lunkhead who needs to order a free Constiution from Heritage Foundation.
The Race Card on August 27, 2008 at 9:52 PM
Oh Dear… Ol’ Alex Jones and his ilk are gonna have a field day with this one.
Gartrip on August 27, 2008 at 9:55 PM
Go back and listen really really closely! I could almost swear I heard somebody whisper, “Psst! Hey! He’s a FOX reporter! It’s okay, Go ahead and rough him up a little!!!”
…..or am I just imagining it….
Vntnrse on August 27, 2008 at 9:56 PM
Not me. More people have encounters with overworked, underpaid, pissed-off cops than they do with wackadoodle 527s.
Police abuse is the most damaging aspect to law enforcement aside from civilian criminals. Every time a cop breaks the law or violates someone’s rights, he brings another cop that much closer to danger.
The Race Card on August 27, 2008 at 9:56 PM
They shoved him…INTO TRAFFIC.
Sweat every officer and find out where the orders came from.
MadisonConservative on August 27, 2008 at 9:57 PM
As to the whole sidewalk controversy…sidewalks are often part of the property but must guarantee a public right of way if they connect to the street or other sidewalks. But the sidewalks that lead up to the doorway may be considered private. That said, businesses usually have a lease line that is considered part of their business property. So without knowing exactly where the reporter originally was it’s hard to say if he was trespassing.
Deanna on August 27, 2008 at 9:58 PM
Deanna
Watch the very beginning of the video and see that people are moving along the sidewalk just as that fat f**k starts shoving the reporter into the street and traffic.
Darleen on August 27, 2008 at 10:03 PM
Now that was very heavy handed,maybe the police officer doesn’t like ABC News,and I’m also going a bit way out
there on this theory,maybe the cop is an Obama supporter
or maybe he’s a Democrat and wants things really quiet like!
Man,this must be all the hype about HOPE and CHANGE!
If you think that was kinda(brownish shirt like)good gawd,
wait till the TEMPLE STORM TROOPERS get a hold of ya at
Obama’s “Cathedral if Lights”!!!
canopfor on August 27, 2008 at 10:04 PM
Good for them. I’d like to choke some ABC News people, too.
Still, nothing can compare to the collegial journalism being conducted over at PMSNBC. Those
guysgirls are the bomb.Jaibones on August 27, 2008 at 10:09 PM
When in doubt, choke ‘em out!
Mike D. on August 27, 2008 at 10:11 PM
Rove is sending in his boys it appears.
Hening on August 27, 2008 at 10:11 PM
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