NY Times Photographer Beaten Up And Arrested By NYPD

From [HERE] New York Times photographer Robert Stolarik was allegedly beaten up and arrested by NYPD officers for taking pictures of an arrest Sunday night. While on an assignment in the Bronx, Stolarik took pictures of an NYPD officer arresting a 16-year-old girl. He says an officer slammed his camera into his face when they learned he was a journalist, and dragged him to the ground and kicked him after he asked for their badge numbers. He was then charged with obstructing government administration and with resisting arrest. The NYPD defended the officers, saying Stolarik “inadvertently” struck an officer in the face with a camera and “violently resisted being handcuffed.” The New York Times has a video showing Stolarik face down on the sidewalk, surrounded by a huddle of about six officers. Lawyers for the National Press Photographers Association asked the NYPD to return $18,000 worth of cameras and press credentials seized by the officers. Stolarik was previously arrested while covering an Occupy Wall Street protest.