By Isabela Fraga
A Brazilian photojournalist was arrested and handcuffed by a police officer while filming an accident involving a military police car that left five injured in Goiânia, on Thursday, Aug. 9, reported the news portal G1. The cameraman works for the TV station TV Goiânia in the state of Goiás.
According to the news site Alerta Notícias, cameraman Marco Antônio Tavares works for the program Chumbo Grosso and was authorized to approach the overturned car, but a police lieutenant stopped him from filming and handcuffed him on the scene.
At the tome of the arrest, the news anchorman for the program was talking on the phone with the head of military police communications, colonel Anésio Barbosa Júnior. When watching the jailed cameraman's film, the anchorman questioned the colonel, who responded that the event would be investigated, reported Band.
The Military Police claimed that the cameraman trespassed the yellow tape surrounding the scene, and didn't listen to the police when asked to stand back, reported G1. The journalist, meanwhile, said during an interview with the news portal that he received authorization from one of the police officers to approach the overturned car.
A video report from TV Goiânia shows images of the handcuffed cameraman. The journalist was let free after being taken to the station and clarifying his case.
Note from the editor: This story was originally published by the Knight Center’s blog Journalism in the Americas, the predecessor of LatAm Journalism Review.
