Scott Shimek was recently charged with obstruction of justice and resisting arrest over an incident that happened back on July 28.
According toPhotographyisNotaCrime.com, Shimek was filming some King County Sheriff’s deputies on a public street near his home in Seattle, Washington, when the officers told him to back away (video below).
As Shimek backed away, a deputy walked up to him and stated, “You’re under arrest."
When Shimek asked why he was being arrested, the deputy claimed that he was "obstructing."
Shimek told the deputy that he was walking away, but the officer stated, “You didn’t walk away fast enough. Get down on your knees.”
The King County Sheriff’s office has not yet returned Shimek's camera, but did release the video of his arrest.
The King County Sheriff’s office has not yet returned Shimek's camera, but did release the video of his arrest.
Shimek, who has since become a reporter for PhotographyIsNotaCrime.com, wrote on his YouTube page:
Approximately 5 months have passed since this day and I was getting tired of not hearing anything about official charges, a court date, or the condition of the video card that was removed from my camera by Mr. Hall. Some friends from Photography Is Not A Crime (PINAC) and I decided to make calls and send emails to KCSO and obtain Freedom of Information (FOI) requests.
Approximately 5 months have passed since this day and I was getting tired of not hearing anything about official charges, a court date, or the condition of the video card that was removed from my camera by Mr. Hall. Some friends from Photography Is Not A Crime (PINAC) and I decided to make calls and send emails to KCSO and obtain Freedom of Information (FOI) requests.
After making these calls, we learned that no charges were ever officially filed with the courts until after we started contacting them. In fact, because I asked for their use of force/use of Taser policies, I learned that NOW they had decided to add a charge of "resisting" to my obstructing charge. It is also through these requests that I was able to obtain this video. My actual memory card is still in custody of KCSO.
Source:http://www.opposingviews.com