Arkansas State Rep. who pushed for law to film police, arrested for filming police
Published time: 30 Sep, 2016 21:11
An Arkansas politician who helped pass state legislation
protecting people who film the police, has been arrested
for... filming the police.
protecting people who film the police, has been arrested
for... filming the police.
Representative John Walker was arrested by Little Rock
police on Monday for filming the arrest of a driver and
his passenger following a traffic stop and charged with
“obstruction of government relations”.
police on Monday for filming the arrest of a driver and
his passenger following a traffic stop and charged with
“obstruction of government relations”.
“I’m just making sure they don’t kill you,” said Walker to
the driver being pulled over and subsequently arrested
for an outstanding warrant, according to the police
report.
the driver being pulled over and subsequently arrested
for an outstanding warrant, according to the police
report.
“I ordered Walker several times to leave or be arrested.
Walker replied ‘arrest me’ at which point I did,” wrote
the arresting officer.
Walker replied ‘arrest me’ at which point I did,” wrote
the arresting officer.
Walker’s associate, lawyer Omavi Shuker, 29, was also
arrested at the scene for walking between the police
vehicle and pulled over car.
arrested at the scene for walking between the police
vehicle and pulled over car.
LRPD released dashcam footage of the incident so
members of the public could see how the situation
unfolded.
members of the public could see how the situation
unfolded.
By Tuesday, the Little Rock Police Department realized
they had slipped up and dropped the charges against
Walker, released a formal letter of apology and issued a
full refund of his $1,000 bond. However, the charge
against Shuker is still pending.
they had slipped up and dropped the charges against
Walker, released a formal letter of apology and issued a
full refund of his $1,000 bond. However, the charge
against Shuker is still pending.
Walker rejected the city’s apology for their reluctance to
recognize “pervasive racial bias in some quarters of the
police department” and for their decision to uphold the
charges against his colleague.
recognize “pervasive racial bias in some quarters of the
police department” and for their decision to uphold the
charges against his colleague.
"It's a mess," said president of the Fraternal Order of
Police, Tommy Hudson, to the Arkansas Times. "It's a
bad situation for everyone involved," he added.
Police, Tommy Hudson, to the Arkansas Times. "It's a
bad situation for everyone involved," he added.
Hudson went to reiterate that members of the public are
well within their rights to film law enforcement.
well within their rights to film law enforcement.
"There's nothing you can do about it. You may not like it,
but there's nothing you can do," he said.
but there's nothing you can do," he said.
Walker co-sponsored the passage of a 2015
bill protecting the right of citizens to film events in
public places, Arkansas was the first state in the country
to adopt such a legislation.
John Walker rejects city apology for arrest during filming of police
Posted By Max Brantley on Tue, Sep 27, 2016 at 6:32 PM
State Rep. John Walker rejects the city's apology for his arrest yesterday and complains at the city's decision to pursue a charge against an associate in his law firm.
It's about race, Walker, the 79-year-old civil rights lawyer, says. He is right, of course. When a white officer goes out of her way to complain about remarks Walker made about white officers at the jail after his arrest, it's emblematic of an overwhelmingly white force that overwhelmingly chooses white flight suburban cities in which to live (and many get subsidized city transportation to do so). They don't think the city is safe and they think the schools, with their black majority student bodies, also are unsuitable for their children. (A majority of black officers live here.) It is also true that a black man arrested for what Walker did wouldn't get nearly the consideration that a smart, seasoned, feaarless black lawyer received in 24 hours.
I understand some new officers were part of the complement of at least eight officers on the scene at the arrest of Walker. The FOP has been careful in its response to events. It gets along with the chief reasonably well. He is black, by the way. The vets know that obnoxious people with cameras, however vexing, are exercising constitutional rights. It could be, as some suggest, that Walkers' young associate went too far in injecting himself into an arrest scene and Walker did not. But I, too, await the arrival of video to form some stronger impressions.
John Walker is, no doubt, a provocateur. As he has every right to be. It is hard to imagine the state of black people in Arkansas today without some of the victories he's won.
The letter today also indicates the matter won't recede quickly or easily. If your browser can't scale up the letter to City Manager Bruce Moore and Police Chief Kenton Buckner above, it says:
I cannot in good conscience accept your apology for the unlawful actions of the arresting officers yesterday by the Arkansas Arts Center. I also cannot accept the disparate treatment of my college Mr. Omavi Shukur. I appreciate hour effort to address the matter by providing further training to your officers. However, you must also recognize the issue of racial bias that is pervasive in some quarters of the police department. It happens that the two officers who arrested us yesterday are white. The black officers did not speak to us and appeared to be taking orders. I understand that this may [sic] due to seniority but it still has a grave negative impact on the Little Rock black community's relationship with the LRPD, of which our arrest is but one example.
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