Incident details
- Date of incident
- February 4, 2024
- Targets
- Avery Craig (Independent)
- Arrest status
- Arrested and released
- Arresting authority
- New York City Police Department
- Charges
-
-
Traffic violation: pedestrians on roadways
- Feb. 4, 2024: Charges pending
- May 30, 2024: Charges dropped
-
Traffic violation: pedestrians on roadways
- Unnecessary use of force?
- No
Arrest/Criminal Charge
- Equipment damaged
- Actor
- Law enforcement
Equipment Damage
Police officers and pro-Palestinian demonstrators clash at a rally in New York City on Feb. 2, 2024. While documenting a similar protest two days later, photojournalist Avery Craig was arrested and charged with being in the roadway.
Independent photojournalist and documentarian Avery Craig was arrested and his camera flash damaged by police while documenting a pro-Palestinian protest in New York, New York, on Feb. 4, 2024.
Demonstrators gathered near Bryant Park in midtown Manhattan for a rally and march voicing their support for Palestinians and opposition to the New York City Police Department’s enforcement of laws preventing demonstrators from using bullhorns or other sound systems without a permit, according to Getty Images.
Craig told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he was covering protests in the city that day and was walking in the street because there was no space left on the sidewalk.
“The sidewalk had been filled with protesters after the police had basically kettled them in,” he said.
A supervisory officer, identifiable by his white shirt, then ordered Craig to get on the sidewalk. After a short back-and-forth during which the photojournalist said that there was no room for him to comply, the officer arrested him.
“He put me up against a police vehicle and put cuffs on me,” Craig told the Tracker. “Then I was detained, along with three others, in a large cell for probably four hours.”
He added that officers had grabbed his camera flash and when it was eventually returned, the battery carrier and power cord connector were missing.
Upon his release, Craig was informed that he had been charged for walking in the roadway when the sidewalk was available. When he appeared for an arraignment hearing on May 30, he said the charge was “basically voided.”
The NYPD did not respond to a request for comment about the incident.
The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker catalogs press freedom violations in the United States. Email tips to [email protected].
