California student photographer arrested
By The Associated Press
09.04.02
CHICO, Calif. — Law enforcement officers say a college photographer who was arrested over Labor Day weekend had been asked multiple times to stop taking pictures and had compromised an undercover officer's safety.
Misha Osinovskiy, a journalism student at Chico State University, was arrested the night of Aug. 31 while covering holiday events in Chico for his school newspaper, The Orion. The paper has protested the arrest.
An undercover officer for the state department of Alcoholic Beverage Control was issuing a citation when, his report states, the Osinovskiy began taking pictures.
The officer's report said the camera flash blinded him, and that the photographer took at least five pictures.
The officer said the temporary blindness caused by each flash combined with a large crowd that was forming around the scene to make an unsafe environment. He also said that the person he was originally citing became agitated, adding to the tense atmosphere.
The officer, who was not identified, arrested Osinovskiy after warning him multiple times not to take pictures, the report states. He was taken to Butte County Jail and released the following morning.
"He said, 'If you take another picture, you're going to jail,' " Osinovskiy said. "I hesitated, and took another shot."
The newspaper's editor, Jen Cooper, said the charge was unfair and that the newspaper planned to contest its legality.
"We strongly believe in freedom of the press, and we do not want to hinder the media in covering stories, but in this instance, an officer's safety and the safety of the public were threatened," said Carl DeWing, a spokesman with the Alcoholic Beverage Control department.