Incident Details
- Date of Incident
- February 19, 2024
- Targets
- Cristina Panagi (Independent)
- Assailant
- Law enforcement
- Was the journalist targeted?
- Yes
Assault
A New York City police officer directs independent photojournalist Cristina Panagi to get on the sidewalk during a pro-Palestinian protest in Queens on Feb. 19, 2024. A second later, another officer grabbed Panagi and threw her onto the ground.
Independent photojournalist Cristina Panagi was thrown to the ground by a New York City police officer while covering a pro-Palestinian demonstration in Queens on Feb. 19, 2024.
Hundreds of protesters gathered in the Astoria neighborhood to demand a cease-fire in the Israel-Gaza war, WPIX TV reported. Panagi told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that after the march had stopped, demonstrators were standing around and police began using a sound cannon to order everyone to get off the street.
Panagi said she was standing alongside other members of the press in a parking lane when officers threatened to arrest her if she didn’t move back. In footage she posted to Instagram, an officer can be heard ordering her to get on the sidewalk. Less than a second later, another officer lunges at her.
“I go to step back and there’s no room, so I go to walk a bit over so I can actually fit onto the sidewalk, and this other cop — who wasn’t even the one speaking to me — grabs me by the collar of my jacket and throws me backward,” Panagi said.
She said she landed hard, directly on her hip. The following day, she said she went to an urgent care center to have it checked to ensure she hadn’t been seriously injured but only had a large bruise.
The photojournalist had been standing near two legal observers, who told the officer he had assaulted a member of the press and asked him why, to which he didn’t respond. Panagi said that she was wearing press credentials from the Freelance Journalists Union, as she was still in the process of obtaining credentials from the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment.
Another photojournalist, Josh Pacheco, was pulled to the ground by police and briefly detained while documenting the protest that day.
Panagi told the Tracker she filed a complaint with the Civilian Complaint Review Board on Feb. 28, and they interviewed her about the incident in March. As of October, she said the board hasn’t followed up with her or disclosed the result of its investigation.
The New York City Police Department did not respond to a request for comment.
The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker catalogues press freedom violations in the United States. Email tips to [email protected].
