Did NYPD Officers Interfere With The Press At Today's Occupy Wall Street Demonstration?

Video of Occupy Wall Street’s “Squidding” demonstration via kstr3l on Youtube

The video above shows a member of the press covering today’s Occupy Wall Street demonstration in the World Financial Center’s Winter Garden. After being pushed around and having an officer block his shot, another officer leads the photographer away from the scene.

After being advised by an internal NYPD memo not to interfere with members of the press during news coverage, this action seems to be exactly that – NYPD officers directly interfering with a member of the press who is displaying proper identification.

What do you think, did the NYPD go too far?

The World Financial Center is especially significant because it is owned by Brookfield Properties, who also own Zuccotti Park, the privately-owned public space where Occupy Wall Street built their camp. Brookfield Properties would have had to ask the NYPD to clear the protesters from the public space in the World Financial Center, and in that case, the NYPD would have had to respect the “private space” restrictions on the media, which are outlined below by the Huffington Post:

The police department message notes that officers should not restrict media access on private property “to the extent it is feasible to do so.”

“When incidents spill over or occur on private property, members of the media will not be arrested for criminal trespass, unless an owner or representative expressly indicates that the press is not to be permitted,” according to the section of the Patrol Guide sent to officers.

- Huffington Post